A survey overviewing technological aspects of wastewater treatment facilities in the state of Tennessee - Preliminary Observations

Abstract

Wastewater is produced from several industrial, business, and anthropogenic. It contains microbes, pathogens, and several other organic and inorganic substances that are harmful to the environment and that must be removed before the water can safely be returned to receiving streams. This sewage is pumped to the cleaning facilities through the drainage system. The cleaning facilities called wastewater treatment plants are operated in the cities at different capacities suitable to handle the water volume that needs treatment. Although all these facilities display a basically similar wastewater treatment process, there exists a few variations depending upon the capacities, location, cost of operation, served populations and type/amount of contaminants required to remove. In this study a comprehensive report illustrating the different aspects of WWTPs in the State of Tennessee will be drafted. This report will include evaluating and summarizing the methods adapted by different WWTPs: For example, some implement chlorination methods in tertiary treatment unit. The research will also include a classification based on similarities and differences between the methods adapted by these plants and recommend some potentially novel technologies. These may be susceptible of upscaling and be adaptable to treat sewage more effective and be cost efficient. We believe that the outcome of this research will be a useful information for potentially improving sewage treatment across Tennessee.