Why do we need sewage treatment plants?


Environmental deterioration is an unfortunate remnant of rapid industrialisation and development of economies. Managing the levels of pollution has become imperative today. With the large population of our country and the industrial landscape expanding at such an explosive rate, the volume of wastewater is also increasing; sewage being a primary pollutant of water bodies.

Sewage treatment involves the removal of contaminants from wastewater. Sewage is put through various chemical, physical, and biological treatments to produce an environmentally safe treated effluent. Sewage treatment is important; for without it, water is unfit for consumption and if mixed with other water sources including the underground water can contaminate them too.

With the limited water resources we have today, wastewater management is no longer a choice but a necessity. Today we have sophisticated methods to treat wastewater.

Here are some of the common methods used by sewage treatment plants in India:

1)Chemical Treatment: Pollutants are typically categorised by size, based on which different treatment methods are used to treat these pollutants. Larger pollutant particles are separated through gravity, flotation or filtration. Smaller particles are difficult to separate and need  chemicals such  as flocculants and coagulants to separate  the particulate matter. This method of treatment is commonly used to treat industrial waste. It is suitable for eliminating suspended matter like heavy metals, inorganic substances, oil, and grease, along with dissolved substances.

2)Biological Treatment: This method uses natural organisms to treat pollutants. These organisms feed on organic matter to break it down into simpler substances. There are two kinds of biological processes that exist- aerobic and anaerobic; both of which are used to treat wastewater under this technique.

3)Recycle and Reuse: The recycle and reuse method requires wastewater to be recycled using a membrane-based system. Membrane bioreactors use the simple process of ultrafiltration with a bioreactor to treat wastewater. This method combines biological and chemical methods of treatment. It is commonly used for treating industrial and municipal wastewater. Treated water that is produced is then recycled for purposes like irrigation.

Managing and treating wastewater is part of utilising the inadequate water resources we are left with today. Industrial waste or large domestic waste points should have a sewage treatment plant system,  where the wastewater goes through a level of initial treatment before being dumped into a large plant. This is critical for treating industrial waste, especially for chemical waste.

The demand for organisations that can provide solutions to such massive environmental hazards is high today. Thermax is one such organisation that has in its portfolio a host of technologies to fulfill need for customised and standardised sewage treatment plants. Municipal corporations, housing societies, commercial complexes, and even hotels and hospitals can all find sustainable solutions to decentralised sewage treatment with them. Find out more at https://www.thermaxglobal.com.

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