Sewage Scientific Report - Treatment plant.

Essay by XenomorphHigh School, 11th gradeA+, October 2008

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Excursion to the Treatment Plant1. Safety•Safety glasses for eye protection in laboratory experiments.

•Lab Coats for protecting skin from harmful variables. (bacteria, materials, elements etc)•Signs such as, “Do Not Drink”, “DANGER”, “No Smoking”, “Authorized Personnel only” etc.

•Immunization - People who work at the treatment plant all have to go through immunization, in order to gain as much resistance as possible from bacteria present in the workplace.

•Labelled equipments and rooms.

•Fences and rails are put to avoid people from falling into the ditches.

•Hygienic thoughtfulness – Must remember to keep our hands away from the face till you have washed your hand, as our hands will be full of bacteria harmful to health.

2. Instrumental TechniquesInstrument NameMain UseDeduce the significance of test results?Other commentspH meterUsed to measure the acid and alkali levels in samples. It determines if the sample is safe to drink or not. pH 1 – Strong acidpH 7 – NeutralpH 14 – Strong alkaliICP/OES(Inductive coupled plasma/optical emission spectrometer) Detects metal concentrations in samples.

It detects whether the sample consists dangerous heavy metal or minor metal. Examples of elements which can be detected:Cadmium – ToxicChromium – ToxicIC (Ion Chromatography Instrument)Separation and quantification of anions and cations. It separates elements harmful to human body from the sample. Example of elements separated: Phosphate, chloride, sulphate, ammonium, etc3. Biological ActivitiesBiological activities are in progression in the laboratory and throughout the treatment plant in order to clean the wastes we produce. In this section, these significant activities will be listed.

Aerobic Bacteria– Aerobic bacteria is a bacteria that requires the presence of oxygen, in order to function. In the oxidation ditches, this bacterium is used thoroughly. It helps in the purification process in which it is thrived in an oxygen-rich environment, and then it helps breaking down the wastes into carbon dioxide, water, nitrates and sulphates.

Anaerobic Bacteria – Anaerobic bacteria is a bacteria opposite to the aerobic bacteria. This bacteria can live without or little oxygen. The effect of anaerobic bacteria is, it changes nitrates into the form of nitrogen gas. This method is called denitrification.

Gas Chromatography – Gas Chromatography is a method for separating substances in the waste and measures the relative quantities of the elements.

UV/Visible Spectrophotometer – UV/Visible spectrophotometer measures the absorption of light by the sample. This process becomes extremely significant when it comes to photosynthetic oxidation.

Ion Chromatography – Ion Chromatography separates the anions from the cations. Water samples are put into the system, in order to separate the nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, sulphate, phosphates etc.

Ion Selective Electrode – Ion selective electrode is a sensor that converts the activity of a specific ion dissolved in a sample, into an electrical potential that can be measured by a pH meter.

pH testing – pH indicators are used to determine the pH levels of samples. It is done to find out whether the specific sample is safe for people to drink it or not.

4. Flow Diagram and Redox ReactionsExamples of Redox reactions in treatment plantExample 1: Oxidation using aerobic micro-organismsThis formula shows the chemical reaction in oxidation ditches.

Lost electrons (Oxidation)CH4 + 2O2 CO2 + H2OGained electrons (Reduction)In this chemical reaction, carbon is oxidised and oxygen is reduced. (Oxidation)Example 2: Nitrification using NitrosomonasThis formula also shows the chemical reaction happening in the oxidation ditches.

Lost electrons (Oxidation)2NH4 + 3O2 2NO2 + 4H + 2 H2OGained electrons (Reduction)In this chemical reaction, Nitrogen is oxidised and oxygen is reduced. (Nitrification)Example 3: Nitrification using NitrobactorThis formula also shows the chemical reaction happening in the oxidation ditches.

Lost electrons (Oxidation)2NO2 + O2 2NO3Gained electrons (Reduction)In this chemical reaction, Nitrogen is oxidised and oxygen is reduced. (Nitrification)5. On the bus going homeQ. Would you like to work here? Why or why not?Personally, I would not like to work at a treatment plant, as I personally cannot handle the smell and the vision of the sewage. But, although this job seems technically ‘sickening’ from my point of view, I understand that this job is an extremely significant job out in the real world. As there are over 6 billion people living on this planet, if our wastes are all poured out into the sea, this will definitely result in changing the ecosystem of the marine life and therefore, will consequently affect us.

After all, although I would not like to work at this workplace, this experience gave me a good chance to think exceptionally carefully about protecting the pristine ecosystem and let me understand accomplishments in such a significant workplace.

6. BibliographySearch Engines:www.google.com.auWebsites:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_selective_electrode(online) (accessed: 7th August 2006)http://www.education.melbournewater.com.au/content/glossary/(online) (accessed: 7th August 2006)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sewage_treatment(online) (accessed: 7th August 2006)http://members.aol.com/Dandmadman/wtdan.htm(online) (accessed: 7th August 2006)http://www.ccc.govt.nz/WasteWater/TreatmentPlant/FlowDiagram.asp(online) (accessed: 7th August 2006)