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Sewage can be treated close to where it is created, a decentralised system (in septic
tanks, biofilters or aerobic treatment systems), or be collected and transported by a
network of pipes and pump stations to a municipal treatment plant, a centralised
system (see sewerage and pipes and infrastructure). Sewage collection and treatment is
typically subject to local, state and federal regulations and standards. Industrial sources
of sewage often require specialized treatment processes (see Industrial wastewater
treatment).
Sewage treatment generally involves three stages, called primary, secondary and
tertiary treatment.
Primary treatment consists of temporarily holding the sewage in a quiescent basin where
heavy solids can settle to the bottom while oil, grease and lighter solids float to the
surface. The settled and floating materials are removed and the remaining liquid may be
discharged or subjected to secondary treatment.
Secondary treatment removes dissolved and suspended biological matter. Secondary
treatment is typically performed by indigenous, water-borne micro-organisms in a
managed habitat. Secondary treatment may require a separation process to remove the
micro-organisms from the treated water prior to discharge or tertiary treatment.
Tertiary treatment is sometimes defined as anything more than primary and secondary
treatment in order to allow rejection into a highly sensitive or fragile ecosystem
(estuaries, low-flow rivers, coral reefs,...). Treated water is sometimes disinfected
chemically or physically (for example, by lagoons and microfiltration) prior to discharge
into a stream, river, bay, lagoon orwetland, or it can be used for the irrigation of a golf
course, green way or park. If it is sufficiently clean, it can also be used for groundwater
recharge or agricultural purposes.
Brine treatment
Brine treatment involves removing dissolved salt ions from the waste
stream. industrial brine treatment may contain unique combinations of
dissolved ions, such as hardness ions or other metals, necessitating
specific processes and equipment.
Brine treatment systems are typically optimized to either reduce the
volume of the final discharge for more economic disposal (as disposal
costs are often based on volume) or maximize the recovery of fresh water
or salts. Brine treatment systems may also be optimized to reduce
electricity consumption, chemical usage, or physical footprint.
Brine treatment is commonly encountered when treating cooling tower
blowdown, produced water from steam assisted gravity drainage(SAGD),
produced water, acid mine or acid rock drainage, reverse osmosis
reject, chlor-alkali wastewater, pulp and paper mill effluentetc
Brine treatment technologies may include: membrane filtration processes,
such as reverse osmosis; ion exchange processes such
as electrodialysis or weak acid cation exchange: or evaporation processes,
such as brine concentrators and crystallizers,employing mechanical
vapour recompression and steam.
Reverse osmosis may not be viable for brine treatment, due to the
potential for fouling caused by hardness salts or organic contaminants, or
damage to the reverse osmosis membranes fromhydrocar