Cleaning up our waste - naturally
click here to learn about the properties of water
Following the primary treatment of sewage by filtering and allowing heavier particles to settle, the effluent is either discharged into a waterway or passed on for secondary treatment. This is where microbes come in!
Questions
A town's waste water following primary treatment contains 450mg per litre of organic matter (CH2O). It is treated in a secondary treatment plant that can process 200,000 litres per day. During its passage through the plant, 50% of the organic matter is oxidised:
CH2O + O2 ----------> CO2 + H2O
1. If the percentage of oxygen in the air is 20% by volume, what volume of air is required to oxidise the organic matter in the waste water?
To find out if you're correct, click here!
2.
What volume of methane would be produced each day if all the organic matter
were converted into methane?
2 (CH2O) ----------> CH4 + CO2
to find out if you're correct, click here!