What's the Difference Between Water and Wastewater Treatment?

You’ve likely heard the terms “water treatment” and “wastewater treatment,” but you might not understand the difference between these two types of treatments. While the names are indeed similar, these are different processes for different kinds of water.

To know what type of treatment is right for you, you’ll need to learn about each process in depth. Today’s blog examines both water and wastewater treatments so that you can understand them and how they differ from each other. 

Water Treatment Plant

A water treatment plant is for groundwater, surface water, and rainwater. Water treatment cleans and disinfects the water so it can be redistributed to storage tanks or people. 

Water treatment is generally for domestic water sources, although some domestic water can become wastewater. An example of this would be the water in your toilet. However, wastewater treated in water treatment plants does not require the same level of cleaning as water in wastewater treatment plants. Water treatment plants are also smaller. 

Water treated in water treatment plants is safe for homes, businesses, and industries. It can be safely consumed or used for washing dishes and cooking. 

Water treatment includes coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, and disinfection. 

During coagulation, positively-charged chemicals are added to the water, where they neutralize the dirt’s negative charge. This process causes the particles to bind with the chemicals and form slightly larger particles. Salt, aluminum, and iron are often used during coagulation. 

Flocculation takes coagulation to the next level. Flocs are formed when the water is gently mixed. These heavier particles can settle to the bottom of the tank, making it easier to remove them. 

Sedimentation separates solids from the water and causes the flocs to fall to the bottom. 

Filtration is the next step in the process. After the flocs settle, filtration separates the clear water from the remaining solids. Ultrafiltration is another step that can be taken in place of or in addition to filtration. 

Finally, disinfection involves chemical disinfectants that remove parasites, bacteria, or viruses from the water. 

Water treatment is an excellent and thorough process that allows water to be reused. However, the water treatment process is entirely different from treating wastewater.

Wastewater Treatment Plant

A wastewater treatment plant is for clean, grey, and blackwater that needs a high level of sanitation to make it safe for reuse.
Not only does wastewater treatment allow industrial processes to run smoothly, but it also prevents harm to fish and wildlife, oxygen depletion, beach closures, and water use restrictions for recreational activities. It’s essential for all kinds of life.

Wastewater treatment removes suspended solids in the water and then releases the effluent into the environment. 

How Does Wastewater Form?

In this blog, we’ll focus on wastewater in industrial uses, such as the pharmaceutical, food and beverage, or metal mining industries. 

For any industrial use, wastewater is created whenever water is used in a process. For example, the water used to clean dirty dishes at a restaurant becomes wastewater when those dirty dishes sit in it. Treating that wastewater allows it to be used for another round of dishes after it’s gone down the drain. 

Because of all the suspended solids in wastewater, it is much more challenging to treat and requires the stronger, harsher chemicals involved in wastewater treatment.

How Is Wastewater Treated?

When wastewater is treated, it’s divided into two main levels of treatment: primary and secondary.  A tertiary level, also known as effluent polishing, can be added for more stringent levels of treatment. Each level plays a pivotal role in ensuring the wastewater is clean enough for discharge or reuse. Let’s take a closer look. 

Primary treatment gives suspended solids a chance to settle. Once those solids have settled, they are much easier to remove from the wastewater than trying to catch them while they float around in the water.
Primary treatment also removes lighter materials that float to the top. Whether they settle or float, these contaminants need to be removed from the wastewater to be used again. 

Screening, comminution, grit removal, and sedimentation are all steps in the primary treatment process.
The wastewater flows through a screen that begins the treatment process. This screen allows the water through but blocks large floating objects from getting through.
After passing through the screen, the wastewater goes through the grit chamber, where cinders, sand, and stones settle to the bottom, where they can be easily removed. 

Finally, the organic and inorganic matter and suspended solids need to be removed, which is usually done in a sedimentation tank. A pump should be used if biosolids are present in the water.

Secondary treatment removes what primary treatment doesn’t remove: soluble organic matter and more suspended solids. Secondary treatments usually equip biological processes, such as aerobic bacteria, to remove matter and solids and turn them into carbon dioxide, water, and energy.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, secondary treatment removes about 85% of what remains after primary treatment, making it highly effective.

Tertiary treatment is sometimes used to further clean water that is to be released into a fragile ecosystem.  While the first two levels of treatment sufficiently clean the wastewater for discharge, the tertiary level cleans the water enough for reuse and even cleans it to levels suitable for drinking.

After the secondary treatment level, nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogens might still be at elevated levels.  In sensitive ecosystems, these higher levels could cause disruptions such as more rigorous weed and algae growth.

Multimedia services, such as sand filters, are typically used in tertiary treatment to remove Total Suspended Solids.    

Treat Your Wastewater with J.Mark Systems

Are you looking for wastewater treatment for industrial use? Look no further. A mobile WTRBOX system from J. Mark Systems is exactly what you’re looking for. No matter what type of filtration system is right for you, J. Mark Systems has it. 

Our WTRBOX systems include ion exchange, reverse osmosis, sludge dewatering and drying, zero liquid discharge, bulk chemical feed, hydroxide metal precipitation, laminar flow gravity settling solids clarification, membrane separation, and multimedia filtration. 

We serve the automotive, aerospace, metal finishing, electronics, power generation, petrochemical, mining and metals, PFAS remediation, and plating on plastics industries. 

Get started today with a free water optimization audit, where we can assess your needs and determine which wastewater treatment is right for your industry. And be sure to let us know if you have any questions. J. Mark Systems is here to simplify and improve your wastewater treatment process.