Dakota Wilson
Sewer Science LAB
Test DAILY: Testing Rational and Protocol pages 6 – 9.
 pH: Is a measurement of how acidic or basic a solution is. pH
is important because life need a pH of 7.
 Ammonia: The Primary source of ammonia (NH3) in
wastewater is urine. Reasons why ammonia should not be
dumped in lake, a bay, or an ocean. First, ammonia is highly
toxic. Second, bacteria that naturally exist in a lake, bay or
ocean attack the ammonia in a reaction that requires oxygen.
So when the bacteria react with the ammonia, they will be
stealing dissolved oxygen from the water. That dissolved
oxygen is needed in the water for survival of fish and other
species.
 Turbidity: Wastewater contains solid matter of different
sizes. Fine particles of matter are suspended in the water will
cause the light passing through the water to scatter.
Suspended particles are a problem for fish, since fine
particles can interfere with oxygen absorption in their gills.
Turbidity is an important measurement because it gives a
good indication of the concentration of these particles. Clean
pure water has a turbidity of zero.
 COD (chemical oxygen demand): Is a measure of the amount
of oxygen that would be needed to destroy all the pollution in
the water.
o The higher the COD, the more polluted the water.
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Dakota Wilson
Data Day # 1
 Mix Wastewater.
 Test
- pH =6
- Turbidity =115
- COD=1088
- Ammonia= 12
 Materials:
- Dried used coffee grounds (6.82g)
- Ground up Breakfast Cereal (3.35g)
- Ground-up pet food (3.08g)
- Cut-up plastic (1.81g)
- Baking Soda (3.73g)
- Torn up toilet paper pieces (4.26g)
- Ammonia (10ml)
- Vegetable Oil (20ml)
The water here was very filthy and polluted- it really reminded me
of sewer water. There are bits of plastic floating at the top, and all
the nasty bits are in the middle or at the bottom. It smells rank.
Primary Treatment = Sedimentation / Settling. Let tank sit for
24 hours.
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Dakota Wilson
 Mixture separates by density:
o Floaters @ top
o Sediment @ bottom
o MIDDLE layer of dissolved matter
Data Day # 2
MIDDLE layer of dissolved matter is NOW removed into Aeration
Tank
Secondary Treatment = Biological Treatment
 ADD activated sludge = microorganisms EAT the dissolved
ammonia and food nutrients (C-H-O) in the wastewater.
 Test:
- pH=7
- Turbidity=36
- COD=520
- Ammonia=12
Here, all of the solids naturally separated- the heavier particles at
the bottom, the lighter particles-such as plastic- at the top. The
center contains all the liquids we added, including the regular
water.
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Dakota Wilson
dData Day # 3
 Microscope Data
 Transfer wastewater to Secondary Sedimentation Tank
o Add aluminum sulfate / mix / allow 24 hours for
microbes to settle out of the solution to the bottom of
the tank = Flocculation.
 Test:
- pH:=7
- Turbidity:=48
- COD:=100
- Ammonia:=6
We used the bacteria cleanse to clean the very small particulates.
This was the time when the level of ammonia changed drastically
from 12 to 6 almost by half. The water looks cleaner now that we
added the ammonia- there is less pollution.
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Dakota Wilson
Data Day # 4
 Tertiary / Advanced Treatment = Filtration
Pour wastewater through the filtration column of charcoal
and sand.
 Test:
- pH=7
- Turbidity=11
- COD=36
- Ammonia=4
When the water came it looked really cleat and it looked as if it
was tap water
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TEST
Dakota Wilson
Summary Data Chart
Raw Sewage
(Start)
Primary Treatment
 Sedimentation
Secondary
Treatment 
Biological (eat)
Filtration 
Advanced Treatment
pH
6
7
7
7
Ammonia
12
12
6
4
115
36
48
11
1088
520
100
36
(x 2)
Turbidity
COD
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Dakota Wilson
When I look at the pH I see that when the sediment treatment took
place it let the toxins settle and made the pH level
The Cod is the measure of the amount of oxygen that would be
needed to destroy all the pollution in the water. When we look at
the Raw sewage compared to the advanced filtration we see how it
gets increasing less throughout each project.
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Dakota Wilson
When looking at the Ammonia is see that before the biological
treatment it was very high. But after the biological organisms had a
chance to get in there they ate the combination that formed the
ammonia
Turbidity is the clarity of the water. The turbidity is lowered which
in this case means it is clearer at a pretty much constant rate.
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