Tertiary Wastewater Treatment

In an era of increasing water scarcity and stricter environmental regulations, tertiary wastewater treatment has become essential. While primary and secondary stages remove most pollutants, this advanced treatment provides an additional level of polishing to reduce remaining suspended solids, pathogens, and nutrients. As masters of filtration with over 60 years of global experience, Amiad Water Systems delivers robust and reliable solutions for tertiary effluent treatment, helping industries, municipalities, and agriculture achieve high-quality water for safe discharge, environmental compliance, and diverse reuse applications.

The Critical Need for Tertiary Wastewater Treatment

After primary and secondary stages, wastewater may still contain residual contaminants that pose environmental or health risks if discharged directly, or prevent its safe reuse. Tertiary treatment addresses these persistent challenges:

• Meeting Stricter Regulations: International regulations and policies, such as California’s Water Recycling Criteria (Title 22), increasingly mandate higher quality standards for treated effluent, especially for reuse.
• Removal of Fine Suspended Solids: While most solids are removed in earlier stages, fine suspended particles can remain, contributing to turbidity and hindering disinfection effectiveness.
• Pathogen Reduction: Eliminating disease-causing microorganisms is vital for public health, particularly when effluent is reused or discharged into sensitive ecosystems.
• Nutrient Removal: Excess nitrogen and phosphorus can lead to eutrophication in water bodies, harming aquatic life. Tertiary processes specifically target these nutrients.
• Addressing Emerging Contaminants: New regulations and growing awareness highlight the need to reduce micro-contaminants like micro-plastics and hormones, which require advanced polishing steps.

Investing in a robust tertiary wastewater treatment plant is a proactive step towards environmental stewardship and resource resilience.

The Role of Advanced Filtration in Tertiary Treatment

Filtration plays a central and indispensable role in tertiary treatment. It is the primary method for removing residual suspended solids and is crucial for preparing water for subsequent disinfection or more advanced polishing stages. Effective filtration ensures the efficiency and longevity of the entire tertiary treatment process.

Key aspects of filtration in this stage include:

• Removal of Residual Suspended Solids: Capturing fine particles that bypass primary and secondary treatment, significantly reducing turbidity.
• Enhancing Disinfection Effectiveness: By removing suspended solids, filtration improves the clarity of water, allowing disinfectants (like UV light or chlorine) to perform more effectively against pathogens.
• Pre-treatment for Advanced Processes: Filtration is vital to protect sensitive downstream technologies such as ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes from fouling, ensuring their optimal performance and extending their lifespan.
• Nutrient Reduction Support: Certain filtration methods can aid in the removal of nutrients, complementing biological or chemical nutrient removal processes.

Choosing the right filtration approach is fundamental to a successful tertiary water treatment system.

Integrated Tertiary Treatment Solutions with Amiad

Long-term success in achieving high-quality treated effluent requires a strategic and integrated approach to tertiary treatment. Amiad’s expertise allows for comprehensive solutions that combine various technologies for optimal performance and compliance. We consider every challenge as an opportunity to work side by side with our customers to solve their problems.

Our integrated solutions for a tertiary wastewater treatment plant often include:

• Advanced Filtration Systems: Utilizing robust, self-cleaning filtration technologies (including advanced media filtration and highly efficient screen filters) specifically designed to remove fine suspended solids and prepare water for further treatment.
• Disinfection Method Support: Integrating our filtration solutions seamlessly with disinfection technologies (like chlorination or UV disinfection) to ensure the elimination of remaining pathogens.
• Automated Control and Optimization: Implementing smart control systems for real-time monitoring, optimized backwash cycles, and proactive maintenance, ensuring continuous operation and compliance.

This integrated approach enhances system resilience, optimizes efficiency, and ensures consistent compliance with regulatory standards for tertiary effluent treatment.

Key Considerations for Designing a Tertiary Treatment System

To develop effective tertiary wastewater treatment solutions, it’s essential to evaluate:

• Desired Effluent Quality: What is the specific quality required for discharge or for reuse.This parameter defines the treatment goals.
• Incoming Water Quality: Detailed analysis of the secondary effluent’s characteristics, including residual TSS, pathogens, and nutrient levels, to design appropriate treatment stages.  A PSD is most beneficial for sizing Amiad technologies to the specific application.
• Regulatory Requirements: Understanding local and international regulations that dictate treatment levels and potential contaminants.
• Flow Rates and System Capacity: Ensuring the chosen solution can handle the volume of wastewater consistently and efficiently.
• Operational Efficiency and Maintenance: Factors like energy consumption, backwash water usage, and ease of maintenance are crucial for long-term sustainability.
• Integration with Existing WWTP: How seamlessly the tertiary system can be incorporated into existing primary and secondary treatment infrastructure.

Aligning filtration with specific goals and infrastructure characteristics ensures cost-effective tertiary water treatment over time.

FAQs

What is tertiary wastewater treatment? 

Tertiary wastewater treatment is the third and most advanced stage of the wastewater cleaning process. It involves additional steps beyond primary (solids settling) and secondary (biological treatment) to remove residual contaminants, such as fine suspended solids, pathogens, and nutrients, preparing the water for safe discharge or reuse.

Why is tertiary treatment important for water reuse? 

Tertiary treatment is critical for water reuse because it ensures the treated effluent meets the necessary quality standards for various non-potable applications like agricultural irrigation, industrial processes, or groundwater replenishment. It reduces health risks and environmental impact, supporting sustainable water management.

What types of contaminants are removed during tertiary treatment ?

Tertiary treatment primarily focuses on removing residual suspended solids, phosphorus, nitrogen, and pathogens. Advanced tertiary methods can also target emerging micro-contaminants like micro-plastics, pharmaceuticals, and hormones, ensuring the highest water quality.

How does Amiad contribute to effective tertiary wastewater treatment? 

Amiad contributes by providing robust and reliable filtration solutions that are integral to tertiary effluent treatment. Our expertise includes advanced filtration technologies that effectively remove residual suspended solids and serve as crucial pre-treatment for more sophisticated processes like UF, NF, and RO, ensuring water quality for compliance and reuse.

Are Amiad’s solutions compliant with international wastewater reuse standards? 

Yes. Amiad’s complete range of filtration technologies provides solutions that help facilities meet stringent international regulations and policies for wastewater reuse and discharge.One of our technologies is approved for use under criteria such as the California Water Recycling Criteria (Title 22).

Reliable Tertiary Wastewater Treatment with Amiad

Amiad offers a comprehensive range of tertiary wastewater treatment solutions built on decades of experience as Masters of Filtration. From design consultation to deployment, our experts help customers implement smart, scalable systems for achieving high-quality effluent effectively and sustainably. We are committed to delivering clean water using clean technology to support your compliance, water reuse initiatives, and operational excellence.