Some might think that once wastewater has been disinfected, there’s no need to consider other issues before discharge or reuse—but that’s definitely not the case! Let’s take a closer look at the process control challenges involved in wastewater disinfection.
As society continues to develop, various types of sewage and wastewater are being generated, making wastewater disinfection increasingly important. The task for professionals is to manage the disinfected wastewater—after treatment with disinfectants—through surface runoff storage, purification, and other processes. This applies particularly to wastewater containing disinfectants such as residual chlorine. Multiple stages of filtration, buffering, and purification are required to treat collected surface runoff and rainwater, thereby minimizing unnecessary impacts on urban water quality.
Additionally, it is essential to monitor and address water quality issues caused by non-int source pollution from disinfectants. For example, when chlorine-based disinfectants are used, real-time monitoring of residual chlorine levels in water should be carried out using Total Residual Chlorine Online Analyzers. This ensures the safety of incoming water at the upstream intake point. Once the water enters the treatment plant, enhanced treatment processes should be implemented, with close attention paid to changes in residual chlorine levels. Corresponding measures must be taken promptly. In unfavorable scenarios, strategies such as increasing reflux or reducing impact loads can be adopted to prevent or minimize disruption to the biological treatment units.
In the case of medical wastewater treatment, stable operation of the disinfection unit must also be ensured. For hospitals that do not have a disinfection unit, emergency disinfection devices should be set up. When chlorine-based disinfectants are added, sufficient contact time must be ensured to control chlorine levels and avoid exceeding standards. At the same time, real-time monitoring of an important indicator—E. coli levels—should be included in the medical wastewater online monitoring system. This ensures that all pollutant indicators meet the required standards.
