Glossary of Terms

acid--a substance that has a pH of less than 7, which is neutral. Specifically, an acid has more free hydrogen ions (H⁺) than hydroxyl ions (OH^-).

activated sludge--The term "activated sludge" refers to a brownish flocculent culture of organisms developed in aeration tanks under controlled conditions. It is also Sludge floc produced in raw or settled waste water by the growth of zoological bacteria and other organisms in the presence of dissolved oxygen. Activated sludge is normally brown in colour.
 

alkaline--sometimes water or soils contain an amount of alkali substances sufficient to raise the pH value above 7.0.

alkalinity--the capacity of water for neutralizing an acid solution.

anaerobic--a biological environment that is deficient in oxygen, especially molecular oxygen, nitrates and nitrites. The decomposition by microorganisms of waste organic matter in wastewater in the absence of dissolved oxygen is classed as anaerobic.

anoxic--a biological environment that is deficient in molecular oxygen, but may contain chemically bound oxygen, such as nitrates and nitrites.

aquaculture--farming of plants and animals that live in water, such as fish, shellfish, and algae.

bacteria-- a large group of microscopic single-celled organisms which have cell walls but lack an organized nucleus, and include many kinds which can cause disease.

BOD- biochemical ( biological ) oxygen demand -- a chemical procedure for determining the uptake rate of dissolved oxygen by the biological organisms in a body of water. It is not a precise quantitative test, although it is widely used as an indication of the quality of water. BOD can be used as a gauge of the effectiveness of wastewater treatment plants. It is listed as a conventional pollutant in the U.S. Clean Water Act.

BOD₅-- measures the rate of oxygen uptake by micro-organisms in a sample of water at a temperature of 20°C and over an elapsed period of five days in the dark.

base--a substance that has a pH of more than 7, which is neutral. A base has less free hydrogen ions (H⁺) than hydroxyl ions (OH^-).

COD - chemical oxygen demand--The milligrams of oxygen required to chemically oxidize the organic contaminants in one liter of wastewater.

coagulant --a substance that brings about coagulation, used to precipitate or float solids or other material out of water.

coagulation--to gather together or form into a mass or group

composite sample--Composite samples are collected because the flow and characteristics of the wastewater may be continually changing. A composite sample will give a representative analysis of the wastewater conditions by sampling over several hours during the day.

coliform--It is the commonly-used bacterial indicator of sanitary quality of foods and water. Belonging to a group of rod-shaped bacteria typified by E. coli.

Cryptosporidium--A protozoan of the genus Cryptosporidium that is an intestinal parasite in humans and other vertebrates and sometimes causes diarrhea that is especially severe in immunocompromised individuals.
 

cubic feet per second (cfs)--a rate of the flow, in streams and rivers, for example. It is equal to a volume of water one foot high and one foot wide flowing a distance of one foot in one second. One "cfs" is equal to 7.48 gallons of water flowing each second.

DAF-- acronym for Dissolved Air Flotation. In the waste water industry, DAF refers to the process of floating contaminates out of a water stream in a large tank with the use of  bubbles .

discharge--the volume of water that passes a given location within a given period of time. Usually expressed in cubic feet per second, GPM or M³/hr.

disinfection--the killing or de-activation of pathogenic organisms is called disinfection.

dissolved oxygen (DO)--the oxygen dissolved in water, wastewater, or other liquid. DO is measured in milligrams per liter.

dissolved solids--solids that cannot be removed by filtering.
 

effluent--water that flows from a  treatment plant after it has been treated.

emulsion--a mixture of two or more immiscible (cannot be dissolved) liquids. a process that forms a layer containing very small droplets of fat or oil and/or solids suspended in a fluid, usually water.

floc--clumps of suspended solids that have come together to form clusters, or small gelatinous masses.

flocculent -- a chemical used to create a "floc" or to bring together materials present in water.

FOG-- acronym for fats, oil and grease

giardia--a disease that results from an infection by the protozoan parasite Giardia Intestinalis, caused by drinking water that is either not filtered or not disinfected. The disorder is more prevalent in children than in adults and is characterized by abdominal discomfort, nausea, and alternating constipation and diarrhea.

grease--in wastewater, a group of substances, including fats, waxes, free fatty acids, calcium and magnesium soaps, mineral oils, and certain other non-fatty materials.

kilogram--one thousand grams.

kilowatt hour (KWH)--a power demand of 1,000 watts for one hour. Power company utility rates are typically expressed in cents per kilowatt-hour.

log reduction--log reduction is a mathematical term (as is "log increase") used to show the relative number of live microbes eliminated from a surface by disinfecting or cleaning. For example, a "5-log reduction" means lowering the number of microorganisms by 100,000-fold, that is, if a surface has 100,000 pathogenic microbes on it, a 5-log reduction would reduce the number of microorganisms to one.

MASS-- acronym for Micro Air Separation System, Muddy River Technologies own version of the conventional DAF, using a patented process for creating micro bubbles as small as 5µm without the use of compressors, saturators or blowers.

MBG-- Micro Bubble Generator

micron (µm)--  one millionth of a meter

milligram (mg)--One-thousandth of a gram.

milligrams per liter (mg/l)--a unit of the concentration of a constituent in water or wastewater. It represents 0.001 gram of a constituent in 1 liter of water. It is approximately equal to one part per million (PPM).

million gallons per day (Mgd)--a rate of flow of water equal to 133,680.56 cubic feet per day, or 1.5472 cubic feet per second, or 3.0689 acre-feet per day. A flow of one million gallons per day for one year equals 1,120 acre-feet (365 million gallons).

nephelometric turbidity unit (NTU)--unit of measure for the turbidity of water. Essentially, a measure of the cloudiness of water as measured by a nephelometer. Turbidity is based on the amount of light that is reflected off particles in the water.

organic matter--plant and animal residues, or substances made by living organisms. All are based upon carbon compounds.

oxygen--O, atomic number 8, a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust

oxygen demand--the need for molecular oxygen to meet the needs of biological and chemical processes in water. Even though very little oxygen will dissolve in water, it is extremely important in biological and chemical processes.

ozone-- ozone is a molecule that consists of three negatively charged oxygen atoms and is sometimes known as “activated oxygen” or “triatomic oxygen”.

pH--a measure of the relative acidity or alkalinity of water. Water with a pH of 7 is neutral; lower pH levels indicate increasing acidity, while pH levels higher than 7 indicate increasingly basic solutions.
 

particle size--the diameter, in millimeters or microns of suspended sediment or bed material. Particle-size examples are:
[1] Clay—0.00024-0.004 millimeters (mm);
[2] Silt—0.004-0.062 mm;
[3] Sand—0.062-2.0 mm;
[4] Gravel—2.0-64.0 mm.

parts per billion--the number of "parts" by weight of a substance per billion parts of another substance. Used to measure extremely small concentrations.

parts per million--the number of "parts" by weight of a substance per million parts of another substance. This unit is commonly used to represent pollutant concentrations.

pathogen--a disease-producing agent; usually applied to a living organism. Generally, any viruses, bacteria, or fungi that cause disease.

polymer -- a chemical used to concentrate, hold together and bind the "floc" created during a waste treatment process in order float out and remove unwanted material from water.

potable water--water of a quality suitable for drinking.

secondary wastewater treatment--treatment (following primary wastewater treatment) involving the biological process of reducing suspended, colloidal, and dissolved organic matter in effluent from primary treatment systems and which generally removes 80 to 95 percent of the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and suspended matter. Secondary wastewater treatment may be accomplished by biological or chemical-physical methods. Activated sludge and trickling filters are two of the most common means of secondary treatment. It is accomplished by bringing together waste, bacteria, and oxygen in trickling filters or in the activated sludge process. This treatment removes floating and settleable solids and about 90 percent of the oxygen-demanding substances and suspended solids. Disinfection is the final stage of secondary treatment.

settling pond --an open lagoon into which wastewater contaminated with solid pollutants is placed and allowed to stand. The solid pollutants suspended in the water sink to the bottom of the lagoon and the liquid is allowed to overflow out of the enclosure.

surface tension--the attraction of molecules to each other on a liquid's surface. Thus, a barrier is created between the air and the liquid.

surface water--water that is on the Earth's surface, such as in a stream, river, lake, or reservoir.

suspended sediment--very fine soil particles that remain in suspension in water for a considerable period of time without contact with the bottom. Such material remains in suspension due to the upward components of turbulence and currents and/or by suspension.

suspended solids--solids that are not in true solution and that can be removed by flotation or filtration. Such suspended solids usually contribute directly to turbidity. Defined in waste management, these are small particles of solid pollutants that resist separation by conventional methods.

tertiary wastewater treatment--selected biological, physical, and chemical separation processes to remove organic and inorganic substances that resist conventional treatment practices; the additional treatment of effluent beyond that of primary and secondary treatment methods to obtain a very high quality of effluent. The complete wastewater treatment process typically involves a three-phase process: (1) First, in the primary wastewater treatment process, which incorporates physical aspects, untreated water is passed through a series of screens to remove solid wastes; (2) Second, in the secondary wastewater treatment process, typically involving biological and chemical processes, screened wastewater is then passed a series of holding and aeration tanks and ponds; and (3) Third, the tertiary wastewater treatment process consists of flocculation basins, clarifiers, filters, and chlorine basins or ozone or ultraviolet radiation processes.

turbidity--the amount of solid particles that are suspended in water and that cause light rays shining through the water to scatter. Thus, turbidity makes the water cloudy or even opaque in extreme cases. Turbidity is measured in nephelometric turbidity units (NTU).

virus (from the Latin virus meaning toxin or poison) is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the cells of other organisms.

wastewater--water that has been used in homes, industries, and businesses that is not for reuse unless it is treated.