Free Online Course

Wastewater Solids Handling Fundamentals

Follow the solids from where they are removed to where they go: pumping, storage, thickening, digestion, dewatering, sampling and the final destination, and how one step affects the next.

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Time
About 65 minutes
Certificate
1.0 hour of completion
Credit
Not yet approved for continuing education credit
Price
Free
Format
72 narrated pages, checks and a final
Built by
A working wastewater operator (Washington Group III)

Who It's For

Wastewater operators at any level and people studying to become operators. No experience needed.

What You'll Learn

  • Follow the solids from where they begin through the treatment train, and explain water versus dry solids and returned liquids.
  • Move and store sludge safely: pumps, air and plugging, valve lineups, tank mixing and levels, and truck transfers.
  • Explain gravity and mechanical thickening, feed changes, underflow control, supernatant quality and polymer.
  • Describe stabilization, aerobic and anaerobic digestion, feed and draw, mixing and heat, digester gas, foam and scum.
  • Run dewatering equipment: belt presses, belt tracking and wash, centrifuges, drying beds and cake conveyance.
  • Sample solids, calculate percent solids, read capture, returns and trends, and keep records and chain of custody.
  • Work safely around biological contact, moving equipment, confined spaces, hydrogen sulfide, digester gas and chemicals.
  • Plan destinations: land application, landfill, truck loading, odor and neighbors, spills, and documentation.

Handling it well protects the liquid process, workers, neighbors, and the final use or disposal site.

What's Inside

  1. Follow the Solids 9 pages
    • Why Solids Matter
    • Sludge and Biosolids
    • Where Solids Begin
    • The Treatment Train
    • Water Versus Dry Solids
    • Liquids That Return
    • Storage and Timing
    • A Complete Handoff
    • Checkpoint
  2. Moving and Storing Sludge 9 pages
    • Sludge Pumps
    • Air and Plugging
    • Valves and Lineups
    • Holding Tank Mixing
    • Tank Levels
    • Sludge Truck Transfers
    • Cold and Hot Weather
    • Transfer Troubles
    • Checkpoint
  3. Thickening and Feed 9 pages
    • Why Thicken
    • Gravity Thickening
    • Mechanical Thickening
    • Feed Variability
    • Underflow Control
    • Supernatant Quality
    • Polymer Basics
    • Thickening Troubles
    • Checkpoint
  4. Digestion and Stabilization 9 pages
    • What Stabilization Means
    • Aerobic Digestion
    • Anaerobic Digestion
    • Feed and Draw
    • Mixing and Heat
    • Digester Gas
    • Foam and Scum
    • Digestion Response
    • Checkpoint
  5. Dewatering Equipment 9 pages
    • Why Dewater
    • Belt Press Path
    • Belt Tracking and Wash
    • Centrifuge Basics
    • Drying Beds
    • Cake Conveyance
    • Starting a Run
    • Ending a Run
    • Checkpoint
  6. Quality, Sampling, and Math 9 pages
    • Sampling Solids
    • Percent Solids
    • A Simple Solids Example
    • Capture and Returns
    • Process Records
    • Chain of Custody
    • Odor and Appearance
    • Reading Trends
    • Checkpoint
  7. Safety and Maintenance 9 pages
    • Biological Contact
    • Moving Equipment
    • Confined Spaces
    • Hydrogen Sulfide
    • Digester Gas Safety
    • Chemical Handling
    • Maintenance Coordination
    • Housekeeping
    • Checkpoint
  8. Destinations and Stewardship 9 pages
    • After the Plant
    • Land Application
    • Landfill and Other Routes
    • Truck Loading
    • Odor and Neighbors
    • Spills and Releases
    • Documentation and Rules
    • Closing the Loop
    • Checkpoint

Sample Page

Sludge and Biosolids

Plants use words differently in casual speech. In this course, sludge is the wet material moving through solids treatment. Biosolids is a regulated term used for sewage sludge that is managed for use or disposal. Its exact status does not come from how dry or pleasant it looks. Treatment results, testing, records, and the receiving program matter.

A dark, crumbly cake may look finished, but an operator cannot decide from appearance alone that it qualifies for a particular land-use program.

Use the terms on your facility records consistently. Ask which process and documented requirements make material ready for its planned destination.

Ask what evidence supports the name used for a load. A scale ticket, laboratory result, process record, and destination approval answer different questions. None alone proves every condition. Keeping those records together prevents a wet load from being treated as suitable merely because it looks like cake.

Key point: Biosolids status comes from treatment, testing, and records, not from how dry or pleasant the cake looks.

What to remember: The word sludge describes separated material; biosolids refers to treated sewage solids used or disposed of under applicable rules.

Questions

Does This Course Count Toward My Renewal?

Not yet. A course counts toward your continuing education credit only after your state approves it, and this one is not approved yet. This page will say which states approve it once they do.

Do I Need an Account?

Yes, to take the course. Signing in lets us record your time and issue your certificate. This page, the topic pages and the practice questions need no account.

Can I Skip Ahead?

No. Each page has a minimum time before the next one opens, and your time is recorded.

What Do I Get When I Finish?

A certificate of completion from Operator Master for 1.0 hour, once you pass the final with 80% or better. Your operator certificate or license always comes from your state, not from Operator Master.

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