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‫اﻟﻣﻣﻠﻛﺔ اﻟﻌرﺑﯾﺔ اﻟﺳﻌودﯾﺔ‬
KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA

‫ﺷرﻛﺔ اﻟﻣﯾﺎه اﻟوطﻧﯾﺔ‬

NATIONAL WATER COMPANY (NWC)

‫رﻗم اﻟﻣﺷروع‬
PROJECT NO.
EXPANSION OF AL KHOBAR SEWAGE TREATMENT
701230311 PLANT PROJECT

‫االستشاري‬ ETS ENGINEERING CONSULTANCES

ENGINEER

‫اﻟﻣﻘﺎول‬ AL YAMAMA COMPANY FOR TRADING

CONTRACTOR AND CONTRACTING

‫استشاري التصميم‬
DESIGN &

CONSULTANT

Document Title:

PROCESS DESIGN EXPLANATION REPORT

Document No.: Sheet Rev.

701230311-KHR-PAS-010GEN-HYD-RE-00002 Page 1 of 19 0
 Document Title:
PROCESS DESIGN EXPLANATION REPORT

Project Title:
EXPANSION OF AL KHOBAR SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT PROJECT

Client: Contract No.: Document Number:

National Water Company 701230311 701230311-KHR-PAS-010GEN-HYD-RE-00002 Page 2 of 19

Table of Contents

ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................. 3
1. general ............................................................................................. 5
1.1 TREATMENT PLANT PROCESS SELECTION .......................................................................5
1.1.2 Biological Treatment ........................................................................................................ 6
1.2 PROCESS JUSTIFICATION/SIMULATION DURING DIFFERENT INLET POLLUTANT CONCENTRATIONS
16
 Document Title:
PROCESS DESIGN EXPLANATION REPORT

Project Title:
EXPANSION OF AL KHOBAR SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT PROJECT

Client: Contract No.: Document Number:

National Water Company 701230311 701230311-KHR-PAS-010GEN-HYD-RE-00002 Page 3 of 19

ABBREVIATIONS

NWC National Water Company

STP Sewage Treatment Plant
RFP Request for Proposal
PE People Equivalent
DWA Deutsche Vereinigung für Wasserwirtschaft, Abwasser und
Abfall (translation: German Association for Water, Wastewater
and Waste)
ATV Abwassertechnischen Vereinigung (translation: Wastewater
Technology Association)

WEF Water Environment Federation

ASCE American Society of Civil Engineers
SI International Unit System
PST Primary Sedimentation Tanks
AST Activated Sludge Tanks
SST Secondary Sedimentation Tanks
CCT Chlorine Contact Tank
TEST Treated Effluent Storage Tank
RAS Return Activated Sludge
SAS Surplus Activated Sludge
TDS. Total Dissolved Solids
BOD5 Biochemical Oxygen Demand
COD Chemical Oxygen Demand
TSS Total Suspended Solids
TKN Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen
NH4-N Ammonia Nitrogen
Ptotal Total Phosphorus
NO3-N Nitrate Nitrogen
NaOCl Sodium Hypochlorite
NaCl Sodium Chloride
FeCl3 Ferric Chloride
FOG Fat, Oil and Grease
NTU Nephelometric Turbidity unit
CFU Colony Forming Unit
 Document Title:
PROCESS DESIGN EXPLANATION REPORT

Project Title:
EXPANSION OF AL KHOBAR SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT PROJECT

Client: Contract No.: Document Number:

National Water Company 701230311 701230311-KHR-PAS-010GEN-HYD-RE-00002 Page 4 of 19

MPN Most Probable Number

FC Fecal Coliforms
m.a.s.l. Meters Above Sea Level
Fc Peak Factor for carbon respiration
FN Peak Factor for ammonium oxidation
CHP Combined Heat and Power
°C Celsius
 Document Title:
PROCESS DESIGN EXPLANATION REPORT

Project Title:
EXPANSION OF AL KHOBAR SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT PROJECT

Client: Contract No.: Document Number:

National Water Company 701230311 701230311-KHR-PAS-010GEN-HYD-RE-00002 Page 5 of 19

1. GENERAL

Expansion of Al-Khobar Sewage Treatment Plant process design is based on National Water
Company (NWC) Specifications - Design Manual, Chapter 6. Sewage Treatment Plants. The
sub-sections of Chapter 6 provide guidance in respect to the Waste Water Treatment Plant
(WWTP) influent parameters, WWTP effluent requirements, redundancy requirements and
other general requirements of WWTPs.

1.1 TREATMENT PLANT PROCESS SELECTION

1.1.1 Primary Sedimentation Tank and Anaerobic Digester

NWC Design Manual, Chapter 6.9.3. Primary Treatment and Flow Equalization, decision
regarding to design a WWTP with or without Primary Sedimentation Tank (PST) left to the
Designer. However, in Chapter 6.9.3.1.4 Selection Criteria for Primary Treatment;
advantageous of PST has been indicated as follows;

Generally, the decision for a Designer, to include primary treatment or not depends
predominantly on the following factors:

a) Secondary treatment process applied – there are secondary treatment processes that shall
be preceded by primary treatment. For example, Integrated Fixed-Film Activated Sludge
(IFAS) and trickling filter processes;

b) Size of the plant - generally smaller treatment plants tend to be not equipped with a primary
treatment stage, allowing more compact designs;

c) Sludge treatment and energy efficiency considerations - primary sedimentation provides

energy-efficient and low-cost suspended solids and carbon (COD/BOD5) removal, the
generated sludge is energy rich and can be used for biogas generation. Generally primary
treatment is part of the wastewater treatment process if anaerobic sludge stabilization is
applied;
 Document Title:
PROCESS DESIGN EXPLANATION REPORT

Project Title:
EXPANSION OF AL KHOBAR SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT PROJECT

Client: Contract No.: Document Number:

National Water Company 701230311 701230311-KHR-PAS-010GEN-HYD-RE-00002 Page 6 of 19

d) The provision of primary treatment does significantly reduce the size and energy
consumption of the secondary treatment stage. The larger the WWTP, the more attractive
becomes inclusion of primary treatment to reduce the size and energy demand of the
secondary treatment stage.

Referring to above statements in NWC Manual and our experience in all around the world,
such a big size treatment plant like Al-Khobar STP including Anaerobic Digester as sludge
stabilization method -and Primary Sedimentation Tank as pre-condition- brings End User
several advantageous. Anaerobic sludge stabilization process is environmentally friendly and
offers several advantages, such as the generation of renewable energy, reduction of
greenhouse gas emissions, and production of nutrient-rich biosolids for agricultural use. The
biogas produced, primarily consisting of methane, can be utilized for electricity generation or
heating. Moreover, anaerobic digestion helps minimize the environmental impacts associated
with wastewater treatment, making it a promising technology for sustainable wastewater
management.

1.1.2 Biological Treatment

NWC Design Manual, Chapter 6.9.4. Overview of Secondary Treatment Processes;
Conventional activated sludge process (CAS) is selected for treating organic carbon and
nutrients in the wastewater. Referring to statement in NWC Manual, Chapter 6.9.4.1-
Conventional Activated Sludge Process (CAS)

The Conventional Activated Sludge Process is widely used for treatment of wastewater from
small to very large plants. The aeration tank in a conventional activated sludge process is
designed to maintain ‘plug flow’ hydraulic regime throughout the tank, which is achieved by
using long and narrow aeration tank configuration. Due to the plug flow configuration, a
concentration gradient of the pollutants over the length of the tank is formed. The organic load
and the oxygen demand are highest at the inlet of the tank and decrease towards the outlet of
the tank.
German-DWA Design Standard as ATV-DVWK-A 131 E-Single Stage Activated Sludge Plants
Standard has been used to dimension the biological treatment.
 Document Title:
PROCESS DESIGN EXPLANATION REPORT

Project Title:
EXPANSION OF AL KHOBAR SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT PROJECT

Client: Contract No.: Document Number:

National Water Company 701230311 701230311-KHR-PAS-010GEN-HYD-RE-00002 Page 7 of 19

Referring to 6.9.4.1.4 Dimensioning of Activated Sludge Plants, following scheme has been
applied;
 Document Title:
PROCESS DESIGN EXPLANATION REPORT

Project Title:
EXPANSION OF AL KHOBAR SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT PROJECT

Client: Contract No.: Document Number:

National Water Company 701230311 701230311-KHR-PAS-010GEN-HYD-RE-00002 Page 8 of 19

Following steps and formula has been used to calculate the biological system as follows;

a) Determination of the design capacity of the plant and the relevant flows and loads
to the biological reactor;

Case 1: Design Loads – refer to NWC Manual, Table 6.1-Average Loads

Case 2: Actual Average Loads –Average loads of existing Al Khobar STP over the
whole year of 2023

Case 3: Low organic with high NH4 Loads of existing Al Khobar STP in 2023

b) Selection of the process: if nitrogen removal is required, it has to be decided which

process for nitrification/denitrification is to be employed. In addition, it is to be
determined whether an aerobic selector for the improvement of the settling
characteristics or an anaerobic mixing tank for biological excess phosphorus removal
is to be placed upstream;

Al-Khobar STP is designed to removal organic carbon as well as Nutrients. Therefore

Nitrification, Denitrification and Biological Phosphorus Removal processes will take
place.

c) Determination of the necessary safety factor (SF) taking into account the dimensioning
capacity of the plant and, in case, the measured diurnal load fluctuations. For plants,
which are designed for nitrification only, the sludge age is to be determined taking into
account the dimensioning temperature;

Diurnal load fluctuations are around 1 - 1,45 therefore suggested value by DWA
standard as 1.45 can be used as Safety Factor.

d) For plants for nitrogen removal, the mass of the nitrate to be denitrified is to be
determined by means of a nitrogen balance. By taking into account the selected
denitrification process the necessary denitrification volume, or in the case of DWA A
131, the proportion of denitrification volume to the biological reactor volume (VD/VAT)
is to be determined. The sludge age is to be calculated accordingly. For combined
aerobic sludge stabilization the sludge age is to be selected, if appropriate in
accordance with the relevant wastewater temperature;
 Document Title:
PROCESS DESIGN EXPLANATION REPORT

Project Title:
EXPANSION OF AL KHOBAR SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT PROJECT

Client: Contract No.: Document Number:

National Water Company 701230311 701230311-KHR-PAS-010GEN-HYD-RE-00002 Page 9 of 19

e) For calculation of the sludge age, following Formula shall be applied;

f) Furthermore, determination of Proportion of the Reactor Volume for Denitrification,

following Formula should be applied;

g) After that ratio between SNO3,D/CBOD,IAT will give designer the Ratio between
Volume for Denitrification/Total Volume with support of below table.
 Document Title:
PROCESS DESIGN EXPLANATION REPORT

Project Title:
EXPANSION OF AL KHOBAR SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT PROJECT

Client: Contract No.: Document Number:

National Water Company 701230311 701230311-KHR-PAS-010GEN-HYD-RE-00002 Page 10 of 19

Note: above Table 3 is for temperatures from 10o C to 12o C, for higher design temperatures,
temperature correction factor is applied.

h) Selection of the sludge volume index primarily taking into account the composition of
the wastewater, the configuration and the mixing characteristics of the biological
reactor will be from below Table;

i) For determination of the concentration of (dry) suspended solids in the bottom sludge
as function of SVI and sludge thickening time will be as follow, following Formula should
be applied;
 Document Title:
PROCESS DESIGN EXPLANATION REPORT

Project Title:
EXPANSION OF AL KHOBAR SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT PROJECT

Client: Contract No.: Document Number:

National Water Company 701230311 701230311-KHR-PAS-010GEN-HYD-RE-00002 Page 11 of 19

j) Then for determination of the return sludge suspended solids concentration considering
the selected sludge removal system, following should be applied;

k) After selection of the return sludge ratio, for estimation of the permissible suspended
solids concentration of the activated sludge in the biological reactor, following Formula
should be applied;

l) For determination of the surface area of the secondary settling tank considering the
permissible surface overflow rate (SOR) and Solids loading rate (SLR), following
Formula should be applied;

m) In order to determine depth of the secondary settling tank, following Formula should be
applied;
 Document Title:
PROCESS DESIGN EXPLANATION REPORT

Project Title:
EXPANSION OF AL KHOBAR SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT PROJECT

Client: Contract No.: Document Number:

National Water Company 701230311 701230311-KHR-PAS-010GEN-HYD-RE-00002 Page 12 of 19

n) After that for determination of the waste sludge production, if required taking into
account waste sludge from phosphorus removal and the possibly dosed external
carbon for denitrification, following Formula should be applied;

o) For calculation of the required mass of solids in the biological rector for the selected
sludge age, following Formula should be applied;

p) For calculation of the volume of the biological reactor, following Formula should be
applied;
 Document Title:
PROCESS DESIGN EXPLANATION REPORT

Project Title:
EXPANSION OF AL KHOBAR SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT PROJECT

Client: Contract No.: Document Number:

National Water Company 701230311 701230311-KHR-PAS-010GEN-HYD-RE-00002 Page 13 of 19

q) For dimensioning of an anaerobic mixing tank for biological phosphorus removal, if

Required, following Formula should be applied;
 Document Title:
PROCESS DESIGN EXPLANATION REPORT

Project Title:
EXPANSION OF AL KHOBAR SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT PROJECT

Client: Contract No.: Document Number:

National Water Company 701230311 701230311-KHR-PAS-010GEN-HYD-RE-00002 Page 14 of 19

r) For calculation of the necessary internal recirculation flow rate for pre-anoxic zone
denitrification or the cycle time with intermittent denitrification processes, following
Formula should be applied;
 Document Title:
PROCESS DESIGN EXPLANATION REPORT

Project Title:
EXPANSION OF AL KHOBAR SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT PROJECT

Client: Contract No.: Document Number:

National Water Company 701230311 701230311-KHR-PAS-010GEN-HYD-RE-00002 Page 15 of 19

s) For determination of the relevant oxygen consumption for the design of the aeration
Facility, following Formula should be applied;

t) For checking of the remaining alkalinity and/or the necessity for dosing lime taking into
account consumption and gain in alkalinity from nitrification, denitrification and
phosphate precipitation as well as the oxygen utilization and diffuser depth, following
Formula should be applied;
 Document Title:
PROCESS DESIGN EXPLANATION REPORT

Project Title:
EXPANSION OF AL KHOBAR SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT PROJECT

Client: Contract No.: Document Number:

National Water Company 701230311 701230311-KHR-PAS-010GEN-HYD-RE-00002 Page 16 of 19

1.2 PROCESS JUSTIFICATION/SIMULATION DURING DIFFERENT INLET

POLLUTANT CONCENTRATIONS

Discharge of nitrogenous components to water bodies can cause eutrophication, deterioration

of water quality, toxicity to aquatic life, and pose a potential hazard to human and animal health.
Biological nitrogen removal can remove nitrogenous components via conversion to harmless
nitrogen gas with high efficiency and relatively low-costs.

Biological nitrogen removal is preferred over physicochemical processes because it is capable

of removing fixed nitrogenous compounds to harmless dinitrogen gas (N2) in a more effective
and economical way (Ahn, 2006; Kim et al., 2008). The biodegradable nitrogenous matter is
subdivided into ammonia (NH4), soluble organic nitrogen, and particulate organic nitrogen.
Particulate organic nitrogen is hydrolyzed to soluble organic nitrogen. The soluble organic
nitrogen is acted on by heterotrophic bacteria and converted to NH4. The NH4 serves as the
nitrogen supply for synthesis of heterotrophic biomass and as the energy supply for growth of
autotrophic nitrifying bacteria (Henze et al., 2000). Presently, the most commonly used
approach for nitrogen removal in WWTPs comprises a combination of aerobic autotrophic
nitrification of NH4 to nitrite (NO2) and nitrate (NO3) and later anoxic heterotrophic denitrification
of the oxidized N-species to N2 (Pynaert et al., 2004). Biological denitrification is carried out by
heterotrophic bacteria (HB), which require a biodegradable organic carbon source as an
electron donor. Thus, the denitrification potential of wastewater is primarily a function of the
available organic carbon (usually expressed as biodegradable chemical oxygen demand
(bCOD)/N or biochemical oxygen demand BOD/N ratio (Kujawa and Klapwijk, 1999).

C:N:P ratio (BOD:TN:Ptot), The content of the individual nutrients in wastewater should
correspond to the needs of the bacteria in the activated sludge, and there should be a balanced
relationship between C, N and P. This is crucial to the effectiveness of the biodegradation
processes. Denitrification is the stepwise reduction of N oxides with gaseous products such as
N2O or N2 under conditions of limited O2. The requirement of all three factors, sufficient C
source, low O2 and NO3 must be present for the occurrence of denitrification. For efficient
denitrification, a certain proportion of readily biodegradable C compounds must be present.
 Document Title:
PROCESS DESIGN EXPLANATION REPORT

Project Title:
EXPANSION OF AL KHOBAR SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT PROJECT

Client: Contract No.: Document Number:

National Water Company 701230311 701230311-KHR-PAS-010GEN-HYD-RE-00002 Page 17 of 19

After municipal wastewater has passed through the primary settling tank, it has a BOD:N ratio
of 100:25 (= 5). If the ratio falls below 100:40 (= 2.5), the efficiency of the denitrification process
is impaired, resulting in higher nitrate values in the outflow.
Partial or full bypassing the primary treatment will bring significant improvement, if not then the
addition of a readily degradable substrate (external source of carbon) should be considered.

In order to design a treatment plant which can meet all operating conditions, different scenarios
has been calculated for new Al-Khobar STP as follows;
Case 1: are Design Maximum Loads, which are taken from NWC Design Manual, Table 6-1
Case 2: are Average Loads of existing Al Khobar STP over the whole year of 2023
Case 3: are for the case of low organic with high NH4 Loads of existing Al Khobar STP in 2023

Furthermore, according to the actual operational data of the existing Al-Khobar and Ajyal STP
in 2023, in order to evaluate the efficiency of the denitrification process, BOD:N ratios were
examined. BOD value was not measured everyday therefore COD:N ratio has also been
reviewed by means of accepting COD:BOD ratio as 1.5 referring to the actual measurement.
Please see below summary table to understand inlet wastewater characterization in both
existing plants. COD:N values which is lower than 5.85 has been painted in attached daily
measurement test reports as yellow while COD:N value between 5.85 – 7.5 as green. Received
dates and percentage of the year is also calculated to find best suitable process for Al-Khobar
STP.
 Document Title:
PROCESS DESIGN EXPLANATION REPORT

Project Title:
EXPANSION OF AL KHOBAR SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT PROJECT

Client: Contract No.: Document Number:

National Water Company 701230311 701230311-KHR-PAS-010GEN-HYD-RE-00002 Page 18 of 19

Evaluation of Existing Plants Actual Operational Data

BOD/TKN - < 3.9 3.9 - 5 5 - 10

COD/TKN - < 5.85 5.85 - 7.5 7.5 - 12.5

Realization rate-Al Khobar STP-2023 d/a 15 50 300

Existing Al-Khobar

Realization of 5 or more consecutive

times/a 0 3 -
days
Realization of 5 or more consecutive
days 0 20 345
days

Percentage to Whole Year % 0 5.5 94.5

Number of days that NO3 value exceeds

d/a 0.0 0.0 0.0
the guaranteed value

Realization rate-Ajyal STP-2023 d/a 1 42 322

Existing Ajyal STP

Realization of 5 or more consecutive

times/a 0 2 -
days
Realization of 5 or more consecutive
days 0 10 355
days

Percentage to Whole Year % 0 2.7 97.3

Number of days that NO3 value exceeds

d/a 0.0 0.0 0.0
the guaranteed value
 Document Title:
PROCESS DESIGN EXPLANATION REPORT

Project Title:
EXPANSION OF AL KHOBAR SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT PROJECT

Client: Contract No.: Document Number:

National Water Company 701230311 701230311-KHR-PAS-010GEN-HYD-RE-00002 Page 19 of 19

Conclusion:

Referring to above table, following consequences can be reached;

• Short period - one or two days- raw water unfavorable C:N ratios should not be taken
in to account. It could be simply evaluated as measurement mistake or one day
inconsistency. No action should be taken.

• If unfavorable C:N ratio in the raw water continues for more than 5 days, the Operator
should carefully monitor the effluent treated water NO3 concentration to verify shortage
of carbon source in the aeration tank. If it is still below the guaranteed/committed value,
no action will take place. If higher, then partially or fully by-pass opportunity should be
considered.

Referring to existing Al-Khobar an Ajyal STP plant measurements, it is clearly seen that
although the C:N ratio of raw water is unfavorable on some days, the effluent NO3 value never
exceeds the guaranteed value. This shows us that the treatment plants are flexible and
compensate for these short-term unfavorable conditions.

Referring to all above consequences after evaluation of actual parameters (inlet and outlet) in
both plant under operation, new Al-Khobar STP treatment plant process selection with Primary
Sedimentation Tanks is logical not only to reach to treatment targets in the effluent but also
with combination of anaerobic sludge stabilization to produce environmentally friendly green
energy. Beside generating electricity and heat by means of burning biogas, it releases lower
net carbon dioxide emissions than burning coal and gas.

Even seems that no PST by-pass is needed, partially or fully by-pass is necessary tool to give
flexible operation chance to the Operator and it is already designed for new Al-Khobar STP.