Sewage Water Treatment Research Articles

Simulation of Biophysicochemical Characteristics of the Soils Using Geoelectrical Measurements near the Sewage Station, Assiut City, Egypt

Numerous farmers regularly irrigate their farms with inadequately treated sewage water pumped from the sewage system in the Arab El-Madabegh district of Assiut City, Egypt. According to previous studies, long-term irrigation with partially treated sewage water resulted in significant changes in the physicochemical properties of soil. The principal goals of this study are (1) to infer empirical equations between geoelectrical resistivity measurements and certain biophysicochemical parameters of some soil samples, and (2) to use these empirical equations to calculate the biophysicochemical parameters of the unknown samples for the same location. For this purpose, 27 soil samples at different depth levels (0 to 25, 25 to 60, and 60 to 90 cm) were collected from eleven locations at the sewage station. Physical properties including water content and particle size distribution, chemical properties including soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and the heavy metals concentrations, biological properties including total coliform counts, and geoelectrical resistivity measurements were estimated and analyzed for these samples. Electrical resistivity measurements and biophysicochemical properties were cross-correlated using the exponential trend line to fit the cross-correlated data, and the empirical relationships were obtained. These empirical relationships in conjunction with the measured electrical resistivity measurements were used to calculate the biophysicochemical values of the other three random soil samples. The biophysicochemical values of the former three samples were measured by the same normal procedures as 27 samples. Then, the calculated values were correlated with the measured ones. Good correlations between the estimated and the measured values for biophysicochemical features were obtained. Therefore, this method can be employed to calculate the biophysicochemical parameters for any unknown samples that have the same geological conditions for estimating and monitoring soil contamination.

Two-step fabrication of cellulose embedded Fe3O4/Fe3+ composite beads as catalyst in degradation of sulfamethoxazole in floating bed reactor

In this study, magnetite particles were successfully embedded in sodium carboxymethyl cellulose as beads using FeCl3 as the cross-linker in two step-method and it was used as a Fenton-like catalyst to degrade sulfamethoxazole in aqueous solution. The surface morphology and functional groups influence of the Na-CMC magnetic beads was studied using FTIR and SEM analysis. The nature of synthesized iron oxide particles was confirmed as magnetite using XRD diffraction. The structural arrangement of Fe3+ and iron oxide particles with CMC polymer was discussed. The influential factors for SMX degradation efficiency were investigated including the pH of the reaction medium (4.0), catalyst dosage (0.2 g L−1) and initial SMX concentration (30 mg L−1). The results showed that under optimal conditions 81.89% SMX degraded in 40 min using H2O2. The reduction in COD was estimated to be 81.2%. SMX degradation was initiated neither by the cleaving of C–S nor C–N followed by some chemical reactions. Complete mineralization of SMX was not achieved which could be due to an insufficient amount of Fe particles in CMC matrix that are responsible for the generation of *OH radicals. It was explored that degradation followed first order kinetics. Fabricated beads were successfully applied in a floating bed column in which the beads were allowed to float in sewage water spiked with SMX for 40 min. A total reduction of 79% of COD was achieved in treating sewage water. The beads could be used 2–3 times with significant reduction in catalytic activity. It was found that the degradation efficiency was attributed to a stable structure, textural property, active sites and *OH radicals.

Effect of growing media on growth and flowering of potted marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) irrigated with treated sewage water

The present study was undertaken with an objective to evaluate the effect of different soil-based and soilless growing media compositions supplemented with treated municipal sewage water and tap water in different ratios on growth and flowering of potted marigold. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized block design comprising four media substrates (Soil, burnt rice husk [BRH], farmyard manure [FYM] and cocopeat [CP]) mixed in four different proportions (M1 to M4) and five irrigation levels (I1 to I5) of different combinations of tap water (TW) and treated sewage water (TSW). Results revealed that the media substrate composition (M4) comprising CP + BRH + FYM (25:25:50) was found to be suitable for sustaining the growth of potted marigold plants. The media had relatively higher percent N, P & K with acceptable pH and EC. The marigold plants raised in M4 media irrigated with TSW (100%) preformed significantly well for vegetative and floral characters, essential for a specimen display without any visual phytotoxicity symptoms. Number of flowers per plant and days to flowering duration were observed significantly higher in M4 compared to other media treatments. The analysis of TSW (100%) revealed higher N (0.91 ppm), P (1.67 ppm), K (24.13 ppm) with pH (7.73) and EC (2.10 ds m−1) in acceptable range.

Utilizing bioinspired AgNPs as an antibacterial agent to enhance ceramic membrane performance

In this study, a ceramic membrane using kaolin (40% w/w) as a primary precursor was fabricated by the uniaxial dry compaction technique at a sintering temperature of 900 °C (as negligible weight loss >850 °C) and functionalized by bioinspired Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) synthesized using Sechium edule extract for the treatment of sewage water. The Ag+ adsorption of 99% on the bare membrane was achieved at pH 7. The X-ray diffraction pattern not only confirmed significant phase transformations during the sintering operation but also the presence of highly crystalline AgNPs in the modified membrane. UV-Vis spectroscopic analysis was used to study AgNPs formation based on surface plasmon effect, if any, on the modified membrane surface. AgNPs modified membrane showed a 60.5% decrease in surface area compared to bare membrane due to AgNPs impregnation. AgNPs (average size 29.54 nm) exhibited a uniform morphological distribution on the modified membrane, which decreased its average pore size and porosity from 3.09 to 2.64 µm and 47.91–44.97%, respectively. The pure water flux of bare and AgNPs modified membranes were 8.1 ± 0.09 × 10−4 and 6.33 ± 0.12 × 10−4 m3.m−2.s−1, respectively. The antimicrobial activity of bare membrane against E. coli, S. aureus, and bacterial strains in sewage water was found to be 37.03 ± 2.73, 52.64 ± 3.49, and 53.03 ± 6.80%, respectively. AgNPs functionalized ceramic membrane could completely (∼100%) inhibit the growth of E. coli, S. aureus, and bacterial strains in sewage water during filtration.

Planning, Design and Estimation of Waste Water Treatment Plant Sector 1 of Virat Khand

Abstract: This study's primary goal is to carry out the design of a sewage treatment facility for Lucknow's Virat Khand Sector 1. due to constant domestic and municipal sewage will be produced at a faster rate as the population grows. All species become sick from the foul stench that sewage produces. To prevent this however, appropriate treatment is required prior to disposal on land in order to utilise the treated water and avoid dumping sewage directly into natural resources, which ultimately lowers the demand for fresh water as a whole. Its goal is to generate solid waste and fluid waste that are safe for the environment and can be recycled or disposed of. In a single day, how much sewage was produced overall, based on the anticipated population of Virat Khand Sector 1 over the following 20 years? As a result, the sewage generation in the Virat Khand area is the main topic of this study, and a sewage treatment plant is constructed in accordance with it. It is suggested that the different parts of the sewage treatment plant be designed taking into account the various standards and allowable limits of treated sewage water. Screening, a grit chamber, a main sedimentation tank, a biological reactor, a secondary clarifier, an activated sludge tank, and drying beds are some of the parts of a sewage treatment plant.

Characterization of a novel genus of jumbo phages and their application in wastewater treatment

Phages widely exist in numerous environments from wastewater to deep ocean, representing a huge virus diversity, yet remain poorly characterized. Among them, jumbo phages are of particular interests due to their large genome (>200kb) and unusual biology. To date, only six strains of jumbo phages infecting Klebsiella pneumoniae have been described. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of two jumbo phages from hospital wastewater representing the sixth genus: φKp5130 and φKp9438. Both phages showed lytic activity against broad range of clinical antibiotic-resistant K. pneumoniae strains and distinct physiology including long latent period, small burst size, and high resistance to thermal and pH stress. The treatment of sewage water with the phages cocktail resulted in dramatic decline in K. pneumoniae population. Overall, this study provides detailed molecular and genomics characterization of two novel jumbo phages, expands viral diversity, and provides novel candidate phages to facilitate environmental wastewater treatment.

A syphon-downflow hanging sponge (DHS) reactor for improving the denitrification efficiency of sewage water treatment

The study focused on developing a low-cost down-flow hanging sponge (DHS) to enhance denitrification. The DHS reactor was modified by connecting with a syphon tube to maintain aerobic and anaerobic conditions. This method can simultaneously achieve nitrification and denitrification, requiring no extra energy for pumping. The study had two phases to evaluate the denitrification efficiency of the syphoned reactor at different reactor configurations. In the first phase, the syphon height was equal to the reactor height, and a water column was developed inside the DHS to create an anaerobic zone. The sCOD removal rates of syphon–DHS and conventional-DHS (control) were 75 ± 20% and 73 ± 19%, respectively, and the removal rates were almost similar in both reactors. However, the total nitrogen (TN) removal rate of syphon–DHS was 19 ± 3%, six folds greater than that of the conventional-reactor. In phase II, the syphon height of the developed DHS was changed to 3/5 of the DHS height. The sCOD and NH4+-N removal of syphon–DHS in the second phase were 62 ± 33% and 62 ± 31%, respectively, and approximately similar to the convectional DHSs’ performance. The anaerobic zone of the reactor facilitated enhancing the TN removal two folds than the conventional-reactor and was measured as 18 ± 16%. Nitrifiers, denitrifiers and anammox bacteria were present in the sludge samples of syphon–DHS as nitrogen-removing bacteria. The developed anaerobic conditions in the syphon–DHS enhanced denitrification without using extra energy for operation.

Theoretical and simulation analysis of the measurement of polarized fluid flow in a circular pipe with electric field excitation

Measurement of conductive fluid flow velocity is essential in applications such as measuring the velocity of water flow in the agriculture sector, sewage water treatment plants, and metal refining industries. This paper proposes a contactless flow measurement device for computing the flow velocity of conductive fluids based on movement of polarized fluid flow. The proposed simulation model of the flow meter can also determine the conductivity of the fluid for varying flow velocity. The obtained simulated results concur with the earlier theoretical studies. Based on the interpretations in the underlying assumptions and physics of a fluid flow under a source of an electric field, it reveals that it is possible to measure a flow velocity of 0.01–10 m s−1 for conductive fluids of 0.1–10 S m−1.

Development of N2O emission factors derived from nitrification of treated sewage water in rivers.

Because treated sewage water contains nitrogen compounds such as NH4-N and NO2+3-N, nitrous oxide (N2O) which is one of the greenhouse gases is generated by nitrification and denitrification reactions in rivers. This study aimed to develop a method for estimating the amount of N2O generated from the nitrification of residual N compounds in treated sewage water by subtracting the amount of residual N2O dissolved in the treated sewage water. A year-round field survey of dissolved N2O (D-N2O) in the treated sewage water and river water showed that nitrification proceeded in the downstream direction in the rivers following the discharge of the treated sewage water, thereby generating N2O. The deaeration rate of N2O dissolved in the river water was obtained from a laboratory experiment. The N2O emission factor that can be applied to in-river nitrification of NH4-N contained in the treated sewage water was calculated to be 0.0025 kgN2O-N kgNH4-N-1.

Design of 50KLD MBBR based Sewage Treatment for Hostel Building, Nagpur

Abstract: Sewage water recovery is the treatment or processing of Sewage water to make it applicable. This paper shows the design of various component of conventional sewage treatment plant using Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor technique at College Hostel, Nagpur. The project consisting of the design of complete Sewage Treatment Plant components consist of Bar Screen Chamber, Equalization Tank, Aeration Tank, Clarifier Tank, Pressure Sand filter, Activated Carbon Filter and Treated Water Tank. Among the available technologies for waste water treatment, MBBR sewage treatment is most suitable. It is a leading technology in waste water treatment as this system can operate at lower vestiges and give advanced efficiency of treatment. It’s compact and effective option for domestic waste treatment. In duly designed MBBR, the whole reactor volume is active, with no dead space or short circuiting. This paper demonstrates the detailed procedure for the design of a MBBR grounded sewage treatment plant of 50 KLD capacity for an educational lot.

Water quality assessment in dry regions using statistical methods

Water demands have increased even more in recent decades because of the high population density. Surface and groundwater resources are insufficient to meet these demands. As a result, governments have turned to the treatment of sewage water. Sewage water contains multiple types of contamination, creating a major health risk. In the research region, 48 water samples were obtained, including 18 samples of surface water and 30 samples of groundwater. The Canadian Council Water Quality Index (CCWQI) program calculates the water quality index to evaluate the water quality for drinking and human use. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Egyptian Ministry of Health (EMH) determined regulatory limits for drinking water and each value of the investigated parameter connected with them. According to the findings, 79% of the tested water samples are safe to drink and are excellent for human and wildlife use. Due to infiltration or recharging of groundwater with drainage water, as well as the involvement of dissolution, leaching processes, and anthropogenic activities that damage human health, animals, and some plants, these samples are unfit for drinking and domestic consumption. The heavy metal level of Cd and Pb in the examined water samples was found to be above WHO and EMH acceptable limits. Furthermore, due to oral exposures, the examined water samples may cause complex health concerns such as non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic influences for children over adults due to a reduction in children's immunity. As a result, water treatment should be carried out in the examined region to protect the health of the residents.

Biomimetic Kevlar aerogel for sewage treatment and all-day fresh water production

For the pollution and lack of clean water, many promising materials and methods are adopted to alleviate theurgent issue in the world. However, it remains a challenge to obtain freshwater all-day by sustainable technologies. Herein, inspired by water directional transport and transpiration of lotus root, biomimetic Kevlar nanofibers-based aerogel with stable mechanical property has been fabricated by a directional freezing process at a velocity of 0.04 mm/s. The aerogel exhibits directional water transmission performance with a velocity of 0.5 mm/s, which is due to the vertically distributed channel structure. In addition, the biomimetic aerogel shows high continuous catalytic efficiency of 98.91% for pollutant degradation only by gravity, and excellent antibacterial property. Moreover, the salt-resistant aerogel has an enhanced photothermal conversion efficiency of 81.2% for solar energy-driven seawater desalination, and evaporation velocity of 1.26 kg m−2h−1 is obtained under one solar light. Furthermore, the aerogel shows an excellent fog collecting rate of 1.57 g cm−2h−1 from moisture at night, which benefits from alternating hydrophilic/hydrophobic pattern. The biomimetic aerogel fabricated by smart strategy is expected to be applied to sewage treatment, and freshwater production not only from brine in daytime but fog at night.

Performance Evaluation of Wastewater Treatment plant, Vidyaranyapuram, Mysuru

Background: The primary goal of sewage water treatment is to eliminate or bring down the number of pollutants in the sewage water. This study was needed to assess the efficacy of a sewage treatment plant in reducing contaminants levels to comply with government environmental standards. The wastewater re-use for irrigation approaches must be in compliance with the guidelines and indicators must be tracked and impended consistently, it is therefore essential to give top priority to requirements at the stage of evaluating and development to protect land and water supplies as well as public health. Methods: Chemical and biological approaches were used to regulate the removal efficiency of treatment plants. The performance and effectualness of the Vidyaranyapuram sewage treatment plant (STP) in Mysore are evaluated and analyzed in this report. Novelty: Water quality needs to be regularly checked in wastewater treatment facilities. The current study will aid the treatment facility in its efforts to enhance the process of treatment. One would be able to update the effluent efficiency levels depending on the seasonal variations in wastewater treatment as the assessment explains the number of water quality metrics in waste water plants. The obtained analysis results are very helpful in locating, fixing, and maintaining plant operating and maintenance issues, which may be helpful for next plant expansion to be carried out to get good results. Result: The STP's treatment efficiencies were discovered to have a good treatment level in BOD (96%) and a moderate treatment quality in COD (79%) and TSS (75%) removal efficiency during the year 2018. Conclusion: To ensure correct operation and maintenance, trained and experienced workers must analyze treatment performance at predetermined time intervals. The result explains the quality of effluent water and performance of treatment plant. STPs should be used to their full potential to manage the quality of final effluent, and raw sewage sources should be identified.

Cвободно-радикальная привитая сополимеризация акриламида, 2-акриламидо-2-метилпропансульфоната натрия и хитозана

The method presents obtaining hydrosoluble graft copolymer of complicated structure based on сhitosan, acrylamide (AM), sodium 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic (АМPS-Na) in order to obtain flocсulant which is resistant to salt of transition metals and heat temperature, and in order to use it as a reagent for oil production processes. The obvious advantages of this copolymer can be attributed to its biodegradation due to inclusion of a biopolymer into the composition of the copolymer, which is important for the preservation of ecology, and efficiency of its synthetic analogues. The graft copolymerization acrylamide and sodium 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic onto active sites of chitosan has been performed under condition of high concentration monomers in nitrogen atmosphere using combined initiator system of complex composition under the following order monomers [АА]>[АМПС-Na]. Kinetic study of graft copolymerization has been carried out using thermometry methods. Attempts have been made to describe mathematically the reaction of graft monomers АM and АМPS-Na onto chitosan. The IR spectra analysis of copolymers has been carried out. The study of reaction rate and molecular characteristics of synthesized copolymers has been conducted under changing concentration of chitosan, monomers, ratio components of the initiator system and reaction temperature during synthesis. It has been determined that the averaged energy activation of copolymerization reaction was in the range of reaction temperature 10–25°С. Molecular composition and proposed structure of the grafted copolymers have been determined by the results of viscosity and sedimentation analysis. The results of this study allow to obtain grafted copolymers with specified properties and structure to use them in such areas as sewage and industrial water treatment and mineral industry.

Comparative evaluation of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) for reducing SARS-CoV-2 viral load from campus sewage water

Presence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater is a major concern as the wastewater meets rivers and other water bodies and is used by the population for various purposes. Hence it is very important to treat sewage water in an efficient manner in order to reduce the public health risk. In the present work, various advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have been evaluated for disinfection of SARS-CoV-2 from sewage water collected from STP inlet of academic institutional residential. The sewage water was subjected to ten AOPs, which include Ozone (O3), Hydrodynamic cavitation (HC), Ultraviolet radiation (UV), and their hybrid combinations like HC/O3, HC/O3/H2O2, HC/H2O2, O3/UV, UV/H2O2, UV/H2O2/O3, and O3/H2O2 to reduce SARS-CoV-2 viral load. Further, AOP treated sewage water was subjected to total nucleic acid isolation followed by RT-qPCR for viral load estimation. The sewage water treatment techniques were evaluated based on their viral concentration-reducing efficiency. It was found that ozone and ozone-coupled hybrid AOPs showed the most promising result with more than 98 % SARS-CoV-2 viral load reducing efficiency from sewage water. Interestingly, the best six AOPs used in this study significantly reduced both the SARS-CoV-2 and PMMoV (faecal indicator) viral load and improved water quality in terms of increasing DO and decreasing TOC.

Effects of Sewage Treatment Water Supply on Leaf Development and Yield of Tuberous Roots in Multilayered Sweet Potato Cultivation

To develop a way to mass-produce sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) as an energy crop to replace fossil fuels, the effects of using a sewage supply as a fertilizer and heat source were investigated. When 25 pots planted with sweet potato vine seedlings were arranged in three layers and cultivated for 160 days from June to November by supplying treated sewage to the root zone, the yield of tuberous roots reached 19.5 kg m−2 due to the massive growth of leaves. In addition, when sweet potato seedlings were replanted in December and treated sewage was supplied to maintain the irrigation water temperature above 15 °C even in winter, overwintering cultivation was successful and 8.4 kg m−2 of tuberous roots were harvested in July. As a result, the annual production rate for 12 months increased to 25.3 kg m−2, about 10 times the national average of 2.4 kg m−2 for open-field cultivation. The results far exceed previously reported maximum production of resource crops, such as sugarcane and eucalyptus, suggesting that the mass production of sweet potatoes by supplying treated sewage could provide an alternative to fossil fuels on a large scale.

The impact of the green Middle East initiative on sustainable development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Using econometric analysis, this study intended to determine the influence of the Green Middle East Initiative on sustainable development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 2000 to 2020. This research yielded a number of findings, the most important of which are: The country has tended to reduce carbon emissions by increasing natural gas use and decreasing diesel and crude oil use in electricity generation. The real per capita income increased by 0.8 percent annually due to the unpredictability and instability of the economic growth rate. The Human Development Index has similarly risen, from 0.744 in 2000 to 0.855 in 2020. It was also discovered that a 10% increase in domestic refined petroleum product consumption results in a 7.97% rise in carbon dioxide emissions. And that a 10% rise in predicted carbon dioxide emissions results in 4.71 percent, 0.36 percent, and 0.71 percent decreases in foreign direct investment, real GDP, and the value of the human development index, respectively. And the Green Middle East initiative included planting 10 billion trees irrigated with untapped treated sewage water amounting to 1528.49 million m3, with a value of 2.094 billion riyals. Finally, the gradual transformation of the green economy leads to environmental sustainability and integration between the environment, economic, and social dimensions of sustainable development, and then this study recommends the necessity of following up and evaluating the results of the work of the Green Middle East Initiative so that carbon emissions eliminated in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia until 2060.

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF NATURAL COAGULANTS FOR WASTEWATER TREATMENT

Fewer water resources and Wastewater is the main problem these days. There are many methods to treat water, one of them is coagulation and flocculation, used to remove impurities, turbidity, and absorbed metals in water. Aluminum, iron coagulant, charcoal, alum, and many other chemical methods are used for this purpose in industries. But these coagulants have bad effects on human health. So this study is to focus on alternatives of these coagulants by finding efficient natural coagulants. Good natural coagulants are those that contain protein soluble properties and basicity. Some of the Alternative coagulants are chosen; Moringa seed, neem leaves, eggshells, orange peels, and banana peels. Different coagulants are used to reduce TDS and oth er dissolved impurities from an industrial outlet water sample, to check the characteristics and efficiency of natural coagulants. These natural coagulants were then compared with commercially used coagulants. Each coagulant was studied in the spectrometer at a different wavelength and dilution, the sample was tested at different times after 5,10,15,20 minutes and by changing coagulant concentration. Moringa seed is most efficient, it shows up to 97% turbidity removal and 73% TDS removal. The controlled amount of banana peel absorbs up to 97% methyl orange dye. These Natural coagulants are easily available, cheap rates and have no side effects. Natural coagulants are a good alternative to commercially available natural coagulants. These can be prepared locally to treat sewage water and rainwater before discharge into groundwater or for use in agriculture purpose.

Risk Assessment of Potentially Toxic Elements in Agricultural Soils of Al-Ahsa Oasis, Saudi Arabia

Contamination of soil with potentially toxic elements (PTEs) is receiving great attention worldwide due to its apparent toxicity and hazards to local residents. The assessments of soil PTE distribution, sources, and environmental risks are, therefore, the first steps of high-efficiency pollutant degradation and sustainable utilization. The current study used a variety of contamination indicators and multivariate methods to evaluate the environmental risk of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn in Al-Ahsa soils in eastern Saudi Arabia. For analysis, 30 surface soil samples were collected from palm fields irrigated with groundwater and treated sewage water. Landsat images of Al-Ahsa indicated an increase in the total vegetative area and the residential area, and a decrease in the bare land area from 1985 to 2021. The average concentrations of PTEs (mg/kg−1) were lower than the maximum admissible concentrations and had the following decreasing order: Zn (54.43) > Cr (28.67) > Ni (14.53) > Cu (10.83) > Pb (5.23) > As (2.27) > Hg (0.35) > Cd (0.26). The enrichment factor (EF) findings confirmed that the Al-Ahsa soil is significantly enriched with Hg, moderately to severely enriched with As, and moderately enriched with Cd. The potential ecological risk index (RI) demonstrates a moderate ecological risk, with only certain parts presenting a high risk. The different PTE levels in agricultural soils may be caused partly by the various qualities of groundwater that originate from various aquifers and sewage-treated water. The results of a multivariate analysis showed that most of the anthropogenic sources of Hg, As, and Cd may come from using a lot of fertilizers and insecticides. Levels of the remaining PTEs indicated natural sources from earth crust materials.

Odour impact assessment using kinetics and optimization: case studies on removal of multiple volatile organo-sulphur compounds from sewage wastewater using porous functional materials.

Expanding industries and booming population have led to the increase in the installation of wastewater and sewer systems, even in close proximity to residential areas. Emissions from these installations particularly volatile organo-sulphur compounds (VOSCs) such as methyl mercaptan (CH3SH), ethyl mercaptan (C2H5SH), dimethyl sulphide (CH3SCH3) and carbon disulphide (CS2) are a nuisance to people even when present in small concentration. Strategies for removal involve addition of chemicals or other chemical processes which are generally expensive. Biofilters, on the other hand, consume large amount of energy and wash waters. Hence keeping commercialization in mind, it is important to develop a strategy which would be cost-effective and at the same time be effective to remove most of the odorous compounds present in these systems. In the present research work, granular activated carbons (GAC) are functionalized with alkali solution to improve the adsorption capacity. Liquid phase batch adsorption is performed with GAC and various functionalized activated carbons (FACs) with the help of raw sewage water from a local sewage water treatment plant. Concentration of odour was evaluated by two methods-olfactometry-based analysis for sensory measurement and GCMS-based analysis for analytical estimation of a specific odorous compound. The adsorption capacities of the functionalized GACs are higher primarily because of complex formation at the surface of modified GACs. Pseudo-second-order kinetic model agreed well with experimental results with the rate constant being 0.0191mg/l min and 0.0153mg/l min for methyl and ethyl mercaptan adsorption onto FAC-NH3. Boyd's film diffusion along with rate kinetic model supported that chemical adsorption forms the rate-limiting step. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the removal of VOSCs with respect to different process parameters like adsorbent amount and time. The olfactometry removal of overall odour was also optimized taking 6 factors in the Box Behnken design. Variance of analysis results indicated that all the models displayed considerable goodness of fit with R2 values close to 1. Methyl mercaptan turned out to be the highest contributor to the overall odour as confirmed both from experimental and optimization study. The optimized olfactometry odour removal (77.4%) along with CH3SH removal (80.34%), C2H5SH removal (59.16%), CH3SCH3 removal (63.21%) and CS2 removal (71.95%) was found at optimum process conditions, with amount of adsorbent of 10.29g, adsorption time of 2.92h. This result indicates that methyl mercaptan (CH3SH) is the highest odour contributing component out of the studied VOSCs. The results show promising potential for the use of activated carbon as an adsorbent for removal of odorous compounds from STPs.