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Concept
Effluent
Summary
Effluent is wastewater from sewers or industrial outfalls that flows directly into surface waters, either untreated or after being treated at a facility. The term has slightly different meanings in certain contexts, and may contain various pollutants depending on the source.
Effluent is defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as "wastewater–treated or untreated–that flows out of a treatment plant, sewer, or industrial outfall. Generally refers to wastes discharged into surface waters". The Compact Oxford English Dictionary defines effluent as "liquid waste or sewage discharged into a river or the sea". Wastewater is not usually described as effluent while being recycled, re-used, or treated until it is released to surface water. Wastewater percolated or injected into groundwater may not be described as effluent if soil is assumed to perform treatment by filtration or ion exchange; although concealed flow through fractured bedrock, lava tubes, limestone caves, or gravel in ancient stream channels may allow relatively untreated wastewater to emerge as springs.
Effluent in the artificial sense is in general considered to be water pollution, such as the outflow from a sewage treatment facility or an industrial wastewater discharge. An effluent sump pump, for instance, pumps waste from toilets installed below a main sewage line. In the context of waste water treatment plants, effluent that has been treated is sometimes called secondary effluent, or treated effluent. This cleaner effluent is then used to feed the bacteria in biofilters.
In the context of a thermal power station and other industrial facilities, the output of the cooling system may be referred to as the effluent cooling water, which is noticeably warmer than the environment and is called thermal pollution. In chemical engineering practice, effluent is the stream exiting a chemical reactor.
Effluent may carry pollutants such as fats, oils and greases; solvents, detergents and other chemicals; heavy metal; other solids; and food waste.
Official source
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