Wastewater Glossary: Advanced (Tertiary) Treatment

Released in 2003 after review and publication by the National Committee for the Examination and Approval of Scientific and Technical Terms.

First edition of Civil Engineering Terminology [1].

In practical engineering, advanced treatment usually serves as the final step of a multi-stage treatment process. For example, at the No. 2 Wastewater Treatment Plant in Luzhou, after coarse-bar screening, biodegradation, and sludge-water separation, the sewage enters the advanced-treatment stage. The final effluent has total phosphorus stably below 0.5 mg/L and ammonia nitrogen below 5 mg/L, meeting the national Grade 1A discharge standard. To optimize advanced-treatment performance, the plant adopted a smart control platform for precise regulation of parameters such as aeration rate and chemical dosing [5].