Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Wastewater treatment is divided into preliminary, primary, secondary, and tertiary stages.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
- Preliminary treatment: Focuses on physical screening to remove large objects (C) and coarse solids (B).
- Primary treatment: Involves physical settling, where gravity removes settleable organic and inorganic suspended solids in primary clarifiers or sedimentation tanks (A).
- Secondary treatment: Uses biological processes (D) (like activated sludge) to degrade dissolved organic matter.
Step 3: Final Answer:
Therefore, the objective of primary wastewater treatment is the removal of settleable organic and inorganic solids by sedimentation.