Bioproducts for Sludge Reduction in Activated Sludge Systems Treating Oil Refinery Wastewater

The use of bioproducts that change the cellular metabolism and reduce microbial growth without affecting the organic matter removal is very promising for reducing the amount of sludge in wastewater treatment systems. In this study, two bioproducts were evaluated and compared with a well-known chemical (2,4-DiNitroPhenol – DNP) in activated sludge treating petroleum refinery wastewater. In batch experiments, 10 mg/L of DNP, 0.8 mg/L of a bioproduct based on Folic Acid (FA) and 10 mg/L of a bioproduct based on Stress Proteins (SP) led to 30.6%, 43.2% and 29.8% lower disposal of total solids, respectively. Operating on a continuous regimen, the addition of 10 mg/L of the bioproduct based on SP led to 45.7% lower disposal for 50 days. In all cases, no loss of efficiency in the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) removal was observed

Hydrolytic enzymes as coadjuvants in the anaerobic treatment of dairy wastewaters

An enzymatic extract produced by Penicillium restrictum having a high level of lipase activity (17.2 U.g-1) was obtained by solid-state fermentation using babassu cake as substrate. The enzymatic extract was used in the hydrolysis of a dairy wastewater with high fat contents (180, 450, 900 and 1,200 mg.L-1). Different hydrolysis conditions were tested, and it was determined that it should be carried out at a temperature of 35ºC, without agitation, with 10% v/v enzymatic extract and a hydrolysis time of 12 hours. Both crude and hydrolysed effluents were then submitted to an anaerobic biological treatment. It was observed that for the enzymatically pretreated effluent there was a significant improvement in the efficiency of the anaerobic treatment. For the highest fat content tested (1,200 mg.L-1), removal efficiencies of 19 and 80% were attained for crude and hydrolysed effluents, respectively. In addition, a tenfold increase in the removal rate of COD from the hydrolysed effluent (1.87 kg COD.m-3.d-1) was observed in relation to the crude effluent (0.18 kg COD.m-3.d-1). The results obtained in this study illustrate the viability of using a hybrid treatment (enzymatic-biological) for wastewaters having high fat contents

Deformação Vertical dos Resíduos Sólidos Urbanos em uma Célula Experimental em Função da Composição Gravimétrica e Volumétrica dos Materiais

RESUMO As deformações verticais em aterros de resíduos de Resíduos Sólidos Urbanos (RSU) são resultados da perda de partes sólidas dos constituintes orgânicos. Conhecer as características de gravimetria e volumetria desses resíduos pode contribuir para o desenvolvimento dos recalques em termos percentuais. O objetivo deste trabalho foi quantificar a composição gravimétrica e volumétrica dos RSU associando-as ao comportamento dos recalques em uma Célula Experimental localizada em município de pequeno porte. A metodologia foi constituída da construção, instrumentação e enchimento da Célula Experimental de RSU, seguidos da caracterização física dos resíduos e monitoramento dos recalques ao longo do tempo. Este estudo mostrou que o RSU da cidade estudada é em sua maior parte constituído de matéria orgânica e plásticos, estes materiais influenciaram diretamente o comportamento dos recalques, característica que está intimamente ligada à composição gravimétrica e volumétrica dos resíduos. Porém, estes fatores não determinam unicamente os deslocamentos verticais devendo ser empregados juntamente com outros parâmetros físico-químicos e microbiológicos como demanda química de oxigênio (DQO), demanda biológica de oxigênio (DBO) e sólidos voláteis