Revista Ambiente & Água - An Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Science

1-15

Authors: Ana Caroline da Silva Soares ; Liliana Pena Naval

Considering the importance of the development of simplified technologies and social control in sanitation actions, this study investigated the use of laterite for phosphorus removal in synthetic effluents, through adsorption, as a low-cost alternative with the possibility of reusing the generated effluent, for communities where access to sanitation is limited. In the experimental design, the variables pH, contact time, granulometry and laterite dosage were used. Factorial planning was used for processing, for optimization and desirability. It was observed that the removal efficiency did not have significant interference in relation to the pH and contact-time variables. The kinetics of the batch experiments showed that the ideal contact time was 6.4 hours and pH of around 4. The adsorption capacity was plotted against equilibrium concentration for the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms. The Langmuir isotherm was more suitable for phosphorus adsorption. The results show that laterite was effective in phosphorus adsorption in the order of removal of 87%, showing itself to be a potential adsorbent material.

1-12

Authors: Diego Marangoni Santos ; Joel Avruch Goldenfum ; Fernando Dornelles

Detention devices are often used as alternative measures for stormwater control. The Envelope Curve Method is widely used in Brazil to estimate detention device volumes. This method estimates the storage volume based on inlet and outlet balance, where the inlet is obtained by the Rational Method and the outlet by orifice bottom discharge. Usually, the outlet flow is adopted as a constant and equivalent to the maximum allowed, and this procedure can cause reservoir undersizing. This paper evaluates detention control measures’ hydraulic behavior for the Envelope Curve Method and proposes the inclusion of an outflow adjustment coefficient (Cout), seeking to compensate for the adoption of constant outlet flow simplification. Values for this coefficient were estimated for several Brazilian state capitals, ranging from 0.62 up to 0.65. The undersizing hypothesis due to the adoption of constant outlet flow was confirmed, as the simulations showed the need for an increase between 8.4% to 16.8% in the device size. This undersizing may be compensated for by applying the outflow adjustment coefficient (Cout).

1-20

Authors: Jéssica Mendonça Ribeiro Cargnin ; Jair Juarez João

Aquaculture plays an important role in providing protein-rich foods, meeting the growing demand for fish. However, aquaculture is a potentially polluting activity, especially with regard to water pollution, due to the improper disposal of wastewater from the production process. Aquaculture wastewater is rich in nutrients (ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and phosphorus) and organic matter, and is commonly discharged into the environment without proper treatment. This can cause a series of environmental impacts and aggravate the current water crisis. Due to the importance and need to reduce environmental impacts, plan the use of water resources and achieve an efficient and sustainable production process, many researchers have focused their studies on effluent treatment techniques designed to remove these nutrients. This article therefore presents an updated review of the main physicochemical and biological techniques used in the removal of nutrients, which can mitigate environmental problems arising from aquaculture activities and contribute to the sustainability of the activity.

1-16

Authors: João Alexandre Saviolo Osti; Claudinei José Rodrigues ; Clovis Ferreira do Carmo ; Ana Carolina Peixoto ; Sergio Henrique Canello Schalch ; Adriana Sacioto Marcantonio ; Fernanda Menezes França; Cacilda Thais Janson Mercante

In this study, the ecotechnology artificial floating islands (AFIs), colonized by Eichhornia crassipes, have been tested as a tool for water quality improvement of fishponds. The experiment was carried out in semi-intensive production during the grow-out period of Nile tilapia, comprising one production cycle. It was completely randomized with two treatments (with and without AFIs) and three replications. Temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, pH, turbidity, total dissolved solids (TDS), transparency (Secchi) and concentrations of chlorophyll a (CL a), total nitrogen (TN), total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), total phosphorus (TP) and orthophosphate (PO43--P) were analyzed fortnightly in the fishponds. Two groups ordered based on environmental characteristics were formed by applying the Principal Component Analysis (70.68% of explicability). The fishponds with AFIs were assigned to higher values of Secchi and lower values of pH, turbidity, TDS and concentrations of nutrients. On the other hand, the fishponds without AFIs were assigned to the highest values of these variables, except for Secchi. In 30 days, the AFIs showed the lowest concentrations of TP and PO43--P, and for CL a, TN and TAN, the differences were recorded after 90 days. The use of AFIs has demonstrated potential to conserve water quality in fishponds, notably for biologically assimilable elements (PO43--P and TAN) and for those directly related to eutrophication (P and N). Artificial floating islands should be encouraged for small and medium-sized farmers as tool to improve water quality in fishponds. However, new AFIs coverage rates must be evaluated, as well as the control of hydraulic retention rates.

1-12

Authors: Diego Fernando Atoche Garay; Lisiana Crivelenti Voltolini ; Reinaldo Gaspar Bastos ; Claudinei Fonseca Souza

Water treatment and reuse are fundamental because of the increasing demand for freshwater, especially in agriculture. Accordingly, this study evaluated the effects of turbidity of wastewater processed at the Effluent Treatment Station (ETE) of the UFSCar/Araras and of UV dose on microbial inactivation. The ETE treats up to 2000 L of wastewater daily from toilets and a university restaurant and has five components (grease box, septic tank, microalgae tank, upflow anaerobic filter, and wetlands). Pretreated effluents were used in the experiments, and sampling sites consisted of inspection boxes located after the wetlands. Sample collection, inspection, preservation, and analyses were performed according to standard methods. Sample turbidity was adjusted to 5, 50, 100, 200, and 300 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU), and UV doses of 7.2–28.8 mWs cm-2 were used. A 5 x 5 factorial design (five turbidity levels and five radiation doses) was used, totaling 25 treatments. Each treatment was performed in triplicate. The data were submitted to analysis of variance and Tukey’s test. The results showed that the increase in turbidity significantly decreased disinfection efficiency in samples with turbidity levels higher than 50 NTU. The microbial inactivation coefficients obtained here can be extrapolated to disinfection of wastewater with turbidity up to 300 NTU to eliminate thermotolerant coliforms. The UV sterilizer is feasible for wastewater treatment and its reuse in agriculture.