Revista Ambiente & Água - An Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Science

1-10

Authors: Claudio Eduardo Scherer ; Marcio Barreto-Rodrigues

This study characterized and evaluated the potential of a combination of treatment strategies for the removal of phenolic compounds, color, and ecotoxicity of an effluent generated by a laminated wood industry. The characterization of a sample of the effluent generated by the pine lamination process collected in an industry in the Southwest region of the state of Paraná confirmed the potential impact of the effluent, with emphasis on the high content of phenolic compounds (1,530 ±50 mg/L), color (2,159 ±30 units), significant acute toxicity (63% mortality of microcrustaceans Artemia salina) and low biodegradability (BOD/COD=0.53), which, if eventually released into receiving bodies, can cause irreversible and harmful effects to the aquatic microbiota. The treatment processes studied in this work involved catalytic ozonation mediated by ferrous catalytic material based on steel scale and biological process with Pleurotus Florida fungi, evaluated in an individual way and sequentially integrated as follows: Catalytic ozonation>>biological process and vice-versa. The best results were obtained by applying the sequence "catalytic ozonation>>biological process", which resulted in reductions of 96.2% in soluble lignin concentrations, 93.3% in color units and more than 99% reduction in total phenols, in addition to a low mortality rate of A. salina (≈10%). In the integrated process, the application of catalytic ozonation before the biological process presents greater advantages because of the pre-decomposition process of recalcitrant compounds by the chemical action of catalytic ozonation, which can convert these compounds into biodegradable, facilitating the action of the biological process for the remediation of the effluent.

1-12

Authors: Lisiana Crivelenti Voltolini; Reinaldo Gaspar Bastos ; Claudinei Fonseca Souza

The increasing demand for water in food production highlights the need to seek alternative sources of supply. Treated domestic sewage is a way to mitigate this problem, but it must comply with legislation to be used safely in agriculture. Ozone has been used for disinfection of domestic effluents due to its strong oxidizing character, allowing the adjustment of its parameters for agricultural reuse. This study therefore aimed to evaluate the sanitary and agricultural viability of domestic effluent treated with ozone. The experiment was carried out on laboratory benchtops and doses of 0, 8, 15, 30, 45, and 60 mg L−1 of ozone were applied. The application time for each dose was 0, 14, 27, 54, 81, and 108 seconds, respectively. Microbiological, physical, and chemical parameters were evaluated: total coliforms, Escherichia coli, pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, electrical conductivity, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and sodium. Ozonation did not significantly alter the physical and chemical composition of wastewater, indicating an important advantage in terms of potential agricultural reuse. However, the pathogenic load of E. coli was not reduced enough for the effluent to be used in agriculture. The results suggest an investigation of the effects of ozone on the efficiency of sewage treatment, seeking to understand these interactions to identify ideal doses and exposure time, making wastewater safe for agricultural reuse.

1-10

Authors: Maria Helena da Silva Andrade ; Ana Lúcia Brandimarte; Débora Fernandes Calheiros; Yzel Rondon Súarez

This study compares physical and chemical parameters of water samples collected in a marginal lake (Castelo Bay) in the Paraguay River Basin in southern Pantanal during a significant natural phenomenon of hypoxia, locally called decoada, and shortly after it. Limnological parameters were analyzed from four sampling sites along the bay. Comparisons of the physical and chemical parameters between decoada and post-decoada periods were performed by Student’s t-test, principal component analysis and multivariate permutational analysis of variance (permanova). During the period of the decoada, there was a significant reduction in mean values of water transparency and concentrations of dissolved oxygen, sodium and nitrite compared to the post-decoada period. On the other hand, water temperature and conductivity, and concentrations of orthophosphate, total nitrogen and total iron have all had higher values during the decoada period. An effect of connectivity between lake and river was found to generate a gradient of water characteristics at Castelo Bay. The limnological characteristics that differed the most between decoada and post-decoada periods are those associated with the reduction of dissolved oxygen that could cause natural death of fish and the increase in nutrients during the decoada, yet they vary on temporal and spatial scales.

1-12

Authors: Bruna Assis Paim dos Santos; Evandro Luiz Dall’Oglio ; Adriano Buzutti de Siqueira; Danila Soares Caixeta; Viviane Cristina Padilha Lopes; Leonardo Gomes de Vasconcelos; Eduardo Beraldo de Morais

Saccharomyces cerevisiae biomass was activated chemically, and its ibuprofen (IBP) biosorption capabilities were assessed regarding IBP removal from an aqueous solution. The effects of pH (2-10), contact time (0-90 min), IBP concentration (5-35 mg L-1), and temperature (20, 30, 40°C) were evaluated in batch studies. Higher removal rates of IBP were found at pH 2.0. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model best described the experimental data. Both the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models described the equilibrium data satisfactorily. The maximum biosorption capacity for IBP onto chemically activated Saccharomyces cerevisiae biomass (CA-YB) was estimated at 13.39 mg g-1 at 40°C. The activation energy calculated by the Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm model was 9.129 kJ mol-1, indicating that a chemical process mediated the biosorption of IBP onto CA-YB. According to thermodynamic studies, IBP biosorption is spontaneous and endothermic. FTIR analysis revealed that the carboxyl, hydroxyl, phosphoryl, and amino groups were involved in the biosorption process of IBP. These findings indicated that CA-YB could be an alternative biosorbent for IBP removal from aqueous media.

1-17

Authors: Ana Gabriela Tomé Alves; Ingrid da Silva Pacheco; Amanda Bessa Freitas ; Elaine Angélica Mundim Ribeiro; Sheila Cristina Canobre; Fábio Augusto do Amaral

The use of plant-based coagulants (natural coagulants) in wastewater treatments has potential advantages over the inorganic coagulants used commercially. This study evaluated organic coagulants cationic hemicelluloses (CH) synthesized from peanut shell and associated with commercial cationic tannin (TSG) for use as the primary coagulation/flocculation treatment, followed by solid-liquid separation via sedimentation/flotation by dissolved air (DAF). The assay was carried out in a jar test on effluent from a multinational industry in the grain processing sector, located in the city of Uberlândia-MG. Coagulation diagrams were determined using the data spatial interpolation method of the Kringing regression model and the Tukey test was used to assess the difference in the results obtained. The optimum removal points of turbidity removal efficiency (TRE), greater than 98%, were achieved for the TSG/CH association with 200 mg L-1 (pH 10.72), 350 mg L-1 (pH 9.72), 500 mg L-1 (pH 9.56) in sedimentation. For the separation by DAF, the association of TSG/CH resulted in TRE values greater than 95% at dosages of 350 mg L-1 (pH 9.59) and 500 mg L-1 (pH 7.92). Furthermore, the results indicate that the associated use of TSG/CH, a coagulation aid, favored the coupling of the DAF bubble-particle, resulting in a smaller volume of sludge. In addition, CH expanded the action of TSG to the basic region.

1-16

Authors: Alfonso Torres Espirilla; Trinidad Betty Paredes de Gómez

Sediments containing high concentrations of heavy metals in reservoirs, lakes and rivers, can resuspend into aquatic environments and negatively impact water quality. The concentrations of 10 elements were studied in surface sediments and water from the Aguada Blanca Reservoir, Peru, an important water source to 1,080,000 people in the arid province of Arequipa. Sediment and water samples were collected from nine points in 2019. The enrichment, accumulation, ecological risk and distribution of metals in sediment were determined, and the information on heavy metals in water was used to assess the quality of the aquatic system. Spatially, heavy metals showed variations throughout the study area, with an increase for most elements near the deepest part of the reservoir. The average concentration of Cd in sediment was 4 times higher than the natural background. In water, As was the only element that exceeded Peruvian regulations (As > 10 μg L-1). The Enrichment Factor (EF) and Geoaccumulation Index (Igeo) of metals in sediment presented the following order: Cd> As> Pb> Zn> Cu> Ni> Cr, with Ni and Cr being the only elements that did not present enrichment. The most considerable Igeo was Cd (1.21 ± 1.45), presenting a classification of moderately to heavily contaminated. The integrated potential ecological risk (RI) of Cd presented high values in 5 points of the reservoir. The information developed will assist in establishing effective control strategies for the quality of the aquatic system.

1-23

Authors: Nicole John Volken; Ricardo Tezini Minoti; Conceição Maria de Albuquerque Alves; Fernán Enrique Vergara

The Urubu River is part of the Formoso River Basin located in Tocantins State in northern Brazil. It is an important agricultural region where irrigation has an important role in rice and soybean crops, cultivated during the rainy and the dry seasons, respectively. The high levels of irrigation associated with below-average precipitation in 2016 and in the following years resulted in a water crisis in the Urubu Basin, with serious consequences to the environment and the economy of the region. This work evaluated the impact of reducing irrigation on environmental flows in the Urubu River Basin using hydrological modeling in WEAP. Irrigation water demand scenarios were simulated and analyzed from July 2018 through June 2019. Results indicated the need to reduce 35% of all water withdrawls in order to avoid the interruption of flow in the Urubu River Basin. This percentage was even greater when only some of the farmers cooperated. The paper emphasized that it is important that all farmers be involved and cooperate to reduce their water withdrawal by any means, including improving their irrigation system efficiency. The water regulator may also motivate water withdrawal reduction by modifying water permits and applying water withdrawal restrictions during the dry season.

1-17

Authors: Adnelba Vitória Oliveira Xavier; Geovani Soares de Lima; Hans Raj Gheyi ; André Alisson Rodrigues da Silva; Lauriane Almeida dos Anjos Soares; Cassiano Nogueira de Lacerda

Guava is a popular Brazilian fruit that is widely produced in Northeastern Brazil, a region with water sources that commonly have high concentrations of salts. Thus, searching for techniques that allow the management of these waters is extremely important for the expansion of irrigated agriculture. In this context, salicylic acid is a phytohormone that can contribute to reducing the effects of salt stress on plants. Given the above, this study evaluated the effect of foliar application of salicylic acid at different concentrations in the mitigation of salt stress on gas exchange, growth, and quality of 'Paluma' guava seedlings. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse, in Campina Grande - PB, Brazil, using a randomized block design in a 5 × 5 factorial arrangement, corresponding to five levels of electrical conductivity of water (0.6, 1.5, 2.4, 3.3, and 4.2 dS m-1) and five concentrations of salicylic acid (0 - Control; 0.8, 1.6, 2.4, and 3.2 mM), with four replicates and two plants per plot. Foliar application of salicylic acid at a concentration of up to 1.4 mM reduced the deleterious effects of salt stress on the instantaneous water use efficiency of 'Paluma' guava seedlings at 180 days after sowing. The concentrations of salicylic acid applied via foliar did not mitigate the harmful effects of irrigation water salinity on the growth and quality of 'Paluma' guava seedlings.

1-9

Authors: Jilvana Bárbara Walter; Francisnara Tonholi ; Marcio Barreto Rodrigues

Nitroaromatic compounds have significant economic and industrial relevance in various inputs such as dyes, inks, agrochemicals, and explosives. In the manufacture of the explosive 2,4,6 trinitrotoluene (TNT), there is the formation of contaminated wastewater that is difficult to treat because it contains, among other compounds, high concentrations of 2,4 and 2,6-trinitrotoluene (DNT). In this work, the application of advanced oxidation processes of the O3/UV type was studied in sequential integration with catalytic material based on metallic iron slag (SZVI) and mineral matrix to treat an industrial effluent from the explosives industry contaminated with compounds nitroaromatics. Two types of mineral matrix composition were studied, kaolinite (Kau) and pumice powder (Pum), having been observed in the conditions of best efficiency (O3/UV-SZVI/Kau) 100% removal of both nitroaromatic compounds and residual ozone. On the other hand, photo-ozonation alone could only partially remove these components, with 38% DNT removal and 3.2 mg/L residual O3 observed, proving the importance of integration with the catalytic matrix for more effective treatment of the studied effluent.

1-14

Authors: Bruno de Souza Garcia ; Camila da Silva Dourado; Ana Maria Heuminski de Avila

This study characterized and analyzed the physiographic factors of the Atibaia River Basin and their influence on flooding processes and evaluated the susceptibility to flooding in the municipality of Campinas during the years 1985 and 2019. At first, geoprocessing techniques and indices defined in the literature were used to provide a comprehensive understanding of the Atibaia River Basin regarding its geometric, relief, and drainage attributes and its influence on flooding processes, to provide decision-making support regarding preventive and mitigating actions for the socioeconomic and environmental impacts in the region. The pedogeomorphological characteristics and land use and occupation of Campinas were applied to the Analytic Hierarchy Process using geoprocessing techniques to generate the specific mapping of the municipality’s susceptibility to flooding. The mapping allowed us to identify the critical sites of the municipality of Campinas, choosing priority areas for government action and programs regarding urban and environmental management. It can also guide new studies on the detail scale aiming to prevent and mitigate flooding events.

1-14

Authors: Luciano de Oliveira; Diana Rosa dos Reis ; Nora Katia Saavedra del Aguila Hoffmann

Chlorination is the most widely used method for disinfecting water for human consumption. While the chlorinated water travels through a distribution system, the concentration of free residual chlorine (FRC) declines depending on the natural water characteristics. This study investigated FRC decay in two types of water sources – ground and surface water – with varied concentrations of organic compounds. The travel time variable depended on water consumption patterns of both distribution systems which attend low density populations and their initial project needs. Based on mathematical simulation techniques of water quality models, the study also investigated the effects of water temperature and total organic carbon (TOC) on the kinetic constants (kb) of chlorine decay. Results show that travel time in the most critical locations in the water networks and the minimum disinfectant concentrations required at the entry points were 40 hours and 0.27-0.28 mg L-1 at Vale dos Pássaros housing complex, and 144 hours and 0.30-0.36 mg L-1 at Terras Alphaville housing complex.

1-16

Authors: Luis Otávio Miranda Peixoto; Luana Mayumi Takahasi Marques; Alinne Mizukawa; Julio Cesar Rodrigues de Azevedo

Caffeine is used worldwide as a chemical tracer to identify anthropic pressures on urban water resources. Nevertheless, its quantification demands great financial investments. This research created a model that would indirectly determine a range of possible caffeine concentrations along an urban river, without the need for extensive laboratory work. The model is based on Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA), which can correlate two sets of different-sized independent and dependent variables in order to generate a single empirical equation. This equation takes as input the concentrations of ammonia nitrogen and orthophosphate, as well as the total population and the population inhabiting irregular housing areas. From the model’s results, it was possible to elaborate a spectrum of possible concentrations of caffeine along the Atuba River (Curitiba-Brazil). The tendency of water quality degradation of this river was also predicted. This model could become a useful preliminary analysis for water resource managers and researchers alike.

1-23

Authors: Ana Paula Dias Turetta; Elaine Cristina Cardoso Fidalgo ; Rachel Bardy Prado ; Azeneth Eufrasino Schuler ; Heitor Luiz da Costa Coutinho (in memorian)

The cascade model is a commonly applied framework to evaluate ecosystem services provision, highlighting their benefits to society and assigning non-monetary and monetary values to these services. Adapting this model, we present a methodology to establish the most suitable indicators for monitoring Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) programs related to water resources in Brazil. Through a participatory process, a set of ecosystem functions indicators were assigned for each ecosystem service (ES) considered in the study. The indicators were then classified following these criteria: clarity, viability, sensitivity, and relevance. The indicators were organized by their final score according to each evaluated criterion. The results demonstrated that “clarity” and “relevance” criteria were those most important for the experts to choose an indicator. In general, we could also observe a preference for analytical and well-established indicators in the literature for all ES evaluated. The indicators list presented can support the PES program monitoring in Brazil. Additionally, the methodology developed can be easily applied in other areas and provide the definition of the most suitable indicators to monitor water-based PES in different Brazilian contexts.

1-27

Authors: Michel Trarbach Bleidorn; Wanderson de Paula Pinto ; Isamara Maria Schmidt; Antonio Sergio Ferreira Mendonça ; José Antonio Tosta dos Reis

Missing data is one of the main difficulties in working with fluviometric records. Database gaps may result from fluviometric stations components problems, monitoring interruptions and lack of observers. Incomplete series analysis generates uncertain results, negatively impacting water resources management. Thus, proper missing data consideration is very important to ensure better information quality. This work aims to analyze, comparatively, missing data imputation methodologies in monthly river-flow time series, considering, as a case study, the Doce River, located in Southeast Brazil. Missing data were simulated in 5%, 10%, 15%, 25% and 40% proportions following a random distribution pattern, ignoring the missing data generation mechanisms. Ten missing data imputation methodologies were used: arithmetic mean, median, simple and multiple linear regression, regional weighting, spline and Stineman interpolation, Kalman smoothing, multiple imputation and maximum likelihood. Their performances were compared through bias, root mean square error, absolute mean percentage error, determination coefficient and concordance index. Results indicate that for 5% missing data, any methodology for imputing can be considered, recommending caution for arithmetic mean method application. However, as the missing data proportion increases, it is recommended to use multiple imputation and maximum likelihood methodologies when there are support stations for imputation, and the Stineman interpolation and Kalman Smoothing methods when only the studied series is available.

1-9

Authors: Fabio Leandro da Silva; Ângela Terumi Fushita; Marcela Bianchessi da Cunha-Santino; Irineu Bianchini Júnior

Human activities are affecting reservoir water quality; consequently, methods are necessary to verify those impacts. Mathematical modeling improves the understanding of the anthropic impact on water quality, changes in limnological data, and helps formulate management strategies. However, it is necessary to consider the (dis)advantages as well as the methods used for water-quality assessment in reservoirs. This study conducted a systematic review in four databases: (i) PubMed/Medline; (ii) Scopus; (iii) Web of Science; and (iv) Wiley Online Library. We combined Boolean operators and words aiming to identify papers linked to the scope. Rayyan software allowed the initial screening of the found papers. Peer-reviewed papers and the use of mathematical models to assess reservoir water quality were the inclusion criteria. Exclusion criteria included articles in languages other than English, grey literature, and inaccessible articles. Our research found 169 articles, of which 39 were selected and only 13 were included in the review. Mathematical modeling has many benefits related to real-world problems, but the main disadvantages are process simplification, specific rules of the model, and lack of information or data monitoring. Kinetic equations, regression models, Monte Carlo analysis, finite segment models, modeling tools, zero-order rate equations, partial differential algebraic equations, and predictive analysis are the methods observed in mathematical modeling. This review provides information for unfamiliar managers who intend to use mathematical models to assess the water quality of reservoirs.

1-16

Authors: Enio Sebastião Vicente de Jesus ; Letícia Schönhofen Longoni; Luciano Kayser Vargas; Anelise Beneduzi

This study evaluated the water and sediment quality of samples collected from different points in organic (O1, O2, O3, and O4) and conventional (C1, C2, and C3) pre-germinated rice fields located in Viamão/RS. Quality indicators such as phosphorus, dissolved oxygen, manganese, iron, turbidity, and BOD5 reduced water quality beyond Classes 3 and 4, as defined by CONAMA Resolution 357/2005. Based on the aluminum levels, the water samples collected from all the points were categorized as Class 4; furthermore, the IQA classified the quality of water samples from Points O4 and C1 as “bad.” The COD/BOD ratio was high, demonstrating that the biodegradable fraction was considerably low. The conductivity of water at points O4, C1, C2, and C3, exceeded 100 µS/cm, as defined by CETESB, indicating impacted environments. The levels of zinc in C1 and nickel in O2, C2, and C3 in the sediment exceeded the quality reference values established by the FEPAM Ordinance 85/2014. In general, the lowest water quality was observed in the samples collected from Points O2 and O4, and the lowest sediment quality was observed in the samples collected from all points in the conventional rice fields and from Point O2 in the organic rice field.