Tratamento de lixiviado através de filtro anaeróbio associado a membrana de microfiltração

Abstract

Nowadays, the use of membrane bioreactors (MBRs) has been researched in many places of the world to treat different kinds of wastewater. The use of MBRs has advantages over other processes when the main focus is on the reuse of wastewater, small areas for wastewater treatment plant or restricted laws conditions. Commonly, the MBRs have been designed with suspended biomass. The goal of this work was to evaluate the performance of anaerobic reactor and anaerobic reactor associated with microfiltration membrane treating sanitary landfill leachate in pilot scale. The microfiltration membrane material used was ceramic (...) and its pore diameter and filtration area were 0.2 µm and 0.0094 m2, respectively. The retentate of the microfiltration unity was returned to the anaerobic reactor associated with microfiltration membrane. The results obtained in this research indicated that it is possible to treat leachate with this MBR configuration with a short hidraulic retention time (2.04 d). The mean value of COD concentration was 10,349 mg O2/L at the inlet of both reactors and the volumetric organic load for both reactors was 5.07 +- 2.90 kg DQO/m3.d. The membrane anaerobic reactor efficiency of COD removal was 90.4% as the mean value, against 21.5% of the anaerobic reactor. The efficiency of turbidity removal in the anaerobic reactor associated with microfiltration membrane was 90.3% with outlet values of 2.0 +- 2.0 NTU. Suspended solid concentrations at the outlet were higher in the anaerobic reactor than in the anaerobic reactor associated with microfiltration membrane, despite its higher upflow velocity. The analysis of biomass of both reactors showed that there was a better distribution of biomass in the anaerobic reactor associated with microfiltration membrane than the anaerobic reactor without microfiltration membrane, due to retentate recicling. The upflow velocity was 0.05 m/h in the anaerobic reactor and 31.5 m/h in the anaerobic reactor associated with microfiltration membrane. The main effect of these upflow velocity values was in the Reynolds number which was 2.9 for the anaerobic reactor and 1,799 for the anaerobic reactor associated with microfiltration membrane. Although both reactors had been designed to perform a laminar flow, the higher value of Reynolds number of the anaerobic reactor associated with microfiltration membrane produced a higher mass transfer coefficient and a better substrate utilization rate than the anaerobic reactor without microfiltration membrane. This is a reason, along with the retention of biomass and macromolecular compounds, that explains a better performance of the anaerobic reactor associated with microfiltration membrane. The results of modified fouling index (MFI) indicated that this index changed during the process, probably due the changes of pressure and compounds in the leachate. The anaerobic reactor associated with microfiltration membrane is a new option of wastewater treatment process, efficient, secure and an environmentally right alternative.