REMOÇÃO DE CARGAS ORGÂNICAS UTILIZANDO BIORREATOR COM MEMBRANA DE ULTRAFILTRAÇÃO SUBMERSA

Abstract

Research on the reuse of water is being carried out all over the world, given the concerns and commitment of water resources, which are essential for life. The development of effluent post-treatment techniques using bioreactors with filter membranes has achieved efficient and economically viable solutions for many conventional filtration, separation and/or clarification problems. Furthermore, the primary techniques currently used in wastewater treatment plants are not effective in removing emerging contaminants, such as pharmaceuticals. Therefore, it is necessary to use tertiary techniques, such as adsorption. In this context, this work aimed to evaluate the application of the treatment of a synthetic effluent from a juice industry, as well as the ability to remove and degrade paracetamol, using a submerged ultrafiltration membrane bioreactor (BRM). Furthermore, it also aimed to study the adsorption of paracetamol with activated carbon as an adsorption agent. For this, in the bioreactor, both the effluent used and the permeate were characterized by means of COD, BOD and TOC through the Pastel-UV equipment. In addition, a standard drug solution was added to the BRM and the permeate analyzed in the UV-Vis Spectrophotometer. The results obtained show for the ultrafiltration membrane removal of 80.7% of COD, 70.4% of BOD and 81.6% of TOC, while for the tests with the drug, it was not applicable, as it was not verified no removal mechanism. Regarding the turbidity and color of the permeate obtained after the filtration process of the synthetic effluent from a juice industry, the results were visibly satisfactory. Activated charcoal, on the other hand, showed considerable efficiency for the removal of paracetamol in which there was adsorption of at least 50% for all tests performed, and the highest percentage was 79.1% for the test with a concentration of 10 mg/L of the drug.