Filtro anaeróbio tipo Cynamon adaptado para tratamento de efluentes da indústria de laticínios.

Abstract

Dairy factories have a primordial role in the Brazilian food industry. However, its wastes cause severe ecological impacts. Techniques and procedures to treat effluents of dairy activities are essential to ensure environmental quality. Most small businesses lack proper waste treatment systems, needing implementation of efficient methods to meet environmental sustainability. Several studies show the efficiency and low cost of anaerobic filters as alternatives for the treatment of sewage. Cynamon proposed a variation on the use of this filter in 1986, with a series of three filters in ascending, descending, and ascending flows. This work aimed to test Cynamon anaerobic filters for the treatment of dairy effluents. Raw sewage was treated in two Cynamon anaerobic filter systems, one with the same flow as initially proposed and the other with fully ascending flows. Raw and treated effluents were analyzed for sedimentable solids, total solids, fixed solids, volatile solids, pH, color, turbidity, electrical conductivity, and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The experiment showed that sedimentable solids were outside standards set by legislation and total solids needed pretreatment. At the other hand, the pH, color, turbidity, even outside law standards, had an improvement in quality after filtration. The COD increased from the initial to final stages of treatment.