Reator tubular eletroquímico: uma alternativa para eliminar as bactérias e microalgas presentes em águas.

Abstract

Due to the growing demand for water consumption and rigidity of environmental laws, water treatment companies have been increasingly concerned about removing contaminants during the water treatment process. Of the contaminants present in the water we can highlight biological contaminants, composed of microorganisms capable of causing diseases, they are viruses, algae, protozoa, helminths and bacteria. With this, the need arises for new technologies for the treatment of this water, as a way to aid the conventional methods of treatment. Electrochemical methods have the major advantage that their main reactant, the electron, is a clean reagent. Thus, the objective of this study is the application of electrochemical processes with low tensions for microbiological disinfection of contaminated water. The study consisted in the construction of an electrochemical bench reactor, consisting of electrodes of nickel and titanium with a mesh of nylon as a separator, wrapped in PVC pipe. In the first stage, the electrochemical reactor was analyzed, with water supply, from the distribution system, in order to verify the decrease profile in the water potability parameters, where the reactor showed sensitive changes in turbidity parameters reducing in 57% of its initial value and color, reduction of 10,0 mgPt / L. Then, in the second step, residence times were analyzed with solutions containing a tracer (NaCl) with a concentration of 5,000 mg / l, with flow variations ranging from 2.0 to 6.0 Lmin-1, where best flow in 4.0 Lmin-1, the electric current density for the electrochemical reactor was also analyzed applying different electrical potentials (2.0V to 10.0V). For the third and final stage, the electrical potentials (voltages) ranging from (2.0V to 10.0V) were analyzed for the concentration of microalgae of the Chorella sp type present in the aqueous medium with concentrations of 2.32 x 106 cell numbers per milliliter as indicator organism, where it was seen that, the best voltage applied is 8.0V, then the removal potential for bacteria of the Escherichia coli family as pathogenic organism was analyzed in order to remove them, these experiments were done on 8.0V of voltage and under a flow of 4.0 Lmin-1. These analyzes were very promising because they showed a very marked decrease in the number of bacterial colonies. With this you get a product free of contaminants cleanly and quickly.