SANTOS, W. B.; SANTOS, WHELTON BRITO DOS.; DOS SANTOS, WHELTON BRITO.; http://lattes.cnpq.br/6407528093074339; SANTOS, Whelton Brito dos.
Abstract:
Access to water and sanitation services is a universal right that results in health promotion and
improvement in the population's quality of life. However, when it comes to rural communities,
traditional territories or population clusters far from urban centers, this right is often neglected,
being worsened in areas with low water availability which suffer an intense degradation of
water quality, like the Brazilian semi-arid region. Water direct consumption or such
consumption without adequate treatment can generate health risks for these populations,
requiring the development and implementation of technologies that can minimize the risks of
water ingestion. Aiming at the universalization of sanitation, the National Health Foundation
of Brazil (FUNASA) has SALTA-z, a collective alternative water treatment solution using
zeolite, developed by the State Superintendence of Pará (SUEST/PA), which was initially
conceived to guarantee drinking water for the riverside population of the state of Pará. Due to
its acceptance and effectiveness in the riverside communities, this social technology was
replicated to other areas of Brazil, including the semi-arid region. The implementation of such
technology requires its validation regarding the potabilization of the waters of the region,
understanding its particularities. In view of this, the thesis aimed to evaluate the performance
of SALTA-z treatment for water from eutrophicated reservoirs in the Brazilian semi-arid
region, addressing the supply of safe and potable water for human consumption in rural and
traditional communities in this area, through the evaluation of operational factors (dosage of
coagulating and disinfecting agents and settling time) and of water quality parameters that are
directly related to the use of chemical products and characteristics inherent to the waters of
surface reservoirs in the semi-arid region. For this purpose, studies were carried out in real scale
and in bench scale, through the reproduction of the system in jar test equipment and laboratory
filters, since SALTA-z is a technology that presents the same steps of the conventional
treatment (coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, disinfection and filtration, in that order).
The results revealed the importance of optimizing the operational factors and choosing the right
coagulating agent in the treatment process, aimed at reducing color and turbidity, removing
cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins, and also promoting a lower residual aluminum in the water,
when using aluminum sulfate. It can be inferred that this technology does not present potential
for salt removal. Regarding the treatment concept that includes the disinfection step prior to
filtration, there was no significant influence on the efficiency of the system, but the importance
of verifying the possible formation of by-products from the oxidation of organic matter
remaining in the decanted water is highlighted. However, during the operations, compliance
with the Brazilian potability ordinance (Portaria GM/MS no 888/2021) was observed in relation
to the physical-chemical and biological parameters evaluated. From the analyzes carried out in
this thesis, it can be concluded that SALTA-z is a technology capable of performing the
treatment of surface waters in the semi-arid region, highlighting the need of evaluation for
reservoirs that present different degrees of trophism. Also noteworthy is the importance of
training SALTA-z operators, and the involvement of the community, in order to have a good
control of the process and the maintenance of the quality of the water produced.
