Ecoefficiency of water treatment system from ISO 14001 concept

Author(s)

Cali Laguna Achon

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: São Carlos.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos (EESC/SBD)
• Defense date: 2008-10-08

Examining board members

João Sérgio Cordeiro; Jose Roberto Campos; Luiz Antonio Daniel; Bernardo Arantes do Nascimento Teixeira; Milton Tomoyuki Tsutiya

• Advisor: João Sérgio Cordeiro

Abstract

In Brazil, there are thousands of water treatment systems, which must consider wide criteria of quality, and that will make possible to meet standards and legislation relevant to the type of production process: before, during and after the process. The Water Treatment Systems (WTSy) include the water supply source, its surroundings, catchment and adduction of raw water, the Water Treatment Plant (WTP), the treated water, the management system, the Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) and human resources. In the development of this work, technical visits were made in five WTSy, which have full cycle of technology, to evaluate the functioning of them, according to the principles of ecoefficiency. For both, current and historical data were raised (10 years), which provided subsidies for development and application of 39 indicators, grouped into eight principles of ecoefficiency. In this work it was also proposed an Environmental Management System (EMS) to the WTSy, which was based on the precepts of ISO 14.001. The results of this research, point to the need of a new vision, about the entitled Water Treatment System (WTSy), so that the executive future projects consider essential to the water supply source its surroundings, and the waste generated during the water treatment. In addition, the five systems reviewed were not considered ecoefficient, in relation to the results of the indicators applied, management aspects, quantitative and qualitative analysis, absence of data or inefficiency in its systematization. Moreover, the planning, setting targets and the application of indicators in various systems are fundamental to the establishment of a balizador parameter, which could be followed by other water treatment systems. It is therefore, imperative the need of implantation of a management model which provides subsidies for generation and standardization of data in this type of system. (AU)