Coconut shells as filling material for anaerobic filters

Autor(es)

de Oliveira Cruz, Luana Mattos ^[1] ; Stefanutti, Ronaldo ^[2] ; Coraucci Filho, Bruno ^[1] ; Tonetti, Adriano Luiz ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Estadual Campinas, Sch Civil Engn Architecture & Urbanism, FEC UNICAMP, BR-13083852 Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Ceara, Ctr Technol, Fortaleza, Ceara - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: SPRINGERPLUS; v. 2, 2013.
• Citações Web of Science: 9
• Assunto(s): Tratamento biológico anaeróbio Filtros anaeróbios Esgotos sanitários

Resumo

In rural areas of developing countries, there is a lack of sanitation services and the installation of such infrastructure is hampered by the high investment costs for initial implementation and by the limited availability of qualified personnel. An alternative to traditional sanitation services include an anaerobic filter, but the high cost of appropriate filling material can be an obstacle to its wide-spread implementation. To decrease this construction cost, the objective of this work was to study the use of coconut shells as filling material for anaerobic filters. Anaerobic filters were built and filled with the studied material and operated with up flow and hydraulic retention time of 9 hours. The reactors provided a removal of 79 +/- 16% in BOD terms, indicating that the coconut shell filling had efficiency consistent with the literature data. In addition, the husks were found to retain their tensile strength following use in the reactors. Coconut husks have more empty bed volume than other low cost materials, such as crushed stone, nearing properties of traditional materials. The results of this study indicate that coconut husks may prove to be a low cost alternative to traditional fillers for anaerobic treatment in rural communities. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 11/21919-7 - Aplicação em escala real e avaliação de um sistema de baixo custo para o tratamento de esgotos de comunidades isoladas
• Beneficiário: Adriano Luiz Tonetti
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular