RESUMO
RESUMO A necessidade crescente de alternativas para o tratamento e a disposição de lixiviados de aterros sanitários é uma realidade no Brasil, principalmente com os avanços estabelecidos pela Política Nacional de Resíduos Sólidos a partir de 2010 e consequentes metas de substituição de lixões por aterros sanitários. Uma alternativa empregada, devido à facilidade de implantação, é o cotratamento com esgoto sanitário, por meio do recebimento do lixiviado em estações de tratamento de esgoto (ETE). Este estudo avaliou a aplicabilidade do Activated Sludge Model No. 1 (ASM1) para lagoas aeradas promovendo o cotratamento de esgoto e lixiviado. Os cenários simulados consistiram em proporções crescentes de adição de lixiviado ao sistema - que variaram de 0 a 10% - e, para cada um deles, foi avaliado o desenvolvimento de biomassa heterotrófica e autotrófica, o consumo de demanda química de oxigênio (DQO) em diferentes frações, a nitrificação, o consumo de oxigênio e a alcalinidade. Os resultados das simulações geradas indicaram que o modelo foi otimista em relação ao período de partida do sistema e à adaptação das comunidades microbianas consideradas frente aos cenários progressivamente agressivos oferecidos pela maior presença de lixiviado. Porém, representou adequadamente o prejuízo à qualidade do efluente devido à matéria orgânica recalcitrante e aos problemas relacionados à manutenção da nitrificação, frente ao aumento da capacidade de aeração e da demanda de alcalinidade. O ASM1 teve boa aplicabilidade, portanto, como ferramenta para avaliar qualitativamente o comportamento de ETE ao receber lixiviado para cotratamento e corroborar os riscos associados a essa alternativa, necessitando, porém, de modificações e detalhamentos adicionais para otimização de sistemas reais.
ABSTRACT The growing necessity for alternative landfill leachate treatment and disposal is a reality in Brazil, mainly when the advancements of the National Policy on Solid Wastes (2010) established goals for replacing dumping grounds with landfills. Due to its simplicity, a usual alternative is to perform co-treatment of municipal sewage and landfill leachate in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). This study assessed the applicability of the Activated Sludge Model No 1 (ASM1) to aerated lagoons promoting sewage and leachate co-treating. The simulated scenarios consisted of increasing proportions of leachate addition to the system, ranging from 0 to 10%, and for each of them the development of heterotrophic and autotrophic biomass, COD consumption in different fractions, nitrification, oxygen consumption and alkalinity were evaluated. The simulation results showed that the model was optimistic regarding the treatment system startup and microbial communities adaptation when exposed to increasingly aggressive conditions due to leachate addition. However, it correctly represented the detrimental effects on effluent quality due to recalcitrant organic matter and the issues with maintaining proper nitrification regarding aeration capacity and alkalinity demands. ASM1 has good applicability, therefore, as a tool to qualitatively assess the behavior of WWTP when receiving leachate for co-treatment and corroborates the risks associated with this alternative, however, requiring further modifications and details to optimize real systems.
RESUMO
The aim of this study was to examine the feasibility of coupling an electrochemical pre-treatment with a biological step in order to degrade phosmet, an organophosphorous pesticide. Preliminary biodegradation experiments showed that the target molecule was not assimilated by activated sludge. The pre-treatment consisted of potentiostatic electrolysis (-1.3 V/SCE) in a flow cell. After only one pass (1 mL min(-1)), cyclic voltammetry with a vitreous carbon electrode showed a total phosmet reduction in neutral medium confirmed by thin layer chromatography, which also highlighted the presence of several by-products. H NMR spectra of the main by-product showed the absence of the aromatic ring, only the phosphorus part of phosmet has been identified and phosmet-oxon, a very toxic derivative, was not formed. Lower toxicity and higher biodegradability characterized the electrolyzed solution, EC(50) value increased from 7% to 58% and BOD(5) value increased from 4 to 9 mg O(2) L(-1) after electrolysis leading to an increase of the BOD(5) on COD ratio from 0.19 to 0.42 (limit of biodegradability, 0.4). These encouraging results were confirmed during activated sludge culture since an almost total mineralization of the electrolyzed solution was recorded (97%), confirming the feasibility of the proposed coupled process.
