Tratamento do efluente do processamento de subprodutos da indústria de produtos cárneos em filtro anaeróbio

Abstract

The process of anaerobic digestion is presented as an alternative for treatment of effluents from various industrial activities. In this case there is the conversion of organic matter to more stable compounds such as methane, which can be used to replace fossil fuels. This study evaluated the treatment of effluent generated by a processing company for animal feed flavors, which uses as raw material waste generated in the slaughter and processing of pigs, chickens and turkeys. It was used a biological upflow anaerobic filter, constructed of polyvinyl chloride with a volume of 980 mL and support material for biomass consisting of rings of polypropylene, with the goal of removing organic matter and produce biogas. The influent had average values with the following characteristics: 899.79 mg L-1 of COD, pH of 8.12, 377.31 mg L-1 of total nitrogen, 206.09 mg L-1 of ammoniacal nitrogen, 2.90 mg L-1 of oils and greases, 768.67 mg CaCO3 L-1 of alkalinity, 521.26 mg L-1 CH3COOH of volatile acidity and 15.11 mg L-1 content of phosphorous. The system was operated continuously at room temperature, organic loading of 0.077, 0.102, 0.154, 0.356, 0.536, 0.854, 1.083 kg DQO m-3 d-1, and HRT 240, 168, 120, 72, 48, 24 and 21 hours. The effluent had COD values between 14.43 and 849.43 mg L-1, pH between 6.32 and 8.34, total nitrogen between 95.23 and 742.14 mg L-1, ammoniacal nitrogen between 127,78 and 230.29 mg L-1, alkalinity between 268.83 and 2401.5 mg CaCO3 L-1 and volatile acidity between 27.66 and 415.30 mg L-1 CH3COOH and phosphorus content between 0 and 29, 26 mg L-1. The best results of COD removal were obtained with HRT of 24 hours, averaging 83% removal and, consequently, larger generation of biogas, 48.39 kg of methane per day. Concludes that, within the conditions employed, the anaerobic digestion process was efficient in removing COD. If the company uses the methane produced in power generation, can enter in the market of carbon credits and get an extra income.