Análise de tecnologias de tratamento para efluente gerado por uma cervejaria

Abstract

Brazil currently has the third-largest brewing sector in the world, and brewing industries are constantly seeking improvements and production increases, which results in the generation of waste during the manufacturing process. Proper treatment and disposal of this waste are crucial to minimize environmental impacts. To ensure proper wastewater management, specific regulations have been established to define the standards for discharging effluents into water bodies, which serve as a basis for developing good wastewater treatment technologies. This work presents an analysis of some technologies available for treating effluents generated by a brewery in the Londrina region, aiming to define the best technology based on the physicochemical characterization and treatability tests of the effluent. After the preliminary treatment of the raw effluent, physicochemical coagulation and flocculation tests were conducted using inorganic coagulants such as aluminum sulfate and ferric chloride, applying the Jar Test. The results showed significant effluent clarification with a 90% reduction in turbidity, but with a low COD removal rate of only 15%, making it difficult to use this type of treatment as the sole alternative for final disposal. The treatability evaluation through a biological process was performed using an aerobic activated sludge reactor operated in sequential batches (SBR) of 10, 18, and 44 hours, which proved more efficient, achieving a 90% COD removal, as well as reducing turbidity from 1570 (UC) to 150 (UC), from 226 (NTU) to 6,38 (NTU), ammoniacal nitrogen from 4,20 (mg/L) to 1.84 (mg/L), and BOD from 4280 (mgO2/L) to 41 (mgO2/L). The results indicated that although physicochemical treatment offers good clarification, biological treatment with activated sludge is superior in removing the organic load from the effluent. Thus, the study suggests that for this specific brewery, the adoption of technologies involving activated sludge biological treatment can provide greater efficiency in removing pollutants from its effluent, ensuring compliance with the discharge standards required by CONAMA Resolution 430.