Treatment of swine wastewater in a biological system for disposal in a sandy soil

ABSTRACT

This work aimed to evaluate the efficiency of a system composed of a UASB reactor followed by post-treatment with an aerobic granular sludge reactor (AGS) in the treatment of swine wastewater (SW) for disposal in sandy soil. The characteristics of the treated effluent and the soil from a disposal site were evaluated, as well as the parameters of mobility of contaminants such as dispersion coefficient (D), dispersivity (λ), delay factor (R), and Péclet number (Pe) were determined. Treated SW was percolated in a permanent flow regime in columns of saturated soil. Elution curves (breakthrough curves) were generated, obtaining the transport parameters by adjusting the solute transport equation in the soil. The soil used was characterized as a quartzene soil with a sandy texture. It was observed that, although the treatment presents high removal efficiencies for COD, BOD, TSS, nitrogen, and phosphorus, the treated SW still did not meet some parameters for surface water discharge or soil disposal based in current legislation. Except for phosphate and potassium, ions showed a tendency to move in the soil and to contaminate the groundwater.

Keywords:
swine wastewater; wastewater treatment; soil disposal; contaminants mobility on soil; water reuse