Filtros plantados com macrófitas de fluxo vertical aplicados na mineralização e desaguamento de lodo de tanque séptico

Abstract

The accumulated sludge in septic tanks has to be treated before the adequate final disposal, because of its high concentration of non-established organic matter, elevated content of moisture and pathogenic organisms. As an alternative to the treatment of sludge, the vertical flow constructed wetlands are a promising technology. To evaluate the potential of the filters in dewatering and mineralization of septic tank sludge, two pilot-scale constructed wetlands (CW1 and CW2) were implanted according with two total solids loads (TS) - CW1: 250 kgTS.m-2.year1; CW2: 125kgTS.m-2.year1. The results demonstrated that the CW2 had better efficiencies compared with CW1, in terms of total solids (96%), chemical oxygen demand (99%) and ammonia (72%) removal. CW2 also provided a better dewatering, with moisture of 67% in accumulated sludge and 33% of total solids.