Aplicación de filtros anaerobios de flujo ascendente en la tratabilidad de aguas residuales domesticas generadas en Puerto Ayora Isla Santa Cruz Provincia de Galápagos

Abstract

The research purpose is to evaluate the efficiency of upflow anaerobic filters (UAF) through the physical-chemical and microbiological analysis of their effluent to determine the pollutant removal capacity. This research pretends to decrease the pollution load using three types of volcanic rocks with different characteristics and sizes. Four filters were built, three contain one type of volcanic rock inside to each filter, and the other filter is mixed (contains the three types of volcanic rocks). These igneous rocks have physical characteristics obtained at the moment of their cooling process after the volcanic eruption that gives them the appropiated conditions to be used in UAF. The filters were built with 4-inch Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) tubes and with specific technical characteristics to process wastewater in the best possible way. The filters were inoculated with activated sludge obtained from a wastewater treatment factory plant. The wastewater was characterized through physical-chemical and microbiological analysis and then introduced into the filters system to a controlled flow rate.Three different flow rates were established which gave three water residence times (WRT) to analyze the water quality control parameters in a laboratory. The results showed that upflow anaerobic filters are very effective in reducing Chemical Oxygen Demand and total suspended solids but they have a medium effectiveness for surfactants, oils and greases that aren’t useful to eliminate fecal coliforms. Based on the laboratory results, it can be indicated that using a lower WRT the control parameters give very high values and, on the contrary, using a longer WRT the results are better, and some of them followed the current regulations and others exceeded the limits.