Resumen

CASTRO-SIERRA, A. et al. Comprehensive treatment of university wastewater through an anaerobic up flow reactor. RIIIT. Rev. int. investig. innov. tecnol. [online]. 2023, vol.11, n.64, pp.66-77.  Epub 26-Ene-2026. ISSN 2007-9753.

Water suffers a complex and alarming deterioration due to the various pollutants present in it as a result of anthropogenic activities. Therefore, several technologies have been used for its treatment, an example of these are the up flow anaerobic reactors, which are a compact alternative that, due to their structure, take advantage of gravity together with the mineralizing action of microorganisms to eliminate the pollution present in the effluent up to considerable levels. Under this premise, the present work aims to evaluate the optimal operating conditions of a laboratory level anaerobic reactor for biogas production and wastewater treatment under five different volumetric loads rate (VLR) (4, 8, 12, 16 and 20 g COD/L*day) at room temperature (25 ± 5 °C). The parameters evaluated were: pH, biogas, percentage of methane in the biogas, chemical oxygen demand removal and suspended solids. In addition, to ensure the integral management of the treated effluent, its phytotoxicity in radish and its impact on the growth rate of azalea (Rhododendron simsii) and mint (Mentha x piperita) were evaluated. The largest amount of biogas (115.33 mL) and methane (45 mL) occurred in the 4 g COD/L*day loading. The above results are attributed to the effect of temperature, microbial activity limited by hydraulic retention times (TRH) and relatively low organic load of the substrate. These conditions allowed the microorganisms to focus more on biomass production (68.37 - 77.30%) than on methane gas (CH4) generation (22.70-31.63%). On the other hand, the maximum removal of COD (98%), fixed suspended solids (90.16%), volatile solids (94.18%) and total suspended solids (92.87%), occurred at the lowest VLR (4 g COD/L*day). It was also demonstrated that the treated effluent is not phytotoxic and was able to increase the growth rate of the evaluated crops. In conclusion, the up flow anaerobic reactors proved to be a simple, efficient and recommendable technology for the treatment of wastewater of university origin, because high percentages of pollutants removal (COD and suspended solids) and the potential in the biogas generation.

Palabras llave : anaerobic reactor; biogas; university wastewater; upflow.

        · resumen en Español     · texto en Español     · Español ( pdf )