Tratamento de água com filtração lenta domiciliar intermitente

Abstract

The access to drinking water is still an important challenge in isolated communities in Brazil. In face of that, the search and improvement of alternative technologies to overcome this challenge emerges as a relevant research topic. The slow filtration is an old water treatment technology, characterized by being simple to build, operate and maintain, in addition to not requiring specialized labor. Due to these aspects, the slow filtration process for water treatment presents a good potential for application in small isolated communities in Brazil, that have difficulties in accessing drinking water. In this context, the present work intends to assess the performance of an intermittent slow filter (BioSand Filters- BSF), aiming the water treatment for isolated households, using simple and low-cost materials. The filter was made of a PVC pipe with 250 mm in diameter and 1.0 m in height, with a filtering medium composed of sand, and was fed intermittently twice a day with water from Meio River, located at Bairro Trindade, Florianópolis – SC. For efficiency evaluation of the slow filter some water quality parameters were analyzed, namely: apparent and true color, turbidity, temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, electric conductivity, total dissolved solids, total and fecal coliforms. The results obtained in this research were satisfactory and it can be considered that the Biosand-filter was efficient, with significant removal of turbidity, apparent color, total and fecal coliforms without considering the disinfection, besides that, it was observed that the water filtered with a higher intermittence time, approximately 16 hours and 30 minutes, had a higher removal efficiency in the obtained results. In conclusion, the present work highlights the efficiency of Biosand-filter as a promising technology for water treatment and supply in isolated communities. The analyzes were carried out in order to compare the raw water with the filtered water.