Rediseño de la planta de tratamiento de aguas residuales utilizando humedales artificiales para la extractora de aceite de palma Pexa del Cantón la Concordia

Abstract

The redesign of Pexa, a treatment plant for the wastewater coming from an extractor of palm oil, was conducted in the Concordia canton belonging to Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas province. In order to carry out the technical evaluation of the plant; analytical methods like physical-chemical and microbiological characterization of the wastewater were applied in the laboratories of Cestta and Saqmic by using standardized rules to determine the current performance of the treatment system. The sample collection was carried out according to a sampling plan by using amber coluored bottles of 1 litre capacity as well as sterile jars to microbiological analyses. The gathered results from this study revealed that values of the following parameters: biochemical oxygen demand: 1940 mg/l, oils and fats: 92.00 mg/l, copper: 1.41 mg/l, aluminium: 22.82 mg/l, faecal coliform bacteria: 6x10 3 CFU (colony forming units), total coliforms 248x10 CFU; did not comply the permissible limits required by the current environment legislation, after a month of treatment; it was possible to reach a reduction on 95.05%, oils and fats in a 96.67%, copper in a 85.8% aluminium in 97.89%, faecal coliforms in a 99.97%, total coliforms in 99.91% enabling compliance with the parameters set by the unified text of the secondary legislation of the environmental ministry (TULSMA) text book VI, annex 1, table 12, discharge limits to a body of fresh water. Having as a concluding point that the proposed redesign will improve the quality of the effluent to be discharged into the Cocola river within the parameters established by the current legislation, it is recommended that the extractor Pexa counts on a cleaning and maintenance schedule to ensure a good performance of this system.