Study on the possibilities of recycling of wastewater treatment wastes generated in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. / Estudo das possibilidades de reciclagem dos resíduos de tratamento de esgoto da Região Metropolitana de São Paulo.

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2003

RESUMO

The objective of this work was to investigate the options for the management of wastes generated from wastewater treatment plants, which were technically, environmentally, socially and economically feasible. The wastewater treatment process generates non-inert solid wastes among which the sludge is the most significant due to the amount produced. In the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo all Wastewater Treatment Plants have dewatering units and dispose of their wastes in sanitary landfills. However, the landfill disposal presents two problems: high costs and unavailability of facilities - either because of the end of their useful life or their great distance from the plants. Presently, the wastewater treatment plants in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo generate approximately 120,000 tons/year of sludge, with a forecast for 750,000 tons/year in 2015. The recycling process needs a methodology that minimizes the risks of investments and select the really attractive and feasible alternatives. The methodology adopted in this work was divided into the following phases: collection of information about the sludge generation process, characterization of the wastes, and selection of the recycling alternatives. To define the best alternatives to be researched, several interviews were carried with people specialized in environmental, sanitation and industrial issues. The findings were submitted to an analytic hierarchy process based on technical, environmental, occupational, economic and commercial aspects, which were treated through a matricial system for decision making purposes, attributing to each aspect a score according to its importance. As a result, a list of possible recycling alternatives in descending order was obtained – lightweight aggregate, bricks and cement Portland, representing an indication in terms of feasibility for research and development of products incorporating wastewater sludges.

ASSUNTO(S)

sewage sludge esgotos sanitários são paulo recycling of wastes são paulo wastewater lodo reciclagem de resíduos sólidos

ACESSO AO ARTIGO

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