Ozonioterapia na desinfecção de águas pluviais

Abstract

The shortage of drinking water is a major problem in many developing countries, especially in Brazil, which has been suffering from this lack of water in recent years due to the irrational use of water resources and the low rainfall. One of the alternatives to minimize this problem would be the use of rainwater, based on its collection and storage during the rainy season for later use. Rainwater has a great potential for use as car wash, sidewalks, external areas, use in the washing of industrial equipment, among others. But this type of water may contain several organic contaminants, such as pathogenic microorganisms, acquired during primary contact with residential and / or industrial roofs prior to collection. For this reason, there is a need to develop new technologies for more environmentally friendly disinfection of water, since conventional chlorine-based biocides generate toxic by-products potentially harmful to human health, such as trihalomethanes. Thus, Ozonotherapy is a sustainable alternative for the disinfection of rainwater. This technology consists of injecting the ozone gas into the volume of water to be disinfected where O3 will act as an oxidizing agent without generating by-products or secondary pollutants. The high oxidizing power of O3 results in a high efficiency in disinfection, being superior to chlorine and inactivating a great variety of pathogenic microorganisms. Thus, the present work aimed to discuss and present the potential of using rainwater collected for human consumption and associated benefits, as well as the use of Ozonotherapy for the disinfection of this freshwater source. Ozone action on microorganisms, their efficiency compared to chlorine-based biocides, and the economic viability of Ozonotherapy as a disinfection method were also discussed.