Avaliação da eficiência de ETEs para cidades de pequeno porte do Norte de Minas Gerais

Abstract

Stabilization ponds are configured as a low-operational-cost technology that is fundamental for the universalization of sanitation services in developing countries like Brazil. The conducted study analyzed the performance of these systems at three Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP) in the northern region of Minas Gerais during the years 2020, 2021, and 2022, highlighting possible variations in treatment efficiency in secondary treatment systems with Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactors (UASB) and stabilization ponds, including facultative and polishing ponds. This analysis was based on key efficiency parameters, such as BOD and COD, and the COD/BOD ratio, and other parameters that ensure the effectiveness of treatment systems in removing organic load, such as pH and solids in their various forms. Efficiency verification data were collected after the stabilization ponds, and it was observed that compliance with current legislation was maintained throughout the evaluated period, with little variation over the years, according to the applied statistical variables such as mean, standard deviation, and coefficient of variation, demonstrating the good performance of the analyzed treatment system model.