Alternatives for the management of sludge from decentralized sewage treatment systems in rural areas

• Autor(a) principal: Tonetti, Adriano Luiz
• Data de Publicação: 2018
• Outros Autores: Duarte, Natália Cangussu, Figueiredo, Isabel Campos Salles, Brasil, Ana Lúcia
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Labor & Engenho (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.sbu.unicamp.br/ojs/index.php/labore/article/view/8649680
• topic: Tratamento de esgoto. Tratamento de esgoto descentralizado. Lodo. Lodo. Gerenciamento. Tanque séptico.; Wastewater treatment. Wastewater treatment decentralized. Sludge. Sludge management. Septic tank.

The lack of wastewater collection and treatment is a common issue in Brazil. The usual solution adopted in rural areas is throwing the wastewater directly in dug-out holes, which are known as pit latrines. Brazilian regulations (NBR 7229, 1993 and NBR 13969, 1997) state that the most appropriate treatment system in these cases would be a septic tank followed by a post treatment system. However, this alternative produces sludge that needs to be properly managed. Thus, three options for management of sludge from a rural area from the city of Campinas (São Paulo) are discussed in this work. 1) Sludge removal by outsourced company; 2) Sludge management by city’s sanitation company; 3) Sludge management by local community. Considering only economic factors, it was concluded that the sludge management by city’s sanitation company would be the most beneficial alternative for the community.