Importance of legislation on the treatment of chemical effluents as a way to avoid environmental pollution: the use of numerical technique to simulate the sedimentation of chemical effluents

Abstract

Environmental pollution analysis should be present in scientific research. The more organized the environmental laws of a particular place, the smaller the risks imputed to the ecosystem. The environmental damages that irregular waste from industrial effluents can cause are notorious. However, Brazil lacks extensive legal regulation, which is an embryonic legal matter. There is no specific law regulating a National Industrial Effluent Policy, dealing with the treatment and final disposal of these chemical compounds. Until a solid legal structure has been formalized on the treatment and final disposal of industrial effluents in Brazil, it is necessary that scientific researches optimize techniques capable of causing lower environmental impacts, so as to avoid possible pollution to the bodies of water. This article defends the argument that it is possible to elaborate legislation on the treatment and final disposal of industrial effluents in Brazil, through the application of engineering techniques, specifically through numerical simulation, by using the discrete elements method or particles method. The present case study is the Camaçari Petrochemical Pole, state of Bahia, which is the largest integrated industrial complex in the Southern Hemisphere, composed of more than 90 companies in the chemical and petrochemical areas. All the effluents from this locality are treated by CETREL (Liquid Effluent Treatment Plant). Particle analysis was performed in CETREL tanks to illustrate how numerical simulations can be applied to investigate the treatment of industrial effluents and, consequently, to affirm the importance of developing procedures and norms for this matter. It is believed that this article brings relevant information to support a future law that regulates a Brazilian National Policy of Industrial Effluents.