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Decentralized management of sewage using septic tanks and anaerobic filters and its potential to comply with required standards in a developing country: a case study in Brazil

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Abstract

To investigate the feasibility of implementing decentralized sewage treatment systems aiming to meet environmental standards, the performance of three decentralized wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) comprising septic tanks and anaerobic filters (ST+AF) was evaluated. The ability of the WWTPs to comply with the provisions of the legislation and the technical literature was investigated by monitoring physical and chemical parameters at the entrance and exit of the WWTPs, from May 2017 to August 2018. Considering that factors such as operational routine, design of treatment systems, and the existence of pluvial contributions to the sewage network can influence the performance of WWTPs, an investigation of these factors was conducted. The results show that the ST+AF systems can meet the requirements of the legislation. The hypothesis raised in this study is that factors such as cleaning routine and dimensioning of the treatment units can influence the performance of the systems. The best performance was found in the WWTP submitted to frequent cleaning and whose ST dimensions were closest to those recommended by technical standards. The average annual efficiencies of removal of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) in this WWTP assumed values of 93 and 89%, while its solid effluents presented concentrations 82% below the limit established in legislation. Finally, no rainwater contributions were found in the WWTPs, which may be associated with the use of short collection networks in decentralized systems.

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Data Availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

The authors would like to thank the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel-Brazil (CAPES) (Finance Code 001), National Council for Scientific and Technological Development-Brazil (CNPq) (process number 131819/2017-8), and Autonomous Water and Sewage Service (SAAE/Viçosa) for the financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Federal University of Viçosa (UFV), Avenida Peter Henry Rolfs, s/n, Campus Universitário, Viçosa, 36.570-000, Brazil

    Tayane Cristiele Rodrigues Mesquita, André Pereira Rosa, Thales Felício de Oliveira Santos, Alisson Carraro Borges & Maria Lúcia Calijuri

  2. Environmental Engineering at Serviço Autônomo de Água e Esgoto (SAAE), Dr. Horta Street, 75, Center, Viçosa, 36.570-000, Brazil

    Francianny Maria de Paula Souza

Authors
  1. Tayane Cristiele Rodrigues Mesquita
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  2. André Pereira Rosa
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  3. Thales Felício de Oliveira Santos
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  4. Alisson Carraro Borges
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  5. Maria Lúcia Calijuri
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  6. Francianny Maria de Paula Souza
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Contributions

TCRM collected the data for the analysis of the influence of the factors dimensioning, operation and cleaning, and influence of the rainfall regime in the performance of WWTPs; analyzed and interpreted the performance data of WWTPs; and was a major contributor in writing the manuscript. APR was the project advisor, participated in the entire planning of the study, guided the collection of the data and analysis of the physical and chemical parameters of the sewer, and revised the manuscript. TFOS collected sewage samples in WWTPs, performed laboratory analyses of physical and chemical parameters, and revised the manuscript. ACB supported the planning of the study, guided the analysis of the data of WWTPs, and revised the manuscript.

MLC guided data collection, guided the laboratory analyses of physical and chemical parameters, and revised the manuscript. FMPS provided samples for the study, guided data collection of WWTPs, and revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to André Pereira Rosa.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Responsible Editor: Ta Yeong Wu

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Rodrigues Mesquita, T.C., Pereira Rosa, A., de Oliveira Santos, T.F. et al. Decentralized management of sewage using septic tanks and anaerobic filters and its potential to comply with required standards in a developing country: a case study in Brazil. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 50001–50016 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14172-2

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