Coagulation-Flocculation, Filtration and Ozonation of Wastewater for Reuse in Crop Irrigation

The aim of this work was to perform a bench-scale evaluation of coagulation-flocculation, filtration and ozonation processes (each one separately and all combined) for the treatment of municipal wastewater for reuse in crop irrigation. Three coagulants (aluminum sulfate, ferric sulfate and aluminum polychloride), two stirring speeds and three pH values were evaluated. Three filter medias were used (silica sand, anthracite and mixed media bed) with four filtration speeds. For ozonation, a 23 experimental design was performed with two ozone gas concentrations (20 and 40 mg/l), two gas flows (30 and 60 L/h) and two contact times (15 and 30 min). The pollutants evaluated were treated as response variables. Ozone doses between 37 and 300 mg/l were applied. The most efficient coagulants were aluminum polychloride and aluminum sulfate. The best results were obtained with faster stirring speeds (278 G-S-1) for rapid mixing, and the coagulant doses were reduced (50-66%). Silica sand was the filter medium selected since it had the best efficiency. During the ozonation stage, statistical models were obtained to predict the reduction levels of the pollutants evaluated. A minimum dose of 40 mg/l is proposed. With the treatment scheme presented, reduction efficiencies of 84-98% were obtained for the physiochemical parameters and 99.98-100% for microbiological parameters, which enables complying with the norms for reuse in crop irrigation.