Electron beam application for studies carried out with real domestic sewage from São Paulo wastewater treatment plants

Abstract

The incompatibility between industrial development and clean environment requires intensive search for waste mitigation technology. Since the aquatic resources have been the most impacted from the environments, improvements on wastewater treatment technologies have been considered. The Nuclear Research Institute has dedicated attention to this problem since 1990. According to the Governmental Sewage Company, SABESP, Sao Paulo Metropolitan Region, RMSP, is treating 18 cubic meters of sewage per second at five stations. The throughput of each station is: ETE Barueri - 9.5 m3/s; ETE ABC - 3.0 m3/s; ETE Sao Miguel - 1.5 m3/s; ETE Parque Novo Mundo - 2.5 m3/s and ETE Suzano - 1.5 m3/s. Real effluents from the municipalities have been submitted to electron beam accelerator for different purposes, and using batch system. The samplings were composite and the wastewater were irradiated at Pyrex vessels, 246 mL per sample. The radiation doses were defined by current variation and the energy was fixed in 1.4MeV. The conveyor velocity was 6,72 m/min. A Dynamitron EBA, 37,5kW was the electron source.