Molecular distribution of wastewater from a meat by-products processing company, treated using a batch system (SBR)

Resum

Biological treatments of wastewater depend on the characteristics of organic matter. The molecular weight fractionation of the various components of wastewater is of great importance as it helps to design appropriate treatment technologies. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the distribution of particle sizes present in two types of wastewater generated in a company that processes meat by-products and their respective mixtures. Evaluation was carried out before and after treatment using a discontinuous system in a Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR). The analysis in the tributaries of the system showed thatmost of the parameters analyzed had a molecular weighthigher than 10,000 Da. The results of the effluents showedthat the SBR system is adequate to remove a high fraction of readily biodegradable organic matter, achieving aremoval order of 98.68%, 98.14% and 70.51% for COD,BOD 5 and NH4+ -N respectively.