Tratamento biológico do líquido da casca do coco verde

Abstract

With the aim of aggregating value to the productive chain of coconut and to expand its agrobusiness, Embrapa Agroindústria Tropical (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, Tropical Agroindustry National Centre) developed a system for processing the husk of immature coconut in order to produce fibre and coir dust, which have several environmental and commercial applications. During the pressing stage, a liquid is generated, denominated Coconut Husk Liquor (CHL), which contains high concentration of organic matter (varying form 60 to 80 gDQO/L), including tannins. In this work, the performance of an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor (UASB) and a Fungi Biological Reactor (FBR) were evaluated for the treatment of CHL. The lab-scale UASB reactor, with a working volume of 16,8L, was operated during 222 days with an increasing organic loading rate (OLR), starting from 2.2 kgCOD/m3.d and reaching up to 10 kgCOD/m3.d. The lab-scale FBR, with a working volume of 100L, was operated with OLR of 5,0 kgCOD/m3.d, during 116 days, and then with OLR of 2,5 kgCOD/m3.d during 158 days. The performance of UASB reactor evaluated based on influent and effluent COD and total tannins; sludge specific methanogenic activity (SMA) and anaerobic toxicity; gas production and composition; pH, alkalinity and volatile fatty acids; and sludge retention time. The performance of FBR was monitored on the basis of on influent and effluent COD, total tannins and suspended solids. Other analysis were also accomplished: aerobic CHL biodegradability, sludge stability, and effect of Aspergillus niger on the degradation of CHL. Results showed that UASB reactor was maintained stable during the whole operation, with COD removal efficiency higher than 80%, total tannins removal efficiency of around 48%, and the ratio AGV/alkalinity lower than 0,30. Biogas presented 75% of methane on its composition. Toxicity tests demonstrated that CHL was not toxic to the methanogenic consortia. FBR was initially inoculated with Aspergillus niger AN-400. However, this fungus was substituted by the yeast that is natural on coconut husk, which was confirmed by tests carried out on Petri plate tests. When this reactor was operated with OLR of 5.0 kgCOD/m3.d and without sludge removal, the COD removal efficiency was around 58%. The performance improved up to 91% when OLR was decreased to 2.5 kgCOD/m3.d and sludge was weekly removed from the top or reactor. During this period, total tannin removal efficiency was approximately 15%. Despite the low tannin removal efficiency, this aerobic reactors can be used as an alternative for easy-degradable organic matter, facilitating the recovering of tannins for commercial uses. Results obtained from Petri plate tests show that Aspergillus niger AN-400 was able to grow in a medium with CHL. However, results from batch tests demonstrated that this species did not affect the DQO and tannins removal rates, when it is inoculated in a solution with raw CHL. The configuration of the reactor with fungi used in this research showed operational problems related with excess biomass removal.