Abstract

GRISALES PENAGOS, DAYANA; ORTEGA LOPEZ, JOELA  and  RODRIGUEZ CHAPARRO, TATIANA. REMOVAL OF ORGANIC MATTER AND TOXICITY IN HOSPITAL WASTEWATERS BY OZONE. Dyna rev.fac.nac.minas [online]. 2012, vol.79, n.173, pp.109-115. ISSN 0012-7353.

Hospital wastewaters are considered to be one of the major sources of emergent contaminants as result of the dairy activities and excretion of the patients. Several studies have demonstrated that these compounds are not easily removed in conventional wastewater treatments that use biological process. This study evaluated the removal of the organic matter present in real hospital effluent applying ozone at different pH conditions (3,0, 6,7, 10). Parameters such as UV₂₅₄, biodegradability ratio (COD/BOD) and color (VIS₄₃₆) were measured. Moreover, it was assessed the acute toxicity with Allium cepa L. The results demonstrated that with an ozone dosage of 187 mgO₃/h and pH = 10 the biodegradability increased by 70% and the acute toxicity decreased by 62%, whereas for pH =3,0 both UV₂₅₄ and color removal was notable. The ozone application seems to be a viable alternative to treat hospital effluents as a pretreatment of a biological process.

Keywords : Allium cepa L.; biodegradability; emergent compounds; recalcitrance.

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