title: Biological treatment of wastewater from the cassava meal industry.
abstract: Biological treatments of cassava meal processing wastewaters were investigated by aerobic and combined anaerobic/aerobic reactors. As a pretreatment, flocculation and sedimentation with aluminum salts and natural polyelectrolytes were employed, in order to change the effluent concentration of organics from 14,000 to 2000 mg/L in the bench scale reactor, with a hydraulic retention time of 37 min and an influent rate of 0.56 L/cm. Biological degradation by an activated sludge process was carried out using a reactor volume of 20 L. The observed organic matter removal rates were 89 to 93%, the cyanide removal was 95 to 99%, and the food to microorganisms ratio was found to be in the range of 0.166 to 0.242/day, with a hydraulic residence time of 1.4 to 4.2 days. As a posttreatment, flocculation and coagulation were employed, resulting in an effluent of good quality, as shown by turbidity measurements and negative tests for fecal and total coliforms.
authors.affiliation: Mestrado em Quimica Aplicada, Universidade Estadual de Maringa/UEM, 87020-900 Maringa, Parana, Brazil.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Reis
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nozaki
mesh_terms: D001421:Bacteria, Anaerobic / Q000502:physiology*; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000517:prevention & control; D002365:Manihot; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000378:metabolism; D011190:Potassium Cyanide / Q000378:metabolism; D012722:Sewage / Q000382:microbiology*; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D009930:Organic Chemicals; D012722:Sewage; D011190:Potassium Cyanide