title: Coconut shells as filling material for anaerobic filters.
abstract: In rural areas of developing countries, there is a lack of sanitation services and the installation of such infrastructure is hampered by the high investment costs for initial implementation and by the limited availability of qualified personnel. An alternative to traditional sanitation services include an anaerobic filter, but the high cost of appropriate filling material can be an obstacle to its wide-spread implementation. To decrease this construction cost, the objective of this work was to study the use of coconut shells as filling material for anaerobic filters. Anaerobic filters were built and filled with the studied material and operated with up flow and hydraulic retention time of 9 hours. The reactors provided a removal of 79 ± 16% in BOD terms, indicating that the coconut shell filling had efficiency consistent with the literature data. In addition, the husks were found to retain their tensile strength following use in the reactors. Coconut husks have more empty bed volume than other low cost materials, such as crushed stone, nearing properties of traditional materials. The results of this study indicate that coconut husks may prove to be a low cost alternative to traditional fillers for anaerobic treatment in rural communities.
authors.affiliation: Architecture and Urbanism, FEC/UNICAMP, University of Campinas-School of Civil Engineering, Campinas, SP Brazil.
authors.forename: Luana Mattos de Oliveira
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Cruz
authors.affiliation: Center for Technology, Federal University of Ceará, UFC, Fortaleza, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ronaldo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stefanutti
authors.affiliation: Architecture and Urbanism, FEC/UNICAMP, University of Campinas-School of Civil Engineering, Campinas, SP Brazil.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Coraucci Filho
authors.affiliation: University of Campinas-School of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Urbanism, FEC/UNICAMP, Cidade Universitária "Zeferino Vaz", Avenida Albert Einstein, 951, PO Box 6021, CEP: 13083-852 Campinas, SP Brazil.
authors.forename: Adriano Luiz
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Tonetti
keywords: Anaerobic filter; Anaerobic treatment; Coconut; Decentralized sanitation; On site sewage treatment; Sewage