Biological systems coupled for treating wastewater from processing coffee cherries: I - Removal of organic matter

Abstract

Three treatment systems consisting of upflow anaerobic filters followed by constructed wetlands (CW) were evaluated in the treatment of wastewater from processing coffee cherries (WCP). The filters (F) were made up of PVC (1.5 m high and 0.35 m diameter) filled with gravel # 2 and SACs were made of wood boxes (1.5 m long, 0.4 m high and 0.5 m wide) sealed with HDPE geomembranes and filled with gravel ‘zero’. WCP had the pH adjusted with lime to values close to 7.0 and the nutrient concentration changed to obtain a BOD/N/P ratio equal to 100/5/1. As a result, the values of influent and effluent pH remained within the range appropriate to the biological degradation of organic material. The system could not bear the shock of the organic load, which reduced the organic matter removal efficiency. Based on the analysis of performance and operating conditions employed, only the system that received the lowest organic load (F1+CW1) on the third phase, was effective in removing organic matter.