Water reuse potential in truck wash using a Rotating Biological Contactor

This study evaluated the water reuse potential for truck washing using the effluent treated by a Rotating Biological Contactor (RBC) operated in full scale. In order to evaluate the reuse potential, a mass balance was performed for the reuse system taking into account the concentration of Total Dissolved Solids as the critical contaminant. The treatment system produced an effluent with average concentration of color, turbidity, TDS and BOD₅ of 45 ± 14 uC, 15 ± 6.0 NTU, 244 ± 99 mg TDS / L and 14 ± 7.3 mg O₂ / L, respectively. Based on the mass balance, and considering the TDS concentration established in NBR 13.696, if the final rinse does not use clean water, the potential for effluent reuse can reach 40%. However, if clean water is used as 30% of the total rinsing volume, it would be possible to reuse 70% of the treated effluent without compromising truck washing performance. This water reuse approach would result in an operational cost reduction of R$ 2,590.75/month.

Keywords:
rotating biological contactor; truck wash; water reuse.