Evaluación del funcionamiento de un Generador de Ozono a escala piloto en la desinfección de agua para consumo humano

Abstract

This paper presents the evaluation, at the level of a pilot plant, of an ozone generator developed in the Universidad del Valle by GRALTA research group. The evaluation was performed in Puerto Mallarino Water Supply Research Station of the Cinara Institute of the Universidad del Valle, for different risk levels present in a water treatment system by multistage filtration (MSF). The evaluation of the ozone generator was carried out through operation parameters like ozone production, electric power consumption, generator efficiency, and energy costs. Microbiological parameters were measured to evaluate the disinfection efficiency and physical chemical parameters of the process control. Results show that the ozone generator has a low efficiency in ozone production. The effect of the ozonation for fecal coliforms, total coliforms and color removal is more significant in a slow sand filtration (SSF) effluent, than in previous stages of treatment. Significant remotion levels were achieved for iron and manganese in the effluents from a dynamic-gravel-filter (DyGF) and a coarse-gravel filter with upflow layers.