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Intro
The Metropolitan Region of São Paulo (MRSP) is located in southeastern Brazil and is one of
the world’s largest urban agglomerations.
The Pinheiros River is in a state of significant environmental vulnerability, with several stretches
receiving raw industrial and residential wastewater every day.
In 2001, a pilot plant was built using the flotation technique in an attempt to clean up the
Pinheiros River, aiming to pump its water into the Billings Reservoir, although the tests indicated
an improvement in the water quality of the Pinheiros River, its recovery did not suffice to allow
the river water to be pumped into reservoir, since the quality achieved in the tests failed to meet
the legal requirements of environmental and public health standards. Thus, there seems to be
no shortterm solution for cleaning up this water
The main processes in conventional treatments are coagulation and flocculation
efficiency of PGα21Ca in the water treatment plant (WTP) of Salto de Pirapora, São Paulo,
where the commercial product proved efficient in the removal of turbidity and apparent color
Material and methods
A water sample was collected from the Pinheiros River in the city of São Paulo, in the dry
season, September 2017. The collection point was near the mouth of the river to determine the
load discharged into the Tietê River (Figure 1). The raw water sample were stored in
polyethylene bottles and refrigerated until they were subjected to physicochemical analysis and
jar testing. Initial analyzes were performed usinga Horiba U-50 series multiparameter water
quality checker equipped with a multisensor probe that can measure up to 11 parameters
simultaneously. The Pinheiros River is classified as a Class 4 river, according to São Paulo
State Decree No. 10,755/77.The purpose of categorizing water bodies into classes is to
establish the target water quality that must necessarily be reached or maintained over time in a
given section of the water body, according to prevailing or intended uses, based on the quality
the water body must have to meet more restrictive uses. Water from class 2 rivers is distributed
for human consumption after conventional treatment (CONAMA 2005). In 2017 the Government
of the State of São Paulo launched the reclassification project for the Pinheiros River, which
focuses on the gradual cleaning of river water to reclassify it from class 4, the worst level of
pollution, to class 2. Proposals should involve conventional technologies, methods and/or
treatment systems. The PGa21Ca powder came from Nippon Poly-Glu Co. Ltd., recommended
for use of 50 to 100 mg L-1. The product’s typical flocculation time, whose initial turbidity of 100
NTU is 15 minutes, results in a final turbidity of <1 NTU. The coagulant was added directly to
the jars, as recommended by the manufacturer, to prevent reactions with other components of
the formulation, such as calcium and aluminum sulfates, forming insoluble polyglutamates. A
scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis was performed
Raw water cations were determined by means of inductively coupled plasma-optical emission
spectroscopy (ICP-OES), using a SPECTRO ARCOS ICP-OES analyzer
jar tester was used in the jar test, comprising six jars with an internal volume of two liters. In the
jar test, the speed gradient (G) can be adjusted in the range of 10 to 1200 s-1, with the edition
of up to four different programs, each comprising 12 segments. The tests were conducted
according to the procedures of the Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and
Wastewater
Result and discission
According to the material safety data sheet (MSDS) of PGα21Ca, its formulation contains 70 to
80% calcium sulfate and 10 to 20% calcium carbonate
. The PGα21Ca was examined by SEM, which revealed a morphology of gypsum and the
mineral was also identified by X-ray diffraction
changes in pH after treatment with the biopolymeric coagulant, with pH decreasing in response
to increasing doses of coagulant.
Almost all water bodies contain permissible concentrations of aluminum. However, the Al
content was higher after treatment with the biopolymeric coagulant, probably due to the transfer
of Al from the coagulant to the treated water, since the PGα21Ca essentially contains calcium
sulfate (87%) in its formulation, among other chemical compounds
In this study, a phosphorus concentration of 4.1 mg L-1 was found in the Pinheiros River, in
comparison to the concentrations of 5.4 mg L-1 reported by Cunha et al. (2010). The treatment
with PGα21Ca reduced the total phosphorus content by 100%
As for residual turbidity, the jar tests indicated that the best result was achieved at a
sedimentation velocity of 1 cm min-1. In other words, as the sedimentation velocity decreased,
so did the residual turbidity. Figure 2 is based on this sedimentation velocity. Raw water from the
Pinheiros River showed initial apparent color of 886 uH and turbidity of 233.4 NTU. Figure 2
illustrates the behavior of the coagulant in the treatment of raw water. The dose of 100 mg L-1
of PGα21Ca resulted in the removal of 96.95% ± 0.68% of apparent color and 1.84 ± 0.12 NTU
of residual turbidity. The turbidity and apparent color removal rates ranged from 48% to 54%
when considering the overall effect of the two flotation stations in series
Conclusion
Gamma-polyglutamic acid (γ-PGA) is a polymeric acid that reacts with calcium and aluminum
salts contained in its formulation, as well as with soluble metals that are present in water,
forming polyglutamates. These polyglutamates settle readily, adsorbing other inorganic
substances and thus purifying the water.This study revealed the remarkable effects of the
biopolymer PGα21Ca in the removal of apparent color and turbidity from Pinheiros River water.
In addition, treatment with PGα21Ca led to a reduction in the order of 100% of total phosphorus.
The best sedimentation velocity for the coagulant under study was 1 cm min-1. In the
coagulationflocculation and sedimentation tests of Pinheiros River water, PGα21Ca presented
significant apparent color and turbidity removal rates. In the dry season, a dose of 100 mg L-1 of
PGα21Ca resulted in the removal of 96.95 of apparent color and residual turbidity of 1.84 NTU.

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Intro

Material and methods

Result and discission

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