Desenvolvimento da Aplicação dos Reatores Anaeróbios de Manta de Lodo (UASB) no Brasil.

Inadequate disposal of sewage into the environment has always been a concern of the world's societies. Especially in developing countries, the problems of sewage disposal and treatment become even more evident. In Brazil, advances in studies and research on sewage treatment through anaerobic systems, notably sludge blanket reactors (UASB), took place from the PROSAB Project in 1999, from which research, articles, books and projects of several authors on the subject, becoming reference not only for the revision in NBR 12.209 in 2011, but also for the implementation of several sewage treatment plants of different sizes and in different states, through their respective sanitation companies. In order to analyze the evolution and good acceptance of the UASB technology in Brazil, the changes in NBR 12.209, the operating principles of the UASB reactors and the national sanitation companies using UASB reactors were evaluated, fundamental for the development and acceptance of the technology in the country. Despite the divergence regarding nomenclature by sanitation companies in Brazil, the UASB acronym remains the most widespread and used in the literature on sludge blanket reactors. The greater detail in the design parameters presented in the revision of NBR 12.209 and the sewage treatment plants with UASB reactors already in place and in operation, such as the 186 treatment plants, which together have the capacity to treat 15,366L / s, operated by four of the leading sanitation companies in Brazil, make clear how technology has finally gained ground in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]