Estudio de las tecnologías para el tratamiento de los efluentes acuosos generados por una planta de producción de cemento

Dry cement production industries in Ecuador are sources of environmental contamination, and in particular, the wastewater produced is not previously treated before being disposed of in water bodies. In this work, a study of wastewater treatment systems technologies for the cement industry was carried out. Sources of contaminants, composition and flows were taken from a real cement plant in Ecuador. Based on this information and on the liquid effluent matter balance, it was determined that the pollutants that predominate in the wastewater generated are suspended solids, dissolved solids, fats and oils; and the most important variables are pH, alkalinity and the high temperatures of the process. According to these properties and in the study of the technologies for their removal, different process alternatives were selected to treat the wastewater generated and to comply with environ-mental regulations TULSMA (Unified Text Secondary Legislation, Environment of Ecuador). The material balances with the selected technologies were applied to different treatment schemes with simple technologies and the combination of them, which provide different efficiencies. Cost analyzes were performed for each treatment scheme, finding that all technologies are applicable, as long as the water was treated until the sedimentation process. However, the treatment of residual water by electrodialysis, reverse osmosis or vaporization is not feasible due to its high investment and maintenance costs.