Confecção de blocos cerâmicos com incorporação de biomassa contaminada por cobre

Abstract

The phytoremediation with aquatic macrophytes, in special to the removal of heavy metals from wastewaters is a technique that has been wisely studied and is showing satisfactory results. Although this process can generate great among of biomass due the macrophytes fast reproduction and development. This waste, when contaminated with heavy metals, bioaccumulatives and toxic, can’t be discarded in the environment or used in the animal feed production. Therefore, this work aims to study the Pontederia parviflora Alexander cupper removal potential from a concentrated cupper solution and to analyse the viability of reuse of its vegetal biomass in ceramic bricks confection. Thus a solution with initial concentration of 1000 mg/L of dissolved cupper was treated by P. parviflora during a period of 5 days. The initial and finals cupper concentrations were laboratorial determinates. Specimens assembled with 5% and 10% of this waste to the clay masses, besides of specimens with no load of waste were done and analyzed according to the mainly quality tests described by the literature. The cupper removal index in the end of the experiment was superior to the 96% and its increase in the vegetal biomass was higher than 1200%. The experimental results of the tests: linear retraction after drying, linear retraction of burn and compression resistance were fully satisfied to all specimens tested according to the recommended values by IPT (1985) and NBR 7170 (ABNT,1983) and the results to the tests: loss to the fire, according to the IPT (1985), and water absorption, according to the NBR 7170 (ABNT,1992), were satisfied to the specimens with no load of biomass and to the ones with load of 5% of this waste. Thus the phytotreatment of wastewaters contaminated with cupper by P. parviflora and the reuse of its biomass in the production of ceramic bricks are viable.