Quality of concrete plant wastewater for reuse

Resumo

The efficient use of water is one of the most important requirements in the concept of cleaner production and the use of the concrete plant wastewater can be an important issue. However, there are no studies concerning the quality of this water and in which activities it could be used. This paper aims to evaluate the quality of concrete plant wastewater and propose guidelines for their treatment for supplying non-potable water uses. Samples were harvested from three places of the treatment system, which is essentially composed by a decantation process. The quality of the wastewater was evaluated in the laboratory and the results were compared with the limit values of the parameters that have been used for non-potable water. The results show the necessity of the addition, at least, coagulation, pH correction and disinfection to the treatment system.