Evaluación de la acción bactericida de virutas de cobre, latón y bronce reciclados para la eliminación de microorganismos patógenos en agua residual doméstica

Abstract

This project evaluates the antimicrobial property of copper, brass and bronze shavings recycled in water inoculated with E. Coli and domestic wastewater from Machangara River through the simulation of Batch reactors. The results showed that the copper presented the highest percentage of fecal coliform removal (99.99%), followed by bronze (99.31%) and finally the brass (98.44%) for the water inoculated with E. Coli at two hours as contact time and 7 g for each material. For the wastewater of Machangara River, the percentages of fecal coliform removal were 99.99%, 99.91% and 99.81% for copper, brass and bronze, respectively after two hours of contact and 7 g. The copper was the best material to remove coliform bacteria when comparing the effectiveness of three materials, and the action of shavings was better in wastewater of Machangara River than the water inoculated with E. Coli. Materials´ Shavings still conserve their antimicrobial properties even being recycled. However, it must be considered that the antimicrobial effect is proportional to the contact time and the quantity of each material, taking into account that could be generate high concentrations of leached copper into the water after the treatment.