Estudio cinético comparativo de la degradación de la materia orgánica en un sistema lagunar prototipo

Abstract

An experimental aerobic stabilization pond with separation devices was built and operated alongside José Antonio Alzate Dam, fed by the waters of the Lerma River, located higher than 2,500 m above sea level, in the State of Mexico, Mexico. The pond was built with separation devices with the purpose of eliminating the hydraulic short‐circuiting reported in the literature. After a detailed evaluation of each of the five channels that comprised the experimental pond, it was found that the degradation of the organic matter, reported as DBO5, occurred in each of the channels as an independent unit. Three criteria applied to three researches that worked with constant rates of bacterial decay and dispersed flow were employed to determine the constant rate of degradation of organic matter using the results obtained under the actual operation conditions of the experimental pond. The behavior of the nitrogen cycle was assessed in the whole pond area and it was found a result equivalent to that reported in the literature for facultative ponds in service. The study calculated the treatment surface required to remove 83% of BOD in 20 m3/s, considered as Lema River’s average flow under the geometric conditions of the experimental ponds, and obtained a treatment capacity of 11.72% of the total flow.