Contemporary Engineering Sciences, Vol. 11, 2018, no. 87, 4329 - 4337
HIKARI Ltd, www.m-hikari.com
https://doi.org/10.12988/ces.2018.88446
Integrated System "Biodigester - Biofilter":
a Sustainable Option for the Environmental
Management of Wastewater from
Small Communities
Natalia Fuentes and Lissette Y. Vizcaino
University of La Guajira - Faculty of Engineering
Km 5 vía Maicao, Riohacha - La Guajira, 728 27 29, Colombia
Harold E. Gonzalez
University popular of Cesar - Faculty of Health Sciences
Diagonal 21 No. 29-56, Valledupar, 5842472, Colombia
Copyright © 2018 Natalia Fuentes, Lissette Y. Vizcaino and Harold E. Gonzalez. This article is
distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use,
distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
The efficiency of removal of organic load, nutrients and microorganisms present
in the domestic wastewater of an indigenous community of La Guajira Colombia,
in an integrated treatment pilot system whose configuration consists of two
biodigesters connected to a biofilter module with subsurface vertical flow planted
with macrophytes, with average efficiencies of 50.79% SST, 92.31% BOD5,
90.20% N and 56.87% P, which comply with the regulations, being a sustainable
option for environmental management of water pollution in small communities.
Keywords: Water pollution, biological treatment, environmental management
1. Introduction
The environmental management of wastewater treatment is a priority issue
worldwide, for the need to have water resources in sufficient quality and quantity,