Adalberto Noyola | Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (original) (raw)
Papers by Adalberto Noyola
TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry
Nature Microbiology, 2019
Revista Tecnura, 2015
La planificación ambiental hídrica en cuencas hidrográficas debe involucrar diferentes elementos ... more La planificación ambiental hídrica en cuencas hidrográficas debe involucrar diferentes elementos para la descontaminación del cuerpo de agua receptor. Es por ello que para la selección de las plantas de tratamiento de aguas residuales municipales en países en vía de desarrollo se deben considerar, entre otros aspectos, la composición típica del agua residual cruda, la eficiencia de remoción de contaminantes por tipo de tecnología, indicadores de desempeño por tecnología, aspectos ambientales sobre localización y la estrategia espacial para la localización. Este artículo presenta la metodología desarrollada por los autores, construida con base en los aspectos técnicos, económicos y ambientales, como una herramienta para la toma de decisión de inversiones futuras de plantas de tratamiento de aguas residuales municipales con elementos multidisciplinarios.
Current Medicinal Chemistry
: The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and various pathogens ... more : The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and various pathogens among the top 10 health threats. It is estimated that by 2050, the number of human deaths due to AMR will reach 10 million annually. On the other hand, several infectious outbreaks such as SARS, H1N1 influenza, Ebola, Zika fever, and COVID-19 have severely affected human populations worldwide in the last 20 years. These recent global diseases have generated the need to monitor outbreaks of pathogens and AMR to establish effective public health strategies. This review presents AMR and pathogenicity associated with wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), focusing on Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) monitoring as a complementary system to clinical surveillance. In this regard, WWTP may be monitored at three main points. First, at the inlet (raw wastewater or influent) to identify a broad spectrum of AMR and pathogens contained in the excretions of residents served by sewer networks, with a specific spatio-temporal location. Second, at the effluent, to ensure the elimination of AMR and pathogens in the treated water, considering the rising demand for safe wastewater reuse. Third, in sewage sludge or biosolids, their beneficial use or final disposal can represent a significant risk to public health. This review is divided into two sections to address the importance and implications of AMR and pathogen surveillance in wastewater and WWTP, based on NGS. The first section presents the fundamentals of surveillance techniques applied in WWTP (metataxonomics, metagenomics, functional metagenomics, metaviromics, and metatranscriptomics). Their scope and limitations are analyzed to show how microbiological and qPCR techniques complement NGS surveillance, overcoming its limitations. The second section discusses the contribution of 36 NGS research papers on WWTP surveillance, highlighting the current situation and perspectives. In both sections, research challenges and opportunities are presented.
Engenharia Sanitaria e Ambiental
RESUMO O gerenciamento do lodo de esgoto é um dos principais responsáveis pelos elevados custos d... more RESUMO O gerenciamento do lodo de esgoto é um dos principais responsáveis pelos elevados custos de operação de estações de tratamento de esgoto no Brasil. Isso se deve, principalmente, pela necessidade de etapas de desaguamento e higienização desse material, sendo essa última realizada quando o uso agrícola do lodo é escolhido como forma de destinação. Para tentar reduzir os custos e melhorar o gerenciamento do lodo em uma estação de tratamento de esgoto, uma opção que vem sendo amplamente discutida é o aproveitamento do biogás, produzido em reatores anaeróbios de fluxo ascendente de manta de lodo, para a secagem térmica do lodo. Nesse contexto, o presente trabalho vem relatar um estudo sobre a secagem térmica, de diferentes tipos de lodos, em um sistema piloto envolvendo o aproveitamento energético do biogás produzido em reatores anaeróbios de fluxo ascendente de manta de lodo, de uma estação de tratamento de esgoto de médio porte. O secador reduziu em aproximadamente 80% a massa d...
Se llevo a cabo la evaluacion de un prototipo de planta de tratamiento para casas habitacion. La ... more Se llevo a cabo la evaluacion de un prototipo de planta de tratamiento para casas habitacion. La planta de tratamiento consta de un compartimiento receptor de aguas residuales provenientes de una fosa septica, de dos filtros anoxicos puestos en serie y de una zona empacada aireada con 5 compartimientos en serie para la nitrificacion del efluente anoxico. Se establece una corriente de recirculacion entre el medio aerobio y el anoxico a traves de un sistema airlift. La planta de tratamiento esta disenada para remover materia organica disuelta y en suspension ademas de nitrogeno con bajos requerimientos energeticos y altas eficacias de tratamiento.. Bajo las condiciones especificas de operacion de la planta se observo una remocion mayor al 90% en la DQOt, y en los SST y 60% en el nitrogeno total. Para este caso, se establecio un tiempo maximo de 6 meses para efectuar la purga de lodos acumulados en la planta. La planta funciona con un solo compresor de diafragma con una potencia de 60 ...
Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/Technology, 2015
Abstract The interest in high-rate anaerobic (pre-)treatment of sewage using UASB reactors is ste... more Abstract The interest in high-rate anaerobic (pre-)treatment of sewage using UASB reactors is steadily growing since its introduction in the mid-1980s. Today there are hundreds of full-scale plants in operation in various parts of the tropical world, notably in Latin America and India. The main advantage of UASB technology is the very low or even zero energy demand, leading to an up to tenfold drop in operational costs compared to activated sludge. This paper presents a literature review focussing on current design criteria and post-treatment options, alongside discussing the centralized and decentralized approach. The current limitations and constraints regarding temperature, nutrients, pathogen removal, odour nuisance, operational constrictions and methane emissions are also presented and discussed. Further, recent challenges in relation to energy recovery from biogas, sludge and scum are discussed, alongside with advances related to recovery of dissolved methane and sludge management. Finally, the paper provides some outlooks for upcoming developments.
Proceedings of the Water Environment Federation, 2005
Water Science & Technology, 2006
Two thermophilic lab-scale reactors of 5 L were operated on a daily fed basis. Digester T1 receiv... more Two thermophilic lab-scale reactors of 5 L were operated on a daily fed basis. Digester T1 received raw sludge (control) and digester T2 was fed with raw sludge plus metallic micronutrients and a bacilli additive. Raw sludge was obtained from a municipal chemically enhanced primary treatment plant. The effect of additives was clear on methane production, since on day 50, digester T2 produced 900 ml more methane than T1, an increase of 64%. On day 80, T2 reached twice the production of biogas of T1. Volatile solid removal (% VSR) in T2 increased to 29%; while T1 achieved only 15%. Acetic acid concentration in T2 diminished to 100 mg/L, which related to the higher biogas production. Based on the Mexican biosolids standard, the digested sludge reached Class A biosolids, in both digesters: fecal coliforms were reduced to less than 1000 MPN/gTS; Salmonella spp was totally eliminated and helminth egg counts were lower than one viable egg per gram of total solids.
Process Biochemistry, 2017
Water Science and Technology, 1994
Granulation is an important characteristic of sludges used in upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UA... more Granulation is an important characteristic of sludges used in upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors. As the UASB technology is rapidly spreading, there is a need of granular sludge for inoculation of new reactors, particularly in those countries where anaerobic technologies have been just recently accepted. Alternative sources of inocula are digested sludge, digested manure, septic tank sludges and pond sediments. Raw waste activated sludges have also been identified as a convenient material for reactor seeding, with previous treatment. In this work, anaerobic flocculant sludge obtained from raw waste activated sludge has been granulated with hydraulic stress, in a lab-scale column under different upflow velocities (1 to 50 m h−1). A methodology is proposed for enhancing the quality of non granular anaerobic sludges in batch treatments of less than 8 hours. The granular sludge produced was used as inoculum for a UASB lab scale reactor. The seed sludge improved all its char...
Biomass and Bioenergy, 2014
Climate change is recognized as one of the more serious potential threats to the environment. Mun... more Climate change is recognized as one of the more serious potential threats to the environment. Municipal wastes are significant contributors to greenhouse gases emissions through decomposition and life-cycle activities processes. Wastewater management has not been yet seriously considered as potential part of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects. A reason is a matter of scale and mass of organic carbon involved. However, the number of facilities is very high, and their added contributions represent an important source of greenhouse gases (GHG).
Se trabajo con dos digestores de lodos en forma de huevo, con un volumen efectivo de tratamiento ... more Se trabajo con dos digestores de lodos en forma de huevo, con un volumen efectivo de tratamiento de 5 L, bajo condiciones de termofilia (55°C); uno de ellos fue alimentado con lodo biologico (T1) y otro con lodo fisicoquimico (T2). El digestor T1 fue operado a tiempos de retencion hidraulica (TRH) de 12 y 8 dias con carga organica alimentada promedio de 1.8 y 2.3 kg SSV/m ⋅d, respectivamente. El contenido de coliformes fecales en el lodo efluente de T1 fue menor a 1000 NMP/g ST, cumpliendo con lo especificado para biosolidos clase A. El digestor T2 fue operado a un TRH de 33 dias con una carga organica promedio de 0.99 kg SSV/m ⋅d, lograndose resultados inferiores a los de T1. Se puede concluir que la digestion anaerobia termofilica constituye una opcion adecuada para el tratamiento de lodos de tipo biologico y su transformacion a biosolidos sin restricciones para su utilizacion.
INVESTIGADORES DEL INSTITUTO DE INGENIERIA (II) DE LA UNAM, EN COLABORACION CON ACADEMICOS DE LA ... more INVESTIGADORES DEL INSTITUTO DE INGENIERIA (II) DE LA UNAM, EN COLABORACION CON ACADEMICOS DE LA UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA METROPOLITANA (UAM) IZTAPALAPA, DESARROLLARON UN NUEVO METODO PARA EL TRATAMIENTO DE AGUAS RESIDUALES, BASADO EN LA UTILIZACION DE MICROORGANISMOS ANAEROBIOS, MISMO AL QUE YA SE LE OTORGO UNA PATENTE Y HA SIDO INSTALADO EN DIVERSAS INDUSTRIAS. EL DOCTOR ADALBERTO NOYOLA, RESPONSABLE DEL PROYECTO POR PARTE DEL II, EXPLICA EN QUE CONSISTE ESTA NUEVA TECNOLOGIA.
Wastewater treatment is an important task that aims to reduce water pollutants, however it is imp... more Wastewater treatment is an important task that aims to reduce water pollutants, however it is important to evaluate these processes to identify the hot spots of the systems and propose strategies to reduce or minimize the environmental impacts. In this article a comparative life cycle assessment is developed in order to evaluate the use of sludge activated technology in a waste water treatment plant in Mexico City, compared with a scenario in which no treatment is performed to contaminated flow. The CML 2000 models and the TEAMTM 4.0 software are considered. The assessment shows that in the stages where electricity is used the impacts are greater. For air acidification, stratosphic ozone depletion, greenhouse effect, human toxicity and photo‐oxidant formation, the real scenario of wastewater treatment has a greater impact on the environment, while for the categories of aquatic toxicity and eutrophication the no treatment scenario has the greatest impact.
Bioresource technology, Jan 6, 2018
Three models (blocking laws, combined and resistance-in-series) were applied to identify the prev... more Three models (blocking laws, combined and resistance-in-series) were applied to identify the prevailing fouling mechanisms in a submerged membrane in an up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor treating municipal wastewater. Experimental runs were carried out at lab-scale with filtration periods of 4 and 10 min, followed by relaxation periods of one minute with and without nitrogen bubbling. In all conditions excepting one (IF4R), the blocking laws model showed a predominance of cake formation. With the combined model, cake formation coupled with intermediate, standard and complete fouling had the better fits in all conditions, excepting IF4 and IF4R. When sewage was fed, both models pointed at intermediate fouling in the absence of gas bubbling. The resistance-in-series model identified the positive effect of gas bubbling and a post-cake fouling behavior, not shown by the other two models. This modeling approach could be applied for achieving longer filtration runs in submerged UF ...
TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry
Nature Microbiology, 2019
Revista Tecnura, 2015
La planificación ambiental hídrica en cuencas hidrográficas debe involucrar diferentes elementos ... more La planificación ambiental hídrica en cuencas hidrográficas debe involucrar diferentes elementos para la descontaminación del cuerpo de agua receptor. Es por ello que para la selección de las plantas de tratamiento de aguas residuales municipales en países en vía de desarrollo se deben considerar, entre otros aspectos, la composición típica del agua residual cruda, la eficiencia de remoción de contaminantes por tipo de tecnología, indicadores de desempeño por tecnología, aspectos ambientales sobre localización y la estrategia espacial para la localización. Este artículo presenta la metodología desarrollada por los autores, construida con base en los aspectos técnicos, económicos y ambientales, como una herramienta para la toma de decisión de inversiones futuras de plantas de tratamiento de aguas residuales municipales con elementos multidisciplinarios.
Current Medicinal Chemistry
: The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and various pathogens ... more : The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and various pathogens among the top 10 health threats. It is estimated that by 2050, the number of human deaths due to AMR will reach 10 million annually. On the other hand, several infectious outbreaks such as SARS, H1N1 influenza, Ebola, Zika fever, and COVID-19 have severely affected human populations worldwide in the last 20 years. These recent global diseases have generated the need to monitor outbreaks of pathogens and AMR to establish effective public health strategies. This review presents AMR and pathogenicity associated with wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), focusing on Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) monitoring as a complementary system to clinical surveillance. In this regard, WWTP may be monitored at three main points. First, at the inlet (raw wastewater or influent) to identify a broad spectrum of AMR and pathogens contained in the excretions of residents served by sewer networks, with a specific spatio-temporal location. Second, at the effluent, to ensure the elimination of AMR and pathogens in the treated water, considering the rising demand for safe wastewater reuse. Third, in sewage sludge or biosolids, their beneficial use or final disposal can represent a significant risk to public health. This review is divided into two sections to address the importance and implications of AMR and pathogen surveillance in wastewater and WWTP, based on NGS. The first section presents the fundamentals of surveillance techniques applied in WWTP (metataxonomics, metagenomics, functional metagenomics, metaviromics, and metatranscriptomics). Their scope and limitations are analyzed to show how microbiological and qPCR techniques complement NGS surveillance, overcoming its limitations. The second section discusses the contribution of 36 NGS research papers on WWTP surveillance, highlighting the current situation and perspectives. In both sections, research challenges and opportunities are presented.
Engenharia Sanitaria e Ambiental
RESUMO O gerenciamento do lodo de esgoto é um dos principais responsáveis pelos elevados custos d... more RESUMO O gerenciamento do lodo de esgoto é um dos principais responsáveis pelos elevados custos de operação de estações de tratamento de esgoto no Brasil. Isso se deve, principalmente, pela necessidade de etapas de desaguamento e higienização desse material, sendo essa última realizada quando o uso agrícola do lodo é escolhido como forma de destinação. Para tentar reduzir os custos e melhorar o gerenciamento do lodo em uma estação de tratamento de esgoto, uma opção que vem sendo amplamente discutida é o aproveitamento do biogás, produzido em reatores anaeróbios de fluxo ascendente de manta de lodo, para a secagem térmica do lodo. Nesse contexto, o presente trabalho vem relatar um estudo sobre a secagem térmica, de diferentes tipos de lodos, em um sistema piloto envolvendo o aproveitamento energético do biogás produzido em reatores anaeróbios de fluxo ascendente de manta de lodo, de uma estação de tratamento de esgoto de médio porte. O secador reduziu em aproximadamente 80% a massa d...
Se llevo a cabo la evaluacion de un prototipo de planta de tratamiento para casas habitacion. La ... more Se llevo a cabo la evaluacion de un prototipo de planta de tratamiento para casas habitacion. La planta de tratamiento consta de un compartimiento receptor de aguas residuales provenientes de una fosa septica, de dos filtros anoxicos puestos en serie y de una zona empacada aireada con 5 compartimientos en serie para la nitrificacion del efluente anoxico. Se establece una corriente de recirculacion entre el medio aerobio y el anoxico a traves de un sistema airlift. La planta de tratamiento esta disenada para remover materia organica disuelta y en suspension ademas de nitrogeno con bajos requerimientos energeticos y altas eficacias de tratamiento.. Bajo las condiciones especificas de operacion de la planta se observo una remocion mayor al 90% en la DQOt, y en los SST y 60% en el nitrogeno total. Para este caso, se establecio un tiempo maximo de 6 meses para efectuar la purga de lodos acumulados en la planta. La planta funciona con un solo compresor de diafragma con una potencia de 60 ...
Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/Technology, 2015
Abstract The interest in high-rate anaerobic (pre-)treatment of sewage using UASB reactors is ste... more Abstract The interest in high-rate anaerobic (pre-)treatment of sewage using UASB reactors is steadily growing since its introduction in the mid-1980s. Today there are hundreds of full-scale plants in operation in various parts of the tropical world, notably in Latin America and India. The main advantage of UASB technology is the very low or even zero energy demand, leading to an up to tenfold drop in operational costs compared to activated sludge. This paper presents a literature review focussing on current design criteria and post-treatment options, alongside discussing the centralized and decentralized approach. The current limitations and constraints regarding temperature, nutrients, pathogen removal, odour nuisance, operational constrictions and methane emissions are also presented and discussed. Further, recent challenges in relation to energy recovery from biogas, sludge and scum are discussed, alongside with advances related to recovery of dissolved methane and sludge management. Finally, the paper provides some outlooks for upcoming developments.
Proceedings of the Water Environment Federation, 2005
Water Science & Technology, 2006
Two thermophilic lab-scale reactors of 5 L were operated on a daily fed basis. Digester T1 receiv... more Two thermophilic lab-scale reactors of 5 L were operated on a daily fed basis. Digester T1 received raw sludge (control) and digester T2 was fed with raw sludge plus metallic micronutrients and a bacilli additive. Raw sludge was obtained from a municipal chemically enhanced primary treatment plant. The effect of additives was clear on methane production, since on day 50, digester T2 produced 900 ml more methane than T1, an increase of 64%. On day 80, T2 reached twice the production of biogas of T1. Volatile solid removal (% VSR) in T2 increased to 29%; while T1 achieved only 15%. Acetic acid concentration in T2 diminished to 100 mg/L, which related to the higher biogas production. Based on the Mexican biosolids standard, the digested sludge reached Class A biosolids, in both digesters: fecal coliforms were reduced to less than 1000 MPN/gTS; Salmonella spp was totally eliminated and helminth egg counts were lower than one viable egg per gram of total solids.
Process Biochemistry, 2017
Water Science and Technology, 1994
Granulation is an important characteristic of sludges used in upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UA... more Granulation is an important characteristic of sludges used in upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors. As the UASB technology is rapidly spreading, there is a need of granular sludge for inoculation of new reactors, particularly in those countries where anaerobic technologies have been just recently accepted. Alternative sources of inocula are digested sludge, digested manure, septic tank sludges and pond sediments. Raw waste activated sludges have also been identified as a convenient material for reactor seeding, with previous treatment. In this work, anaerobic flocculant sludge obtained from raw waste activated sludge has been granulated with hydraulic stress, in a lab-scale column under different upflow velocities (1 to 50 m h−1). A methodology is proposed for enhancing the quality of non granular anaerobic sludges in batch treatments of less than 8 hours. The granular sludge produced was used as inoculum for a UASB lab scale reactor. The seed sludge improved all its char...
Biomass and Bioenergy, 2014
Climate change is recognized as one of the more serious potential threats to the environment. Mun... more Climate change is recognized as one of the more serious potential threats to the environment. Municipal wastes are significant contributors to greenhouse gases emissions through decomposition and life-cycle activities processes. Wastewater management has not been yet seriously considered as potential part of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects. A reason is a matter of scale and mass of organic carbon involved. However, the number of facilities is very high, and their added contributions represent an important source of greenhouse gases (GHG).
Se trabajo con dos digestores de lodos en forma de huevo, con un volumen efectivo de tratamiento ... more Se trabajo con dos digestores de lodos en forma de huevo, con un volumen efectivo de tratamiento de 5 L, bajo condiciones de termofilia (55°C); uno de ellos fue alimentado con lodo biologico (T1) y otro con lodo fisicoquimico (T2). El digestor T1 fue operado a tiempos de retencion hidraulica (TRH) de 12 y 8 dias con carga organica alimentada promedio de 1.8 y 2.3 kg SSV/m ⋅d, respectivamente. El contenido de coliformes fecales en el lodo efluente de T1 fue menor a 1000 NMP/g ST, cumpliendo con lo especificado para biosolidos clase A. El digestor T2 fue operado a un TRH de 33 dias con una carga organica promedio de 0.99 kg SSV/m ⋅d, lograndose resultados inferiores a los de T1. Se puede concluir que la digestion anaerobia termofilica constituye una opcion adecuada para el tratamiento de lodos de tipo biologico y su transformacion a biosolidos sin restricciones para su utilizacion.
INVESTIGADORES DEL INSTITUTO DE INGENIERIA (II) DE LA UNAM, EN COLABORACION CON ACADEMICOS DE LA ... more INVESTIGADORES DEL INSTITUTO DE INGENIERIA (II) DE LA UNAM, EN COLABORACION CON ACADEMICOS DE LA UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA METROPOLITANA (UAM) IZTAPALAPA, DESARROLLARON UN NUEVO METODO PARA EL TRATAMIENTO DE AGUAS RESIDUALES, BASADO EN LA UTILIZACION DE MICROORGANISMOS ANAEROBIOS, MISMO AL QUE YA SE LE OTORGO UNA PATENTE Y HA SIDO INSTALADO EN DIVERSAS INDUSTRIAS. EL DOCTOR ADALBERTO NOYOLA, RESPONSABLE DEL PROYECTO POR PARTE DEL II, EXPLICA EN QUE CONSISTE ESTA NUEVA TECNOLOGIA.
Wastewater treatment is an important task that aims to reduce water pollutants, however it is imp... more Wastewater treatment is an important task that aims to reduce water pollutants, however it is important to evaluate these processes to identify the hot spots of the systems and propose strategies to reduce or minimize the environmental impacts. In this article a comparative life cycle assessment is developed in order to evaluate the use of sludge activated technology in a waste water treatment plant in Mexico City, compared with a scenario in which no treatment is performed to contaminated flow. The CML 2000 models and the TEAMTM 4.0 software are considered. The assessment shows that in the stages where electricity is used the impacts are greater. For air acidification, stratosphic ozone depletion, greenhouse effect, human toxicity and photo‐oxidant formation, the real scenario of wastewater treatment has a greater impact on the environment, while for the categories of aquatic toxicity and eutrophication the no treatment scenario has the greatest impact.
Bioresource technology, Jan 6, 2018
Three models (blocking laws, combined and resistance-in-series) were applied to identify the prev... more Three models (blocking laws, combined and resistance-in-series) were applied to identify the prevailing fouling mechanisms in a submerged membrane in an up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor treating municipal wastewater. Experimental runs were carried out at lab-scale with filtration periods of 4 and 10 min, followed by relaxation periods of one minute with and without nitrogen bubbling. In all conditions excepting one (IF4R), the blocking laws model showed a predominance of cake formation. With the combined model, cake formation coupled with intermediate, standard and complete fouling had the better fits in all conditions, excepting IF4 and IF4R. When sewage was fed, both models pointed at intermediate fouling in the absence of gas bubbling. The resistance-in-series model identified the positive effect of gas bubbling and a post-cake fouling behavior, not shown by the other two models. This modeling approach could be applied for achieving longer filtration runs in submerged UF ...
ISBN: 978-607-02-4822-1, 2013
Esta obra es resultado de varios años de experiencia con plantas de tratamiento de aguas residual... more Esta obra es resultado de varios años de experiencia con plantas de tratamiento de aguas residuales municipales, tanto en aspectos de diseño conceptual, como en capacitación de personal técnico y diagnósticos de operación. Se ha integrado con el objeto de apoyar a los responsables de la toma de decisiones en materia de tratamiento de aguas residuales en el ámbito municipal, quienes, a pesar de no ser necesariamente especialistas en el tema, deben contar con criterios para una adecuada elección de la tecnología para resolver su problema de manejo de aguas residuales.
La creciente conciencia de la sociedad y del gobierno para atender debidamente la protección del ambiente y la recuperación de recursos, abre una oportunidad para aplicar tecnologías de tratamiento de agua residual que atiendan las características específicas del caso, que sean innovadoras, que cumplan con las legislaciones locales y que presenten una menor huella de carbono. Bajo este contexto, los criterios de toma de decisiones para seleccionar la tecnología adecuada para un caso específico se amplían, debiendo integrar la sustentabilidad y la mitigación del cambio climático, así como aspectos sociales, a los técnico – económicos convencionales.
Este documento se orienta fundamentalmente a los pequeños y medianos sistemas operadores de agua y saneamiento, los cuales con frecuencia no cuentan con una adecuada asesoría o capacidad técnica para enfrentar la responsabilidad de la selección de su sistema de tratamiento de aguas residuales. Para ello, se presentan las posibles opciones tecnológicas y la definición de los elementos mínimos a solicitar en las ofertas de proyectos, se proporciona una guía para evaluar dichas propuestas y así llegar finalmente a una selección objetiva y transparente de la más adecuada al caso específico.
Sin ser un límite absoluto, se considera que la guía es aplicable para sistemas municipales con caudales menores a 200 l/s (alrededor de 100,000 habitantes equivalente). Para plantas mayores a ese caudal, se presume que el tamaño del organismo operador responsable implicaría contar con expertos en varias áreas técnicas y para quienes este documento sería elemental.
La obra además cuenta con información valiosa sobre el estado del tratamiento de aguas residuales en América Latina y el Caribe y en particular con los resultados de aplicar la metodología de análisis de ciclo de vida a diversos procesos de tratamiento representativos de la Región.