Influência da filtração no processo de concentração de vinhaça

Abstract

The sugar and alcohol industry is characterized not only by high productivity, but also high demand for water and the possibilities of reuse and reuse of this natural resource. In this context of sustainability and rational use of water resources due to the scarcity, new technologies appeared especially for sugar and alcohol production, through the reuse of water generated by the process of evaporation of vinasse. . Evaporation plants of vinasse are great consumers of energy, making the venture impossible, many times. The objective of this work was to study the process of evaporation of vinasse as well as some of its physicochemical characteristics, proposing in a laboratory scale a simple filtration of vinasse samples from a sugar-alcohol plant, in order to reduce the energy consumption in the evaporation process. It also evaluates the qualitative characteristics of water recovered from evaporation. As a main result, a higher concentration of the brix was obtained in previously filtered vinasse samples, therefore, a greater reduction in vinasse volume, and a higher generation of water for reuse. Thus, the quantitative and qualitative results found in relation to the filtration of vinasse to the evaporation operation, point to financial and environmental benefits.