Evaluation of environmentally sustainable technologies for the removal of manganese of the collection water for purification.

The Tixán water treatment plant supplies 40% of the population of Cuenca. The collection water comes from the Yanuncay River and due to landslides, it has high manganese content, making it difficult. Currently, manganese precipitation with KMN04 is performed, however, in the different equipment of the plant, they cause continuous inlays, generating a film that adheres to the different surfaces. This film can lead to the development of bacteria, which in the absence of oxygen causes the reduction of sulfates in sulfides and several associated problems; Requiring continuous stops for cleaning, which makes the process more expensive, in addition to continuous claims of the population. Technologies such as biosorption and membranes have been used efficiently to remove pollutants. The research team has experiences with these technologies in lead, cadmium removal and emerging pollutants, so it is proposed to evaluate them from the technical and economic point of view in manganese removal. For biosorption, studies will be carried out at the laboratory scale and the processes in agitated tank and in columns will be simulated, where the parameters that most influence, taking advantage of agricultural waste, within a circular economy approach will be obtained. For membranes, the cross flow cell will be used SEPA CF II with nanofiltration and reverse osmosis. Modeling and simulation of the biosorption and membranes process will be carried out, the two technologies will be compared. Finally, the environmental management options of biomass and membranes will be evaluated

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