Calibração de coeficientes cinéticos de decaimento do cloro em rede de distribuição de campus universitário

Abstract

Access to quality water is an essential human right for sustaining life and preventing waterborne diseases. Accordingly, regulations establish water quality standards to ensure its safety for human consumption. The disinfection process aims to inactivate pathogenic microorganisms in water and prevent recontamination within the distribution system. One of the primary disinfectants used in water treatment is chlorine. Maintaining the minimum concentration of Free Residual Chlorine (FRC) up to the point of consumption is a key concern for treatment operators, as its concentration in water decreases due to reactions with substances present in the water mass and the pipe walls. This study focused on examining the decay of free residual chlorine in the internal distribution network of the Santa Mônica Campus at the Federal University of Uberlândia. It determined the kinetic decay coefficients in the water mass (kb) through bottle tests and in the pipe walls (kw) using a trial-and-error method with the EPANET 2.0 software. To model the campus distribution system, the network's characteristics and historical data on FRC monitoring and water consumption were collected. Additionally, hydrant monitoring was conducted to define the standard consumption curve, and pressure data were analyzed for model calibration. The results showed that the water quality model can be effectively used to simulate chlorine behavior in the campus distribution network. Furthermore, it was observed that FRC decay is more influenced by reactions occurring on the pipe walls than by those in the water mass. This contributes to more efficient and strategic management of water quality provided to the academic community.