EVALUATION OF SEA WATER DESALINATION BY MICROORGANISMS

The objective of this study was to evaluate different systems of sea water desalination by microorganisms from the inoculum of the bacteria Pseudomonas stutzeri. The use of bamboo, of the species Bambusa tuldoides, as a support medium for microorganisms in the systems was also evaluated, since bamboo has starch in its composition, favoring the cultivation of Pseudomonas stutzeri. In the present work, nine different reactors were constructed, varying the concentration of the bacteria, the availability of oxygen, the hydraulic holding time (TDH) and the volume of sea and bamboo water. Water samples were collected from the sea that bathes the coast of Campeche, Florianópolis (SC), Brazil. The parameters analyzed were: electrical conductivity, pH, apparent color, turbidity and chlorides. The analyses were performed at the Water Potabilization Laboratory (LAPOA), located at the Sanitary and Environmental Engineering Department of the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC).