Tratamentos combinados para resíduos de 2,4-d, picloram e aminopiralide como alternativa para evitar incinerações

Abstract

Agriculture is essential for the global food supply, and its productivity increased with the Green Revolution, which enabled the use of agricultural pesticides. Brazil is one of the world's largest grain producers and exporters; in the 2024/2025 crop season, the country achieved a record production of approximately 350,206 thousand tonnes. This growth is driven by intensive cultivation, which helps protect native areas; however, such high productivity creates a strong reliance on agrochemicals. Brazil has become the world's largest consumer of these substances, using 800,652 tonnes. Maintaining the production chain generates effluents that can impact the environment; these effluents contain active ingredients such as 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid), Picloram, and Aminopyralid. Currently, the treatment of these liquid wastes—originating from batch formulation processes and equipment decontamination—relies in some cases on incineration. Although incineration breaks down the chemical stability of aromatic rings, it has disadvantages, such as high operating costs and greenhouse gas emissions. This undergraduate project sought to identify a technical alternative to incineration for treating liquid wastes containing the herbicides 2,4-D, Picloram, and Aminopyralid at an industrial facility in the state of São Paulo. The research was qualitative and descriptive, conducted through a case study. Based on an analysis of the active ingredients' physicochemical properties and the mechanisms of alternative processes, an integrated treatment route was identified. The proposal involved the sequential application of a Membrane Separation Process (MSP) to concentrate the effluent, followed by Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) to break down the aromatic ring structures and convert them into biodegradable linear intermediates; the treatment concluded with a biological (microbiological) process to metabolize the compounds, followed by the polishing of remaining traces via adsorption.