Desenvolvimento de um processo para economizar água na lavagem de utensílios domésticos

Abstract

Due to population growth and deficient coverage of drinking water supply in certain regions and municipalities, the population and organizations with similar interests in basic sanitation and water resource management are faced with the need to seek solutions at levels macro and micro for the problem. In terms of macromediation of this resource, the distribution of freshwater in Brazil is concentrated in three spheres: agriculture (holds 70%), industry (with the 20% share) and domestic consumption (with 10%). About micromediation, the water use profile at the household level is mainly located in three main points: use in the shower, in the sanitary discharges and in the kitchen sink. In this context, the present work had as objective to develop a process to provide water saving in the washing of kitchen utensils, especially in the washing of domestic crockery and cutlery. The experimental design, based on factorial experiments and with the support of sofwtare Statistica® 6.0, selected 3 independent variables (flow, human factor and the use of the economizer process). Twenty-five trials were carried out, with the washing of 5 dishes and 10 cutlery in each, to identify the behavior of each variable and the interaction between them and their contributions in the volume of water consumed, as well as a public opinion survey on the problematic of the study. Therefore, among the variables conceived for the study, the effect of the use of the economizer process was determinant on the volume of water used, with an average of 17% of savings.