Uso racional de água na Universidade Federal da Grande Dourados: otimização do processo de destilação

Abstract

As a member of the Brazilian public administration, Universidade Federal da Grande Dourados (UFGD) is entrusted with the commitment of being an assertive model of socio-environmental behavior, corroborating with its native mission of higher education institution, which makes it responsible for rationalizing its consumption patterns, inducing new criteria and practices (MMA, 2009). Seeking to help consolidate these functions, this research developed a diagnosis of the current situation of its distilled water system, which is an essential input for the progress of the experiments carried out in its teaching and research laboratories. Considering the importance of analyzing the impact of this system on the consumption of water resources in the institution, this work delimited as main objective to analyze the method of water purification in UFGD laboratories and propose alternatives of consumption rationalization in this process. For this, a survey of the methods used was made, as well as their productivities. The financial and environmental costs of current practices were also estimated, to, then, analyze the feasibility of intervention proposals that improve or replace the current model. This paper was developed under descriptive quantitative research methodology of applied nature, as it describes the characteristics of the studied phenomenon, besides the establishment of relations between the observed variables. It also covered an exploratory research bias, seeking familiarity with the problem situation so that its contribution can be improved. The research was carried out on literary references as well as data collection and discussion. The results obtained indicated a large waste of water in the current system. Considering the needs of the university and the feasibility of implementation, this study proposed and characterized some proposals that can intervene positively in this situation, such as reuse of discarded water, modernization of the system, and the creation of a purification center that will attend to the entire institution.