Procesamiento de café en cereza y riesgos ambientales asociados a la contaminación de fuentes hídricas: Estudio de caso Análisis comparativo del proceso de beneficio seco y húmedo tradicional en fincas productoras del municipio de San Gil (Santander)

Abstract

This research proposal focuses on one of the biggest environmental problems that the Colombian coffee agribusiness chain has, such as the generation of water spills contaminated with large organic loads associated with the coffee beneficiation process (pulping and washing) and , aims to identify the environmental risks associated with the contamination of water sources. To this end, analyze the coffee processing procedure using traditional wet pulping systems and BELCOSUB dry pulping systems, in operation and analyzed in the municipality of San Gil, Santander; This will detect the process from the description by mass balances, in addition to identifying the main parameters of contamination and the possible environmental damage associated with untreated wastewater. During the development of the research, the organic load of the process discharges will be quantified using the chemical and biological oxygen demand (COD and BOD) as main indicators, in addition, an analysis of the effect of its wastewater on the biota using bioindicators such as reference. This proposal needs to interpret the problems of the wastewater of the coffee agro-industry from the point of view of the management of hydrographic basins and visualize the available alternatives of control and treatment, as well as the contribution to the mitigation of environmental sensors of emerging technologies.