Evaluación de la Eficacia de Filtros de Carbón en la Remoción de Contaminantes del Río Puyo para la Vida Acuática

The objective of this research was to evaluate the capacity of Pigüe (Cordia alliodora), Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus Labill) and Guaba (Inga edulis) charcoal to filter water samples from the Puyo River, which present a medium level of contamination. This study evaluates the efficiency of a filtration system to purify water and determine if it meets the quality standards required to protect aquatic life in both cold and warm freshwater ecosystems. Although an improvement in overall quality was observed, the persistence of total coliforms is evidence of the need to combine filtration with other treatments to ensure complete removal of contaminants. Analyses of pH, electrical conductivity, turbidity, dissolved solids, suspended solids, dissolved oxygen, presence of nitrogen and fluorides indicate that, although minor variations occurred, water parameters remained in acceptable ranges based on AM 097-A: 2015 for admissible quality criteria for the preservation of aquatic and wildlife life in fresh, marine and study waters. Filtration resulted in an overall improvement in water quality, but did not completely remove all contaminants, specifically total coliforms which once passed through the charcoal filters remained 300000 NMP/100 ml in all samples. An integrated approach combining filtration with other treatments is recommended to optimize water quality and protect aquatic ecosystems