Relationship between the vinasse toxicity and application time in sugarcane crops: aquatic and land toxicity bioassays

Abstract

Brazil is the world's largest ethanol producer and the state of São Paulo stands out with about 50% of this production. For every liter of ethanol produced are generated 15 liters of vinasse as waste. The stillage has acid pH, large organic load and loads of metals, making it an excellent fertilizer, but with great potential polluter facing high amount produced. In recent decades, the residue is used in fertigation of sugarcane crops. Keeping this in view, it is objective of this project to evaluate the toxicity of vinasse in areas of fertitrrigadas sugarcane crops with vinasse at 5, 15 and 30 years, through terrestrial and aquatic bio-indicators, using cellular and molecular tools. Will be collected soils in the areas of study to achieve the bioassays in reply. As land diplopods biomarkers will be used. After exposure for a period of 30 days, the midgut of these animals will be collected for histological, histochemical, immunohistochemical and ultraestrural. After geological characterization of the study areas numerical simulation will be held to obtain the possible vinasse concentrations that reach groundwater in the study areas. From this simulation, the vinasse is percolated on percolation columns to obtain vinasse calculated on concentration. The evaluation of the toxic potential of vinasse be held in tilapia exposed to vinasse percolated on actual concentrations obtained for each area. It will be genotoxic potential of the investigated samples by the comet assay and micronucleus test, evaluation of gill tissue through ultramorphology, histology, and histochemical quantification of stress proteins in liver and blood.