A pegada de carbono como um dos indicadores de sustentabilidade para medição da responsabilidade socioambiental empresarial: um estudo de caso na unidade sede da Petrobras em Natal-RN

As a contemporary tendency, it is been evidenced that the environmental changes theme, already admitted as a concernment to international economical and political reality, is also gaining repercussion on industrial and business sector. Firms are implementing actions on trial to minimize their own greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions impacts. However, the great majority of those actions of Corporative Social-Environmental Responsibility (CSR) are referred only to direct emissions of the main production systems. Direct emissions are those derived of an isolate process, without considering the upstream and downstream processes emissions, which respond for the majority of emissions originated because of respective firm‟s production system existence. Because the greenhouse effect occurs globally and the GHG emissions contribute to the environmental changes independently of their origin, it must be taken into account the whole productive life cycle of products and systems, since the energy invested on resources extraction and necessary materials to the final disposal. To do so, it must be investigated all relevant steps of a product/production system life cycle, tracking all activities which emit greenhouse gases, directly or indirectly. This amount of emissions consists in the firm‟s Carbon Footprint. This research purpose is to defend the Carbon Footprint relevance and its adoption viability to be used as an Environmental Indicator on measurement/assessment of CSR. It has been realized a study case on Petrobras‟s seat unity at Natal-Brazil, assessing part of its Carbon Footprint. It has been used the software GEMIS 4.6 to do the emissions quantifying. The items measured were the direct emissions of the own unity vehicles and indirect emissions of offset paper (A4), energy and disposable plastic cups consumed. To 2009, these emissions were 3.811,94 tCO2eq. We may conclude that Carbon Footprint quantification is indispensable to the knowledge of real emissions caused by a productive process existence, must serving as basis to CSR decisions about the environmental changes reversion challenge

Proposta de válvula bypass para controle de velocidade de PIGs instrumentados: protótipo e simulação em bancada

In the Oil industry, oil and gas pipelines are commonly utilized to perform the transportation of production fluids to longer distances. The maintenance of the pipelines passes through the analysis of several tools, in which the most currently used are the pipelines inspection cells, popularly knowing as PIG. Among the variants existing in the market, the instrumented PIG has a significant relevance; acknowledging that through the numerous sensors existing in the equipment, it can detect faults or potential failure along the inspected line. Despite its versatility, the instrumented PIG suffers from speed variations, impairing the reading of sensors embedded in it. Considering that PIG moves depending on the speed of the production fluid, a way to control his speed is to control the flow of the fluid through the pressure control, reducing the flow rate of the produced flow, resulting in reduction of overall production the fluid in the ducts own or with the use of a restrictive element (valve) installed on it. The characteristic of the flow rate/pressure drop from restrictive elements of the orifice plate is deducted usually from the ideal energy equation (Bernoulli’s equation) and later, the losses are corrected normally through experimental tests. Thus, with the objective of controlling the fluids flow passing through the PIG, a valve shutter actuated by solenoid has been developed. This configuration allows an ease control and stabilization of the flow adjustment, with a consequent response in the pressure drops between upstream and downstream of the restriction. It was assembled a test bench for better definition of flow coefficients; composed by a duct with intern diameter of four inches, one set of shutters arranged in a plate and pressure gauges for checking the pressure drop in the test. The line was pressurized and based on the pressure drop it was possible to draw a curve able to characterize the flow coefficient of the control valve prototype and simulate in mockup the functioning, resulting in PIG speed reduction of approximately 68%.

Desgaste corrosivo-cavitativo-erosivo de um aço-carbono em meio aquoso com frações de sal (NaCl), CO2 e particulados sólidos (SiO2)

A batch of eighty-four coupons of low carbon steel were investigated at laboratory conditions under a corrosive, cavitative-corrosive (CO2) and corrosive-erosive (SiO2 + CO2) in an aqueous salt solution and two levels of temperature. The following measurements were made on Vickers (HV0,05, HV0,10, HV0,20) Microhardness tests at three levels of subsurface layer. A turbulent flow collided on the cylindrical sample, with and without mechanical stirring and gas bubbling, with and without fluid contamination by solid particles of SiO2, at two temperatures. Surface Roughness and Waviness, under two conditions "as received, after machining" and "after worn out", as well as gravimetric and electrochemical parameter were measured on the two opposite generatrices of each cylindrical sample, on the flow upstream (0°) and downstream (180°) by Profilometry, Mass Variation and Linear Polarization Resistance (LPR). The results of the Microhardness and Surface Texture of all coupons were subjected to statistical comparison, using the software Statgraphics® Centurion XVI, 95% statistical certainty, and significant differences were observed in some arrays of measurements. The corrosive wear rate measured by LPR and mass variation shown to be sensitive to the presence of bubbles and hydrodynamic fluctuations inside the cell, considering the temperature and contamination of corrosive fluid by solid particles. The main results of visual inspection relative to some topologies of the surface damages involving different mechanisms that were seen to give explanation for some fluctuations in wear rates of the steel experimentally investigated

Responsabilidade social: visões e perspectivas de empresários do segmento industrial do Rio Grande do Norte

The theme Corporate Social Responsibility is relatively recent both in the academic field and in the business practice. Because of the lack of socialization of experiences and precision of concepts, there are gaps regarding the understanding of the subject and, also, how to conduct operations. This study just seeks to investigate such matter, focusing applications of social responsibility in business. It takes, as empirical field, winners of the PSQT - SESI Prize of Quality at Work in Rio Grande do Norte (2002-2007) in order to systematize the various approaches on the issue, aiming to reveal subjective visions and perspectives of the theme. It is characterized as a qualitative study, carried out by structured interview. The universe was composed by 15 companies. It was used analysis of content categorical as an axis for the interpretation of the information. Three approaches guided the analysis: Business Ethics, (normative); Business & Society (contractual); Social Issues Management (strategic). The findings are related in three ways: 1) reasons for the CSR practice; 2) the results obtained; 3) the means of CSR. It was found that the award participation occurs, mostly, linked to SESI invitations, so, as an articulated movement of industrial corporations in Brazil it occurs, also, because of the organizational commitment with the society and the possibility of internal and social growths and because of the importance attributed to the report as an instrument of consultancy. There are no indicators to check impacts of organizational interventions, in spite of the existence of planning for the actions. Social responsibility appears as a tool to reinforce the organizational image and to increase satisfaction of the employees. There is a tendency of large and medium firms to a contractual commitment while the small and the micros firms are on strategic or normative level. The analysis of the perspectives of social responsibility future revealed trends towards for strategic approach

Responsabilidade social: visões e perspectivas de empresários do segmento industrial do Rio Grande do Norte

The theme Corporate Social Responsibility is relatively recent both in the academic field and in the business practice. Because of the lack of socialization of experiences and precision of concepts, there are gaps regarding the understanding of the subject and, also, how to conduct operations. This study just seeks to investigate such matter, focusing applications of social responsibility in business. It takes, as empirical field, winners of the PSQT - SESI Prize of Quality at Work in Rio Grande do Norte (2002-2007) in order to systematize the various approaches on the issue, aiming to reveal subjective visions and perspectives of the theme. It is characterized as a qualitative study, carried out by structured interview. The universe was composed by 15 companies. It was used analysis of content categorical as an axis for the interpretation of the information. Three approaches guided the analysis: Business Ethics, (normative); Business & Society (contractual); Social Issues Management (strategic). The findings are related in three ways: 1) reasons for the CSR practice; 2) the results obtained; 3) the means of CSR. It was found that the award participation occurs, mostly, linked to SESI invitations, so, as an articulated movement of industrial corporations in Brazil it occurs, also, because of the organizational commitment with the society and the possibility of internal and social growths and because of the importance attributed to the report as an instrument of consultancy. There are no indicators to check impacts of organizational interventions, in spite of the existence of planning for the actions. Social responsibility appears as a tool to reinforce the organizational image and to increase satisfaction of the employees. There is a tendency of large and medium firms to a contractual commitment while the small and the micros firms are on strategic or normative level. The analysis of the perspectives of social responsibility future revealed trends towards for strategic approach