Cogeneration in a solid-wastes power-station: a case-study

Nowadays, natural gas is viewed as the solution to the problem of energy supply for Latin America, Europe and North America for the next few decades; Brazil is increasingly becoming dependent upon the Bolivian natural-gas supply - many industries and some entrepreneurs are deciding to construct industrial cogeneration systems and new thermal power-stations burning natural gas because of its low environmental impact and attractive price. However, natural gas is a finite resource: this will cause, in the future, an increase of its unit price. This paper details questions involved in the energy generation and presents solid-waste burning as a possible alternative fuel for the future, especially in the context of cogeneration practice in which the thermal and electric energy are used primarily for the industries located in an industrial district. Two cogeneration schemes are proposed for the burning of municipal solid wastes, associated or not with natural gas, and their technical and economic feasibilities are examined. (C) 1999 Elsevier B.V. Ltd. All rights reserved.

From Plinthic Acrisols to Plinthosols and Gleysols: iron and groundwater dynamics in the tertiary sediments of the upper Amazon basin

Topography has been reported to be the major factor ruling the spatial distribution of Acrisols, Plinthosols and Gleysols on the seasonally flooded, low elevation plateaux of the upper Amazon basin occupied by Tertiary (Ica & Solimoes) sediments. In this study, detailed morphological and mineralogical investigations conducted in a representative 25-ha site were combined with hydro-geochemical data to relate the vertical and lateral soil differentiations observed to the hydro-geological history of that part of the basin. As a result of the uplift of the Andes, several cuts in the extensive Tertiary marshlands have formed, at first, slightly incised plateaux of low elevation. There, weathering under hot and humid climates would have generated a reddish, freely drained and bioturbated topsoil layer and the vertical differentiation in subsoil sediments of a plinthite over an iron-depleted mottled clay. The second episode of soil differentiation is linked to the replacement of the forest by a savannah under the drier climates of the late Pleistocene, which favours surface runoff and the infill of the incisions by fine particles. This infill, combined with the return to the present humid climate, has then enabled the local groundwater to rise on the plateaux and to generate episaturation at the topsoil/subsoil transition close to the depressions. Nowadays, ferrous iron is released from the partly iron-depleted topsoil weathering front at high water levels during the rainy seasons. It moves from footslope to low-lying positions and from top to bottom in the soil profile according to the groundwater dynamics. The present general trend is thus to the lateral export of iron at high water levels due to subsurface and overland flows, its vertical transfer during the recession of the groundwater and accumulation in a nodular plinthite. In the latter, ferrous iron is adsorbed onto its softest iron masses where it feeds the neoformation of ferrihydrite that rapidly dehydrates into haematite.

Búsqueda de nuevas rutas comerciales. Solón Wilches y las redes de poder en García Rovira, segunda mitad del siglo xix

This article presents a project formulated by the president of the Sovereign State of Santander, Solon Witches, to open new trade routes in order to create and maintain a network of power in the department of Garcia Rovira. First, the text highlights the political activity of General Witches to help his region; second, the commercial activities which surrounded his network of friends and family. Finally, the text answers the question of how associations worked around a main character in order to complete commercial transactions in a specific region.

Estado, burguesía e legislação trabalhista brasileira no limiar dos anos 30: notas para uma discussão

The creation and implementation of Brazilian labor laws during the 1930s gave rise to important political debates. The various stakeholders - the state, the bourgeoisie, and workers - each with their own social project, had forged mechanisms designed to protect their own interests. Within this framework, this article addresses the arguments regarding the Expulsion of Foreigners Act (1907), the "Dois Tercos"(Two-thirds) Act (1930), and the Unionization Act (1931). These acts provide clear evidence that the growth of state interventionism was accompanied by tensions and changes, and that the labor legislation was not simply the 'gift' of a Corporate State.

A case study of the 9 August 1988 South Atlantic storm: Numerical simulations of the wave activity

During 9-11 August 1988, a cyclone developed over Uruguay in the lee of the Andes Mountains and moved over the South Atlantic Ocean, where it redeveloped into an intense storm. This storm was responsible for unusual wave activity along the Brazilian shoreline from 22° to 32°S. The Brazilian news media reported the loss of at least one life, waves of 3 m and higher, and the disappearance of a drainage pipe, which weighed 8000 kg, off the shores of Rio de Janeiro. In this paper, the evolution of this intense storm and the associated ocean wave response is studied through European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts analyses, a hydrostatic limited-area meteorological model, and a second-generation prognostic wave model. The atmospheric model results indicated the presence of a long-lived and large fetch with surface wind velocities higher than 12 m s -1 directed toward the coast. Some areas with velocities of 20 m s -1 were embedded in the fetch. The wave model forced by this wind field was able to simulate waves with a significant height of 8 m far from the coast and about 4 m in regions very close to the Brazilian coast in agreement with the occurrence reported at Rio de Janeiro. The swell propagation toward the coast of Rio de Janeiro was obstructed by a northeastward 10-m wind during the first 24-h period of the model's integration. During the second 24-h period, the fetch was still large and strong, but the obstacle was removed by a counterclockwise rotation of wind direction favoring the swell and windsea propagation toward the Rio de Janeiro coast.

Revision of the South American freshwater genus Plagioscion (Teleostei, Perciformes, Sciaenidae)

The South American freshwater sciaenid genus Plagioscion is reviewed. Five of the 15 nominal species assigned to the genus are considered to be valid: Plagioscion squamosissimus, widely distributed in Atlantic drainages east of the Andes; P. auratus from the Río Orinoco and Río Amazonas basins; P. magdalenae from the Río Magdalena and Río Amazonas basins; P. ternetzi from the lower Río Paraná, Río Paraguay and Rio Uruguay basins; and P. montei from the Río Amazonas basin. Copyright © 2005 Magnolia Press.

Aplicação de técnica de geoprocessamento em áreas degradadas de mata ciliar e sua correlação com qualidade da água numa subbacia hidrográfica

Studying the physical environment of a watershed is the basic condition for a successful planning of the riparian forest preservation, and for water production and conservation. The aims of the present study were to analyze and quantify the spatial and temporal evolution (1984 and 2010) using Landsat-5 satellite images of Cintra Stream sub-watershed, Botucatu, São Paulo State, Brazil, processed by the software IDRISI Andes, as well as to analyze the water quality through the parameters pH, EC, DO and BOD5 at 4 different sites in the years 1999, 2008 and 2009. Considering the 1076.48ha area of the sub-watershed, the pasture class of 1984 was reduced by 25.55% in 2010, resulting in an increase in the remaining classes. The most important class was native forest and reforestation since it had an increase of 5.08%, which indicates recovery of the riparian forest. Degraded areas were identified close to the inferior limit of the sub-watershed (P3 and P4), as well as local contamination (P1 and P2) with worsening of the water quality in the remaining sites in the periods 2008 and 2009. Recovery and management of the ecological succession of degraded areas and water quality monitoring at 1 and 2 sites will be necessary to reestablish the natural condition of the area studied.

Os elementos do espaço turístico da fronteira Brasil-bolívia

The geographical space aimed by this study was the Brazil-Bolivia border, involving the urban areas of the Brazilian city, Corumbá, and the Bolivian ones, Puerto Quijarro and Puerto Suárez. The objective of this study was to analyze the touristic border spaces, speculating about their similarities and divergences regarding integrated planning. Secondary data, resulting from field work, was used in the methodology. The border generates a tangled web of relationships and streams. The presented spatial elements mix complex rationalities, sometimes approaching, sometimes denying and even disregarding the possibilities that can be translated by the border.

Uso de sig e fotografias aéreas na determinação de conflitos na rede de drenagem na bacia experimental do Rio Pardo

This study aimed to detect and evaluate potential conflicts in the land use along the Rio Pardo's tributaries and sub-tributaries from its source which is in Pardinho, SP to the water capture system by the Basic Sanitation Company located in Botucatu, SP. It was used 2005 colored aerial photos, taking as a tool for assessing the Geographical Information System - IDRISI Andes. The results showed that the riparian forests were substituted predominantly by pastures, which is called conflict. In other words, the 1590.82ha of environmental preservation areas (PPA's) that should be protected by riparian forests and meadows (41.51%) in 2005, were used as pastures, being in conflict with the legislation. The aerial pictures associated to SIG-Idrisi proved to be efficient tools in mapping the area and monitoring the environmental impacts.

Description and phylogenetic relationships of a new species of treefrog of the Dendropsophus leucophyllatus group (Anura: Hylidae) from the Amazon basin of Colombia and with an exceptional color pattern

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Efeitos da ingestão de Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius) sobre o processo de carcinogênese de cólon induzido pela 1, 2-dimetilhidrazina em ratos wistar

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Investigação do potencial genotóxico do extrato de Garcinia achachairu in vivo

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Diagnóstico da expansão da cultura canavieira e dos conflitos ambientais de uso do solo no Município de Barra Bonita/SP

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Geoprocessamento na identificação de ilhas de calor e influência do uso e ocupação do solo na temperatura aparente da superfície no município de Botucatu/SP

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Determinação do conflito de uso e ocupação do solo em áreas de preservação permanente da microbacia do Ribeirão Água -Fria, Bofete(SP) visando a conservação dos recursos hídricos

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)