The enzymatic recalcitrance of internodes of sugar cane hybrids with contrasting lignin contents

The recalcitrance in grasses varies according to cell type and maturation. The origin of the recalcitrance in different regions from sugar cane internodes with varied lignin contents was evaluated. The efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis was correlated with the chemical, micromorphological and microspectrophotometric characteristics of the samples. The internodes of three sugar cane hybrids were dissected into four different fractions. The outermost fraction and the rind were the most recalcitrant regions, whereas the pith-rind interface and the pith were less recalcitrant. Cellulose conversion reached 86% after 72h of enzymatic digestion of the pith from the hybrid with the lowest lignin content. There was an inversely proportional correlation between the area occupied by vascular bundles and the efficiency of cellulose hydrolysis. High cellulose and low lignin or hemicellulose contents enhanced the efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis of the polysaccharides. The critical evaluation of the results permitted to propose an empirical parameter for predicting cellulose conversion levels that accounts for the positive effect of high cellulose and low lignin plus hemicellulose and the detrimental effect of abundant vascular bundles. The cellulose conversion levels fit well to this calculated parameter, following a second order polynomial with an r2 value of 0.96. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Diurnal and nocturnal measurements of PAH, nitro-PAH, and oxy-PAH compounds in atmospheric particulate matter of a sugar cane burning region

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Incorporation of hydrogen production process in a sugar cane industry: Steam reforming of ethanol

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Sugar cane vinasse in water bodies: Impact assessed by liver histopathology in tilapia

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Rainwater major and trace element contents in Southeastern Brazil: an assessment of a sugar cane region in dry and wet period

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Correlation Between Apparent Activation Energy and NOx emission of renewable diesel from sugar cane, biodiesel, fossil diesel and their blends

Biofuels and their blends with fossil fuel are important energy resources, which production and application have been largely increased internationally. This study focus on the development of a correlation between apparent activation energy (Ea) and NOx emission of the thermal decomposition of three pure fuels: farnasane (renewable diesel from sugar cane), biodiesel and fossil diesel and their blends. Apparent Activation energy was determined by using thermogravimetry and Model-Free Kinetics. NOx emission was obtained from the European Stationary Cycle (ESC) with OM 926LA CONAMA P7/Euro 5 engine. Results showed that there is a linear correlation between apparent activation energy and NOx emission with R2 of 0,9667 considering pure fuels and their blends which is given as: NOx = 2,2514Ea - 96,309. The average absolute error of this correlation is 2.96% with respect to the measured NOx value. The main advantage of this correlation is its capability to predict NOx emission when either a new pure fuel or a blend of fuels is proposed to use in enginees.

Characterization of a wollastonite glass-ceramic material prepared using sugar cane bagasse ash (SCBA) as one of the raw materials

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Mutagenicity profile of atmospheric particulate matter in a small urban center subjected to airborne emission from vehicle traffic and sugar cane burning

Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) is genotoxic and recently was classified as carcinogenic to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. PM chemical composition varies depending on source and atmospheric conditions. The Salmonella/microsome assay is the most used mutagenicity test and can identify the major chemical classes responsible for observed mutagenicity. The objective of this work was to characterize the mutagenicity of PM samples from a countryside city, Limeira, Brazil, which is influenced by heavy traffic and sugar cane biomass burning. Six samples of total PM were collected. Air mass backward trajectories were calculated. Organic extracts were assayed using the Salmonella/microsome microsuspension mutagenicity assay using TA98, YG1041, and TA1538, with and without metabolic activation (S9). YG1041 was the most sensitive strain and mutagenicity reached 9,700 revertants per m(3) without metabolic activation. Potency for TA1538 was higher than TA98, indicating that this strain should be considered in air mutagenicity studies. The increased response to YG1041 relative to TA98, and the decreased response with S9, suggests that nitroaromatics are the major contributors. Limeira is among the most mutagenic cities in the world. High mutagenicity in Limeira seems to occur when the air mass from the area of sugarcane production is mixed with air from the region impacted by anthropogenic activities such as traffic. An increase in the formation of nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons may result from longer contact time between the aromatic compounds and the atmosphere with high NOx and ozone concentration, although more studies are required to confirm this hypothesis. Environ. Mol. Mutagen., 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Raman Lidar monitors emissions from sugar cane fires in the State of São Paulo: a pilot-project integrating radar, sodar, aerosol and gas observations

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Yield of different white button strains in sugar cane by product-based composts

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in raw cane sugar (rapadura) in Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Sewage sludge as nitrogen and phosphorus source for cane-plant and first ratoon crops

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Analysis of the performance of an extraction-condensation steam turbine on a cogeneration system of a Brazilian sugar-alcohol factory

In this work a detailed thermodynamic analysis for an extraction-condensation steam turbine capable to drive a 40 MVA electricity generator in a sugar-alcohol factory was carried out. The use of this turbine in the cogeneration system showed that its efficiency contributed to increase the power generation, although the condensation reduces the overall efficiency of the plant. Sensibility analyses were performed to evaluate the behavior of the overall energy efficiency of a plant with the extraction-condensation turbine in function of the boiler efficiency, the specific consumption of steam in the processes and the condensation rate in the turbine. It was observed that the plant efficiency is very sensible to the condensation rate variation and it increases when there is an increase in the demand of steam for processes.

NEW YEAST STRAINS FOR ALCOHOLIC FERMENTATION AT HIGHER SUGAR CONCENTRATION

New yeast strains for alcoholic fermentation were isolated from samples collected from Brazilian alcohol factories at the end of the sugar cane crop season. They were selected by their capacity of fermenting concentrated sugar cane syrup as well as high sucrose concentrations in synthetic medium with a conversion efficiency of 89-92%. The strains were identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae.