Anaerobic digestion of stillage to produce bioenergy in the sugarcane-to-ethanol industry

Stillage is the main wastewater from ethanol production, containing a high chemical oxygen demand in addition to acidic and corrosive characteristics. Though stillage may be used as a soil fertilizer, its land application may be considered problematic due its high polluting potential. Anaerobic digestion represents an effective alternative treatment to reduce the pollution load of stillage. In addition, the methane gas produced within the process may be converted to energy, which can be directly applied to the treatment plant. The objective of this paper was to investigate the energetic potential of anaerobic digestion applied to stillage in the sugarcane ethanol industry. An overall analysis of the results indicates energy recovery capacity (ERC) values for methane ranging from 3.5% to 10%, respectively, for sugarcane juice and molasses. The processes employed to obtain the fermentable broth, as well as the distillation step, represent the main limiting factors to the energetic potential feasibility. Considering financial aspects the annual savings could reach up to US$ 30 million due to anaerobic digestion of stillage in relatively large-scale distilleries (365,000 m3 of ethanol per year). The best scenarios were verified for the association between anaerobic digestion of stillage and combustion of bagasse. In this case, the fossil fuels consumption in distilleries could be fully ceased, such the ERC of methane could reach values ranging from 140% to 890%. © 2013 Taylor & Francis.

Reuse of sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) to produce ceramic materials

Sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) is a residue resulting from the burning of bagasse in boilers in the sugarcane/alcohol industry. SCBA has a very high silica concentration and contains aluminum, iron, alkalis and alkaline earth oxides in smaller amounts. In this work, the properties of sintered ceramic bodies were evaluated based on the concentration of SCBA, which replaced non-plastic material. The ash was mixed (up to 60 wt%) with a clayed raw material that is used to produce roof tiles. Prismatic probes were pressed and sintered at different temperatures (up to 1200 degrees C). Technological tests of ceramic probes showed that the addition of ash has little influence on the ceramic properties up to 1000 C. X-ray diffraction and thermal analysis data showed that, above this temperature the ash participates in the sintering process and in the formation of new important phases. The results reported show that the reuse of SCBA in the ceramic industry is feasible. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recycling of glass cullet as aggregate for clays used to produce roof tiles

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

User-producer interaction in the Brazilian oil industry: The relationship between petrobras and its suppliers of wet Christmas tree

The objective of this work is to analyze the importance of the user-producer interaction for the innovative process of the Brazilian oil industry from the 2000s. To do so, we selected two of the three providers installed in Brazil that produce the set of valves used in the oil wellhead to control its production, set which is called wet Christmas tree (WCT), the Norway's Aker Solutions and the American FMC Technologies. The results of this analysis indicate not only the development of the oil industry in Brazil is marked by a strategy of cooperative innovation, but they also reveal the importance of geographical proximity and direct cooperation, especially between the centers of engineering and research and development of companies. Furthermore, these partnerships are not limited to the adaptation of products to new needs, but they also include the development of new systems. © Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Facultad de Economía y Negocios.

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

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)