Optimization of temperature, sugar concentration, and inoculum size to maximize ethanol production without significant decrease in yeast cell viability

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

Is the environmental policies procedures a barrier to development of inland navigation and port management? A case of study in Brazil

The main objective of this article is to discuss the Brazilian environmental legislation and policies towards the development of navigation and port management. The research illustrated some difficulties faced by the country and make suggestions to overcome it. The construction of the environmental legal framework began in the early 1960s and resulted in a very complex system, as a consequence of policies adopted by the country. Nowadays Brazilian environmental policies are developed in democratic and participative way, although with elevated degree of bureaucracy and lack of integration among the several governmental agencies, which makes the approval of environmental certifications demand several years for new port projects or improvements, which delays the economic development of the country. Efforts have been made to simplify the licensing process. As result of this research two flowchart for environmental licenses of ports installation are shown: The first shows the process until 2009 and the second shows the process nowadays. This become an important issue due the fact that inland navigation is one of the less pollutant modes of transportation, and although, the process of environmental certification was simplified, if compare with 2009, it is still complex and time-consuming, delaying the development of the infrastructure. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

Site Selection for Restoration Planning: A Protocol With Landscape and Legislation Based Alternatives

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

PRODUCTIVITY OF CANE SUGAR: LINEAR AND SPATIAL VARIABILITY BETWEEN COMPONENTS AND TECHNOLOGICAL PRODUCTION

Nowadays, the culture of the sugarcane plays an important role regarding the Brazilian reality, especially in the aspect related to the alternative energy sources. In 2009, the municipality of Suzanapolis (SP), in the Brazilian Cerrado, an experiment was conducted with the culture of the sugarcane in a Red eutrophic, with the aim of selecting, using Pearson correlation coefficients, modeling, simple, linear and multiple regressions and spatial correlation, and also the best technological and productive components, to explain the variability of the productivity of the sugarcane. The geostatistical grid was installed in order to collect the data, with 120 sampling points, in an area of 14.53 ha. For the simple linear regressions, the plants population is the component of production that presents the best quadratic correlation with the productivity of the sugarcane, given by: PRO = -0.553**xPOP(2)+16.14*xPOP-15.77. However, for multiple linear regressions, the equation PRO = -21.11+4.92xPOP**+0.76xPUR** is the one that best presents in order to estimate that productivity. Spatially, the best correlation with yield of the sugarcane is also determined by the component of the production population of plants.

An hydrochemical answer to a legislative demand involving health risk related to water quality

Effluents and surface waters around an area involved with the inking of tissues at Itatiba municipality, São Paulo State, Brazil, were chemically analyzed with the purpose of evaluating the influence on the water quality of the chemicals released, as well to provide answers to legislative requirements related to the São Paulo State Register 997 published on 31 May 1976.

Chronological Monte Carlo-based assessment of distribution system reliability

Regulatory authorities in many countries, in order to maintain an acceptable balance between appropriate customer service qualities and costs, are introducing a performance-based regulation. These regulations impose penalties, and in some cases rewards, which introduce a component of financial risk to an electric power utility due to the uncertainty associated with preserving a specific level of system reliability. In Brazil, for instance, one of the reliability indices receiving special attention by the utilities is the Maximum Continuous Interruption Duration per customer (MCID). This paper describes a chronological Monte Carlo simulation approach to evaluate probability distributions of reliability indices, including the MCID, and the corresponding penalties. In order to get the desired efficiency, modern computational techniques are used for modeling (UML -Unified Modeling Language) as well as for programming (Object- Oriented Programming). Case studies on a simple distribution network and on real Brazilian distribution systems are presented and discussed. © Copyright KTH 2006.

Qualidade da água utilizada para irrigação de hortaliças na região de Botucatu-SP

This work had as objective verifies the water quality used for irrigation by the vegetables producers of Botucatu-SP area. They were interviewed 27 producers that sell vegetables in the street markets of Botucatu. Among these producers, ten were selected, being one of each place. Three samples of water of each source were collected. The main standard to evaluate the obtained results were the CONAMA Resolution (National Environment Council) N° 357, March 17, 2005, that it establishes the standard for water classification. The Electric Conductivity was evaluated of agreement value suggested by CETESB and the color was verified according to OMS (Health World Organization), for potable water due to CONAMA Resolution not to stipulate a value for classification. For the public health, just the coliformes and nitrate are the preoccupying variables for they be related with the incidence of diseases, so, the analyzed waters, 40% of them (A, F, H and J producers) offer some risk for the health of Botucatu population, second established standard for CONAMA. We can to conclude that in a general way, those waters, are in conditions no alarming, because they don't present values very different from those established by the legislation.

Distribution of Ra-226, Th-232 and K-40 in soils and sugar cane crops at Corumbatai river basin, São Paulo State, Brazil

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

Land parceling and neighborhood impacts in Brazil

The proposal and implementation of parceling real estate into smaller lots in Brazil is done according to legal and technical formalities. However, these instruments have proved inefficient in reducing the resulting environmental impacts. The ambiguities of the federal, state and municipal laws and regulations have limited the effectiveness of the actions of urban administrators. Law 10257/2001 emerged as an alternative to overcome these difficulties, proposing the adoption of neighborhood impact studies as an instrument to evaluate new proposals of urban occupation for purposes of environmental licensing. Thus, the purpose of this law is to provide the foundations for municipal public authorities to establish criteria for the assessment, mitigation and compensation of impacts resulting from new occupations. However, the very vagueness of the generic nature of this federal law and its incorrect application in the municipal sphere has posed the greatest obstacles to the good use of this instrument of urban environmental management. These deficiencies are classified herein in the categories of philosophical, technical and operational problems. The problems of a philosophical nature lead to technical difficulties, which in turn trigger operational deficiencies. This article discusses these deficiencies and points out ways to reduce them. © 2009 Journal of Urban and Environmental Engineering (JUEE). All rights reserved.

Analysis of efficiency and rationality in a sugar-alcohol mill using hyperboloid a-load and potency

Brazil is the world's largest producer of sugar cane and which in the state of São Paulo concentrate the greatest amount of sugar cane field of the country. The sugar-alcohol sector has the capacity to produce sufficient thermal and electrical energy to be used in their process of production and commercialize of surplus in electricity distribution network. Therefore it is necessary to evaluate the energy efficiency and rationality within the mill. Accordingly this research proposed analyze the sugar-alcohol mill's sectors globally and individually, located in the west center of the São Paulo state, using the valuation methodology employed by the Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica (ANEEL) in the industries that do not have systems of cogeneration. In this analysis, the hyperboloids of load and potency were applied based on the indexes of potency factor and load factor that allow estimate the efficiency and rationality. © 2013 IEEE.

Use of Moringa oleífera Lamarck leaf extract as sugarcane juice clarifier: effects on clarifed juice and sugar

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of Moringa oleifera Lam. leaf extract on the sedimentation of impurities in the treatment of sugarcane juice and the effects on sugar quality and on the clarified juice. The experimental design used was a 4x2 factorial arrangement with four replications. The main treatments performed included the extracted original sugarcane juice, the synthetic polyelectrolyte (Flomex 9076), the leaf extract, and a control. The secondary treatments consisted of the sugarcane varieties RB92579 and RB867515. The clarification process used was simple defecation, in which the flocculating agents and the juice, limed and heated, were poured simultaneously into a decanter. The microbiological and chemico-technological characteristics of the extracted and clarified juices were evaluated. The clarified juice was concentrated up to 60° Brix (syrup) and subjected to boiling in a pilot pan using seeds to perform the graining: The sugar was recovered by centrifugation and analyzed for microbiological and chemico-technological characteristics. It was concluded that the use of the Moringa oleifera Lam. leaves extract resulted in a better quality of clarified juice and sugar.

Body mass index, dental caries and sugar intake in 2-5 year-old preschoolers

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

Pension legislation for federal public servants in Brazil

This paper addresses the creation of pension funds for federal civil servants in Brazil, analyzing the existing legislation and regulation on this issue. To this end, it takes off based on the genesis of the Brazilian private pension plans, logging the emergence of private funds as well as the existence of various laws and constitutional amendments prior to Law 12.618/2012, which provided for the pension funds system for Brazilian federal public servants. It also identifies proponents and opponents to the Foundation for Pension Funds of Federal Civil Servants (FUNPRESP), signaling the discursive construction of the pension fund schemes as central character in contemporary welfare capitalism. Finally, presents controversial aspects of the new pension fund law developments in Brazil.