Energia, meio ambiente e economia: o Brasil no contexto mundial

The cycle of fossil fuels as an energy source for mankind is approaching its end. Finite resources, coupled with greenhouse gas, have led to an increased effort in the search for alternative renewable energy sources. Brazil has a leading position, due to a 46% participation of renewable sources in its primary energy supply, compared to the global average of 12%. The expansion of the renewable sources in Brazil depends on medium and long term planning, and a large volume of investments. The present financial crisis will have major effects in the energy market. Despite a negative initial impact, it is expected that the rearrangement of the financial system will ultimately lead to an expansion in the use of renewable energy sources. Brazil is a tropical country, with the largest biodiversity in our planet and excellent conditions to expand the use of all forms of renewable sources.

Uso da cinza da casca do arroz (CCA) obtida da geração de energia térmica como adsorvente de Zn(II) em soluções aquosas

The removal study was conducted using 1.00 g of the rice husk ash (RHA) and 20.0 mL solution with concentrations in the range of 10-1000 mg/L of Zn(II). The influence of contact time, initial metal concentration, agitation and pH of the removal process was investigated. Superior removals to 95% were obtained at the end of 24 h of contact. The agitation increased in 20% the removal of Zn(II), being needed only 5 min to reach the equilibrium. The adsorption process was studied by the models of isotherms of Langmuir, Freundlich and BET, obtaining results of R L and 1/n for a process favorable of adsorption. BET isotherm best represents the equilibrium adsorption. The results showed that the RHA has the largest capacity and affinity for the removal of Zn(II).

Correlação entre parâmetros da cinética de intumescimento com características estruturais e hidrofílicas de hidrogéis de poliacrilamida e metilcelulose

In this paper, the effects of acrylamide (AAm), methylcellulose (MC) contents, pH and ionic strength on kinetic, network and hydrophilic properties of polyacrylamide and methylcellulose hydrogels were investigated. The hydrogels were characterized by evaluating of network [average molecular weight between crosslinks (M C), crosslink density (q) and the number of elastically effective chains (Ve)], and kinetic parameters [diffusional exponent (n), diffusion constant (k) and diffusion coefficient (D)]. Such properties were controlled by adjusting of the AAm, MC contents, pH and ionic strength factors. Due to high hydrophilicity and fast water-uptake, the PAAm-MC hydrogels can be considered as materials for potential applications in agricultural fields, mainly in controlled release of water or pesticides.

Avaliação cinética da produção de biossurfactantes bacterianos

Biosurfactants present advantages in relation to the synthetic surfactants, as the biodegradability and low toxicity, and can be applied in the food industry, in pharmaceutical products, cosmetics and in the petroleum recovery. This paper aimed at selecting bacteria for biosurfactant production, evaluating the surface tension and the emulsifying activity and studying the fermentation process kinetics. The pure culture of Corynebacterium aquaticum showed capacity to promote emulsions formation and presented the smallest surface tension (28.8 mN m-1), and, in general, larger kinetic parameters, being selected as biosurfactant producer.

Emprego da fluorescência de raios X por dispersão de energia para o mapeamento de troncos de árvores em Campinas, São Paulo

Dendrochemistry is based on the determination of elements retained in tree rings, which can be useful to characterize environmental occurrences. This work shows elemental mappings obtained by EDXRF of the cross section of a tree stem. The tree is originated from a polluted area in Campinas, São Paulo. Some profiles, as the sulfur one, show variations that can be attributed to external contributions, whereas the silicon one can be inferred to a protection defense natural mechanism. Besides being simultaneous and multielementar, the main advantages here are its performance through a non-destructive sample treatment and the ease of operation of XRF equipments.

Simulação Monte Carlo no ensino de luminescência e cinética de decaimento de estados excitados

A software based in the Monte Carlo method have been developed aiming the teaching of important cases of mechanisms found in luminescence and in excited states decay kinetics, including: multiple decays, consecutive decays and coupled systems decays. The Monte Carlo Method allows the student to easily simulate and visualize the luminescence mechanisms, focusing on the probabilities of the related steps. The software CINESTEX was written for FreeBASIC compiler; it assumes first-order kinetics and any number of excited states, where the pathways are allowed with probabilities assigned by the user.

Ordens não inteiras em cinética química

Starting from zero-, first-, and second-order integrated laws for chemical kinetics, some cases are shown which produce fractional orders. Taking the Michaelis-Menten mechanism as a first example, it is shown that substrate order can go from 1 to zero, depending on relative concentration of enzyme and substrate. Using other examples which show fractional orders higher than one and even negative (inhibition), it is shown that the presence of an equilibrium before or parallel to the rate determining step can be the reason for fractional orders, which is an indication of a more complex mechanism.

Caracterização dos níveis de elementos químicos em solo, submetido a diferentes sistemas de uso e manejo, utilizando espectrometria de fluorescência de raios-x por energia dispersiva (EDXRF)

This study aimed to evaluate the chemical elements levels in soil, submitted to different management systems and use by the Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry - EDXRF. The systems were T1 - agro forestry (SAF), T2 - Native Field (CN), T3 - Native Forest (NM), T4 - Tillage Forest (PF); T5 - conventional tillage system (SPC) and T6 - System tillage (NT). Samples were collected at 0-10 and 10-20 cm, dried and ground for analysis in EDX-720. The soil showed no difference in the average concentrations of chemical elements analyzed in the profiles, but the systems presented different concentrations of metal elements, and T3 had the highest K, Ca and Zn at 0-10 cm and higher contents of K, Ca, Cu, Zn and Mn in the layer of 10-20 cm.

Aplicação do delineamento simplex-centroide no estudo da cinética da oxidação de biodiesel B100 em mistura com antioxidantes sintéticos

Antioxidants are an alternative to prevent or slow the degradation of the biofuel. In this study, it was evaluated the oxidative stability of B100 biodiesel from soybean oil in the presence of three commercial synthetic antioxidants, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), pure or blended, from the experimental design of simplex-centroid mixture. The reaction order and rate constant were also calculated for all tests. The treatment containing pure TBHQ proved to be the most effective, proven by design, the optimum mix obtained and the rate constant. Binary and ternary mixtures containing TBHQ also showed appreciable antioxidant effect.

Simulação Monte Carlo de mecanismo de transferência de energia de excitação eletrônica: modelo de Perrin para a supressão estática da luminescência

A software based in the Monte Carlo method has been developed aiming the teaching of the Perrin´s model for static luminescence quenching. This software allows the student to easily simulate the luminescence decays of emissive molecules in the presence of quenching ones. The software named PERRIN was written for FreeBASIC compiler and it can be applied for systems where the molecules remain static during its excited state lifetime. The good agreement found between the simulations and the expected theoretical results shows that it can be used for the luminescence and excited states decay kinetic teaching.

Modelagem da cinética de biodegradação de paclobutrazol em dois solos do semiárido do nordeste brasileiro

Mathematical models can help to prevent high levels of toxic substances in soil or fruits of plants treated with pesticides and indicate that such substances should be systematically monitored. The aim of this research was to study the kinetics of paclobutrazol biodegradation by soil native bacteria using mathematical models. Three models were used to assess the kinetics of paclobutrazol biodegradation obtained experimentally. Excellent fits were obtained using dual kinetic and logistic models. The use of glycerol as additional carbon source increased the biodegradation of PBZ and consequently decreased the time required for a given PBZ initial concentration be halved.

Energia de superfície para nanossuperfícies de TiO2 na direção (001)

In this work was made an investigation about bulk and surface models (at maximum 20 layers) of the TiO2 material in the (001) direction. TiO2 commercial sample was feature using XDR technique to determine phase and crystallites average size. Bulk and (001) surface models were simulated for TiO2 material using DFT/B3LYP and its results were used for calculating energy surface, electronic levels, superficial atomic displacement and charge maps. Atoms of the first and second layers of the slab model showed electronic densities very well organized in the form of chains or wires.

Estratégias para estudo das correlações de energia livre em acoplamento aril-aril de Suzuki: elucidando ciclos catalíticos através da equação de Hammett

The present work deals with the study of the correlation of free-energy developed in a catalytic system for Suzuki coupling, by way of the Hammett equation. The system presents NCP pincer palladacycle 1 as a catalyst precursor, which proved to be very efficient in the coupling of various aryl boronic acids with aryl halides in previous studies. Thus, the article presented here intends to serve as a support for further investigations and clarifications relating to cross-coupling catalytic cycles.

Determinação de Mn e Zn em arroz empregando espectrometria de fluorescência de raios x de energia dispersiva

A simple, fast and inexpensive method was developed to determine essential elements in pellets of rice samples using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF). The accuracy and precision were evaluated using Standard Reference Material (rice flour NIST 1568a), and yielding relative standard deviation below 5%. The paired t-test showed good agreement within 95% confidence values. The detection limits (3σ) of Mn and Zn were 5.1 and 2.2 mg kg-1, respectively. The proposed method proved to be effective when used to determine Mn and Zn in commercial samples of rice without go by stage of decomposition.

Princípios fundamentais e modelos de transferência de energia inter e intramolecular

This work outlines the historic development of the concept and main theories of energy transfer, as well as the principal experiments carried out to confirm or refute the proposed theories. Energy transfer in coordination compounds is also discussed with a focus on rare earth systems.