PRODUÇÃO DE BIODIESEL A PARTIR DE ÁCIDOS GRAXOS PROVENIENTES DO REFINO DE ÓLEOS VEGETAIS VIA CATÁLISE ÁCIDA HETEROGENEA E MICRO-ONDAS

This work presents the biofuel production results of the esterification of fatty acids (C12-C18) and high-acid-content waste vegetable oils from different soap stocks (soybean, palm, and coconut) with methanol, ethanol, and butanol by acid catalysis. We used Amberlyst-35 (A35) sulfonic resin as a heterogeneous acid catalyst and p-toluenesulfonic acid as a homogeneous catalyst for comparison. Both the heterogeneous (A35) and homogeneous (p-toluenesulfonic acid) reactions were performed with 5% w/w of catalyst. The final products were analyzed by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR). The homogeneous catalyzed esterification of fatty acids with methanol, ethanol, and butanol produced esters with yields higher than 90%. In the reaction with fatty acids and methanol catalyzed by A35, the best results were achieved with lauric acid and methanol, with a yield of 97%. An increase in the hydrocarbon chain decreased the rate of conversion and yield for stearic acid with methanol, which was 90%. Maximum biodiesel production was achieved from coconut and soybean soap stocks and methanol (96%-98%), which showed conversions very close to those obtained from their respective fatty acids. Microwave irradiation reduced the reaction time from 6 to 1 h in the esterification reaction of fatty acids with butanol.

Pesquisa de Listeria monocytogenes em solos

Foi investigada a presençaa de L. monocytogenes em 20 amostras de solos da superficie, oriundas de diferentes áreas ecológicas do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (perímetro urbano, pasto, mata e horta). A análise bacteriológica evidenciou 32 amostras do microrganismo, revelando maior incidencia no solo não cultivado (mata) que representou 56,25% dos isolamentos, ficando em segundo plano a area urbana com 25%. No levantamento, destacam-se os sorotipos L1/2b (46,87%), L4b (25%) e L1/2a (18,75%) como os mais frequentes, embora incidindo de mameira heterogenea em relação as áreas analisadas. Entre os vários aspectos estudados, salienta-se que 50% das amostras se comportaram como patogenicas, em decorrencia da producao de ceratoconjuntivite em cobaia, detalhe este intimamente relacionado com a atividade hemolitica "in vitro". Confirma-se que tanto as formas virulenta e avirulenta de L. monocytogenes sobrevivem as condicoes impostas pelo solo, sendo provavelmente a causa primária desta contaminação os dejetos eliminados por diferentes espécies de animais portadores, corroborada pela presença de coliformes fecais nas áreas analisadas.