The influence of Fe-rich coatings on the dissolution of anorthite at pH 2.6

Surface coatings are very common on mineral grains in soils but most laboratory dissolution experiments are carried out on pristine, uncoated mineral grains. An experiment designed to unambiguously isolate the effect of surface coatings on mineral dissolution from any influence of solution saturation state is reported. Two aliquots of 53 to 63 mum anorthite feldspar powder were used. One was dissolved in pH 2.6 HCl, the other in pH 2.6 FeCl3 solution, both for similar to6000 h in flow-through reactors. An amorphous Fe-rich, Al-, Ca- and Si-free orange precipitate coated the anorthite dissolved in the FeCl3 solution. BET surface area of the anorthite increased from 0.16 to 1.65 m(2) g(-1) in the HCl experiment and to 3.89 m(2) g(-1) in the FeCl3 experiment. The increase in surface area in the HCl experiment was due to the formation of etch pits on the anorthite grain surface whilst the additional increase in the FeCl3 experiment was due to the micro- and meso-porous nature of the orange precipitate. This precipitate did not inhibit or slow the dissolution of the anorthite. Steady state dissolution rates for the anorthite dissolved in the HCl and FeCl3 were similar to2.5 and 3.2 X 10(-10) mol(feldspar) m(-2) s(-1) respectively. These rates are not significantly different after the cumulative uncertainty of 17% in their value due to uncertainty in the inputs parameters used in their calculation is taken into account. Results from this experiment support previous theoretical and inference-based conclusions that porous coatings should not inhibit mineral dissolution. Copyright (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd.

Efficiency and purity control in the preparation of pure and/or aluminum-doped barium ferrites by hydrothermal methods using ferrous ions as reactants

The synthesis of hexagonal barium ferrite (BaFe12O19) was studied under hydrothermal conditions by a method in which a significant amount of ferrous chloride was introduced along side ferric chloride among the starting materials. Though all of the Fe2+ ions in the starting material were converted to Fe3+ ions in the final product, Fe2+ was confirmed to participate differently from the Fe3+ used in the conventional method in the mechanism of forming barium ferrite. Indeed the efficiency of the synthesis and the quality of the product and the lack of impurities such as Fe2O3 and BaFe2O4 were improved when Fe2+ was included. However, the amount of ferrous ions that could be included to obtain the desired product was limited with an optimum ratio of 2:8 for FeCl2/FeCl3 when only 2h of reaction time were needed. It was also found that the role of trivalent Fe3+ could be successfully replaced by Al3+. Up to 50% of their on could be replaced by Al3+ in the reactants to produce Al- doped products. It was also found that the ratio of Fe2+/M3+ could be increased in the presence of Al3+ to produce high quality barium ferrite.

Fibrin activates GPVI in human and mouse platelets

The glycoprotein VI (GPVI)-Fc receptor γ (FcRγ) chain is the major platelet signaling receptor for collagen. Paradoxically, in a FeCl3 injury model, occlusion, but not initiation of thrombus formation, is delayed in GPVI-deficient and GPVI-depleted mice. In this study, we demonstrate that GPVI is a receptor for fibrin and speculate that this contributes to development of an occlusive thrombus. We observed a marked increase in tyrosine phosphorylation, including the FcRγ chain and Syk, in human and mouse platelets induced by thrombin in the presence of fibrinogen and the αIIbβ3 blocker eptifibatide. This was not seen in platelets stimulated by a protease activated receptor (PAR)-4 peptide, which is unable to generate fibrin from fibrinogen. The pattern of tyrosine phosphorylation was similar to that induced by activation of GPVI. Consistent with this, thrombin did not induce tyrosine phosphorylation of Syk and the FcRγ chain in GPVI-deficient mouse platelets. Mouse platelets underwent full spreading on fibrin but not fibrinogen, which was blocked in the presence of a Src kinase inhibitor or in the absence of GPVI. Spreading on fibrin was associated with phosphatidylserine exposure (procoagulant activity), and this too was blocked in GPVI-deficient platelets. The ectodomain of GPVI was shown to bind to immobilized monomeric and polymerized fibrin. A marked increase in embolization was seen following FeCl3 injury in GPVI-deficient mice, likely contributing to the delay in occlusion in this model. These results demonstrate that GPVI is a receptor for fibrin and provide evidence that this interaction contributes to thrombus growth and stability.

Avaliação e modelagem da absorção de H2S do gás natural em coluna de leito estagnado

Natural gas, although basically composed by light hydrocarbons, also presents contaminant gases in its composition, such as CO2 (carbon dioxide) and H2S (hydrogen sulfide). The H2S, which commonly occurs in oil and gas exploration and production activities, causes damages in oil and natural gas pipelines. Consequently, the removal of hydrogen sulfide gas will result in an important reduction in operating costs. Also, it is essential to consider the better quality of the oil to be processed in the refinery, thus resulting in benefits in economic, environmental and social areas. All this facts demonstrate the need for the development and improvement in hydrogen sulfide scavengers. Currently, the oil industry uses several processes for hydrogen sulfide removal from natural gas. However, these processes produce amine derivatives which can cause damage in distillation towers, can cause clogging of pipelines by formation of insoluble precipitates, and also produce residues with great environmental impact. Therefore, it is of great importance the obtaining of a stable system, in inorganic or organic reaction media, able to remove hydrogen sulfide without formation of by-products that can affect the quality and cost of natural gas processing, transport, and distribution steps. Seeking the study, evaluation and modeling of mass transfer and kinetics of hydrogen removal, in this study it was used an absorption column packed with Raschig rings, where the natural gas, with H2S as contaminant, passed through an aqueous solution of inorganic compounds as stagnant liquid, being this contaminant gas absorbed by the liquid phase. This absorption column was coupled with a H2S detection system, with interface with a computer. The data and the model equations were solved by the least squares method, modified by Levemberg-Marquardt. In this study, in addition to the water, it were used the following solutions: sodium hydroxide, potassium permanganate, ferric chloride, copper sulfate, zinc chloride, potassium chromate, and manganese sulfate, all at low concentrations (»10 ppm). These solutions were used looking for the evaluation of the interference between absorption physical and chemical parameters, or even to get a better mass transfer coefficient, as in mixing reactors and absorption columns operating in counterflow. In this context, the evaluation of H2S removal arises as a valuable procedure for the treatment of natural gas and destination of process by-products. The study of the obtained absorption curves makes possible to determine the mass transfer predominant stage in the involved processes, the mass transfer volumetric coefficients, and the equilibrium concentrations. It was also performed a kinetic study. The obtained results showed that the H2S removal kinetics is greater for NaOH. Considering that the study was performed at low concentrations of chemical reagents, it was possible to check the effect of secondary reactions in the other chemicals, especially in the case of KMnO4, which shows that your by-product, MnO2, acts in H2S absorption process. In addition, CuSO4 and FeCl3 also demonstrated to have good efficiency in H2S removal

Preconcentration and determination of metal ions in commercial ethanol used as fuel for automotive engines

The present investigation reports the synthesis, characterization, and adsorption properties of a new nanomaterial based on organomodified silsesquioxane nanocages. The adsorption isotherms for CuCl,, CoCl2, ZnCl2, NiCl2, and FeCl3 from ethanol solutions were performed by using the batchwise method. The equilibrium condition is reached very quickly (3 min), indicating that the adsorption sites are well exposed. The results obtained in the flow experiments, showed a recovery of ca. 100% of the metal ions adsorbed in a column packed with 2 g of the nanomaterial, using 5 mL of 1.0 mol L-1 HCl solution as eluent. The sorption-desorption of the metal ions made possible the development of a method for preconcentration and determination of metal ions at trace level in commercial ethanol, used as fuel for car engines. The values determined by recommended method for plants 1, 2, and 3 indicated an amount of copper of 51, 60, and 78 mu g L-1, and of iron of 2, 15, and 13 mu g L-1, respectively. These values are very close to those determined by conventional analytical methods. Thus, these similar values demonstrated the accuracy of the determination by recommended method.

Caracterização de lodo gerado em estações de tratamento de água: perspectivas de aplicação agrícola

The work reported here involved the characterization of sludges produced at water treatment plants in Jaboticabal-SP using FeCl3 as flocculant, and in Taquaritinga-SP and Manaus-AM using Al2(SO4)3 as flocculant. An evaluation was also made of the interaction of organic matter extracted from the sludges with different metal species. The results indicated that all the sludges produced at water treatment plants have an important agricultural potential and that their use depends on the characteristics of the raw water and the type of flocculant employed in conventional treatment. The humic substances extracted from the sludges showed different affinities for metal species, favoring eventual exchanges between potentially toxic metals and macro- and micronutrients. An alternative for the use of sludge in agriculture is to pretreat it to remove potentially toxic metals and enrich it with micro- and macronutrients that can be released to the plant.

Sorption and preconcentration of metal ions in ethanol solution with a silica gel surface chemically modified with benzimidazole

The adsorption isotherms of MCl(2) (M = Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn and Cd) and FeCl3 by silica gel chemically modified with benzimidazole molecules (= SI(CH2)(3)-NC7H5N) were studied in ethanol solution at 298 K. A column made of modified silica was used to adsorb and preconcentrate the above metal ions from ethanol solution. Elution was done with 0.1 M hydrochloric acid in an ethanol/water mixture having a mole fraction of water of 0.8. The material was applied in the preconcentration of metal ions from commercial ethanol normally used as engine fuel.

Measurement of atmospheric formaldehyde using a drop collector and in-situ colorimetry

A sensitive and affordable approach is described for the in-situ measurement of ambient formaldehyde. Air is sampled around a 100 microliter aqueous drop containing 3-methyl-2-benzothiazoline hydrazone. After a desired period of sampling (typ. 5 min) and a waiting period of 10 min for the reaction to be completed, a second reagent (FeCl3) is added to the drop by means of a conjoined conduit. A blue product is formed and is read after an additional 10 min of reaction by a fiber-optic/light emitting diode based photodetector. A fresh drop is then formed and the process begins anew. As demonstrated here, the limit of detection is similar to 6.25 mu g m(-3) HCHO but can be significantly improved by using longer sampling times and a sampling rate higher than 100 mi min(-1) used in most of this work. This is the first example of a chromogenic drop sensor that utilizes sequential reagent addition.

Rapid determination of furosemide by combined spot test/diffuse reflectance spectroscopy to detect doping in sport

This paper describes the development and application of a simple, cheap, and clean method for the quantification of furosemide in urine samples from athletes, to detect doping, using a combined spot test/diffuse reflectance spectroscopy procedure. The method is based on the complexation reaction of furosemide (5-(aminosulfonyl)-4-chloro-2-((furanylmethyl)amino)benzoic acid, dissolved in ethanol, with FeCl3 and the surfactant dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) in aqueous solution, yielding a colored compound on the surface of a filter paper. The reagent concentrations were optimized using a chemometric experimental design. The reflectometric measurements of the complex formed were carried out at 477nm. The linear range obtained was 1.65-9.00×10-3molL-1 of furosemide (R=0.997), and the detection and quantification limits were 4.9×10-4 and 1.62×10-3molL-1, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied in the analysis of furosemide in spiked urine, demonstrating that it is a reliable alternative method for the detection of furosemide doping in sport. © 2012 Elsevier B.V..

Prospecção de bioprodutos de interesse industrial a partir da fermentação do glicerol por leveduras

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Caracterização de lodo gerado em estações de tratamento de água: perspectivas de aplicação agrícola

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Desenvolvimento de métodos analíticos limpos para determinações forenses: chumbo em resíduos de disparo e furosemida em doping

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Isolamento e quantificação de flavonóides e abordagem das atividades antioxidante e antimicrobiana de Jatropha gossypiifolia L.

Jatropha gossypiifolia L. (Euphorbiaceae), conhecida no Pará como pião-roxo, é utilizada no tratamento de hemorróidas, queimaduras, dores estomacais, entre outras doenças. Diante da importância do vegetal na região torna-se necessária a sua investigação visando contribuir para o seu aproveitamento no desenvolvimento de fitoterápicos. Para tanto, buscou-se determinar o perfil cromatográfico do extrato etanólico bruto (EEB), por cromatografia de camada delgada (CCD) e por cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência (CLAE), o teor de flavonóides totais e dos flavonóides isolados no extrato. Foram realizados também ensaios de atividade antimicrobiana com o EEB e as frações obtidas a partir dele (frações hexânica, clorofórmica, acetato de etila e residual). A atividade antioxidante do extrato e suas frações também foi caracterizada. O material vegetal foi coletado no horto de plantas medicinais da EMBRAPA – Amazônia oriental e com ele preparou-se, por percolação, o EEB; utilizando um evaporador rotativo a baixa pressão, obteve-se o extrato seco que, posteriormente, foi fracionado por partição líquido-líquido sucessivamente com hexano, clorofórmio e acetato de etila. As frações obtidas foram também concentradas a baixa pressão. A fração acetato de etila foi novamente fracionada fornecendo uma fração acetona (FAct-II), uma nova acetato de etila (FA-II), metanólica (FM-II) e resíduo sólido (RS-II). FAct-II foi submetida a cromatografia líquida a média pressão obtendo-se as subfrações Fr SAc1-II e Fr SAc3-II denominadas de Jg1 e Jg2, respectivamente. A prospecção química no extrato e nas frações dos metabólitos foi realizada em triplicata, sendo evidenciada a presença dos seguintes polifenóis: taninos catéquicos e flavonóides. A análise por CCD foi realizada utilizando-se o eluente acetato de etila/ácido fórmico/ácido acético glacial/água (100:11:11:26), sobre gel de sílica de fase normal, sendo observadas zonas com fator de retenção 0,65, 0,72 e 0,77, reativas à solução de FeCl3. O cromatograma por CLAE do EEB apresentou três picos significativos (valores médios de tr: 13,24 min, 15,02 min e 16,00 min) cujos espectros são característicos de flavonóides. No calculo do teor de flavonóides, aplicando-se a média das leituras de absorvância (A: 0,874), chegou-se ao teor de 2,04%. A concentração encontrada para cada substância isolada foi de 340 μg para Jg1 e 406 μg para Jg2 por mililitro da solução de extrato. Quanto às atividades biológicas testadas, FA-I e FR-I inibiram o crescimento de S. aureus e C. albicans como também apresentaram maior potencial antioxidante. Os resultados fornecem parâmetros acerca de polifenóis adequados para o controle de qualidade como marcadores químicos, e teor de destes possíveis marcadores.

Produção de pellets livres e imobilizados e mecanismo de solubilização de fosfatos inorgânicos por Aspergillus niger

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Improved pretreatments applied to the sugarcane bagasse and release of lignin and hemicellulose from the cellulose-enriched fractions by sulfuric acid hydrolysis

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