Diesel e biodiesel de murumuru e de soja: desempenho operacional de trator agrícola no preparo do solo

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Influência da paisagem sobre a persistência de mamíferos terrestres em fragmentos de Mata Atlântica

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

A modernização da agricultura no Brasil e a produção do biocombustível como energia alternativa: uma reflexão crítica

This article discusses the policy implications of agricultural modernization implemented by the military - after 1964. This policy, which became known as the Green Revolution, on the one hand contributed to the development of big business, but another caused serious social and environmental impacts. Currently, not only in Brazil but all over the world, have been in a great debate about the need to find alternatives to contain the problems caused to the environment resulting from the use of high technology in the field. One alternative proposed by several researchers is to replace fossil fuels by biofuels. As we believe that the error is in the current model of agricultural production based on mass production, which serves the major markets, the attention in this article, the need to develop an agricultural model designed for small property, with the use of family work and agroecology.

Geografia da mortalidade no trânsito no Brasil

In road safety studies that involve accidents comparisons in distinct geographical spaces or in different periods of time in the same geographical space, the index which lists the number of traffic fatalities with the distance traveled by road transport vehicles is considered more appropriate than the rates related to the population or the fleet. In this paper, the results of an original research are presented, in which the values of the rate of traffic deaths per billion kilometers traveled (IMBQ) by the motor vehicle fleet in Brazil and in each state of the country were estimated. The evaluation was performed based on the official number of fatalities provided by the Ministry of Health and on the amount of fuel sold informed by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels. In 2009, Brazil presented an index of 52.84 fatalities per billion kilometers, which reveals an extremely alarming situation considering that this value is from 7 to 12 times higher than the one for more developed countries. An important correlation between the death index in the states and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita was observed; in general, the less economically developed is the state, it means, lowest GDP, higher is the IMBQ.

Prospecção de genes na microbiota do rúmen bovino com propriedades degradadoras da biomassa vegetal

Pós-graduação em Microbiologia Agropecuária - FCAV

Qualidade do óleo bruto de grãos de crambe (Crambe abyssinica Hochst) sob diferentes métodos de secagem

The Culture of crambe became promising since its grains presents high oil content. The methods of drying may influence the quality of crude oil extracted from the beans, depending on the way it is managed. This study goal was to evaluate the influence of different drying methods on the quality of the crude oil extracted from crambe grain. The experimental design was completely randomized with five treatments (drying with heated air, natural air, yard, shade, and at the field), and with four tests for each. In order to check the quality of the grains, we performed an analysis of fat acidity, and to evaluate the crude oil quality, we conducted analysis of iodine value, acid value, water content, density at 20ºC, and a kinematic viscosity at 40°. After obtaining the data, the results were submitted to analysis of variance. When significant means were detected, they were compared by t-test (p ≤ 0.05). The method of drying with heated air provided a lower rate of fatty acid in grains. The drying methods evaluated did not compromise the quality of the oil extracted from the crambe grain.

As coalizões de defesa e as mudanças na política externa comercial e energética dos Estados Unidos para o etanol em 2011

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

Influência de elementos terras raras nas propriedades catalíticas de óxidos derivados de hidrotalcitas para produção de biodiesel etílico

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Estudos experimentais e teórico-computacionais de novos complexos nanozeólitas-enzimas empregados na produção de biocombustíveis

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Determinação de açucares em bagaço de palha de cana-de-açúcar por cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência com detecção eletroquímica utilizando eletrodos de nanotubos modificados com óxidos metálicos

Pós-graduação em Química - IQ

Identification of sense and antisense transcripts regulated by drought in sugarcane

Sugarcane is an important sugar and energy crop that can be used efficiently for biofuels production. The development of sugarcane cultivars tolerant to drought could allow for the expansion of plantations to sub-prime regions. Knowledge on the mechanisms underlying drought responses and its relationship with carbon partition would greatly help to define routes to increase yield. In this work we studied sugarcane responses to drought using a custom designed oligonucleotide array with 21,901 different probes. The oligoarrays were designed to contain probes that detect transcription in both sense and antisense orientation. We validated the results obtained using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). A total of 987 genes were differentially expressed in at least one sample of sugarcane plants submitted to drought for 24, 72 and 120 h. Among them, 928 were sense transcripts and 59 were antisense transcripts. Genes related to Carbohydrate Metabolism, RNA Metabolism and Signal Transduction were selected for gene expression validation by qPCR that indicated a validation percentage of 90 %. From the probes presented on the array, 75 % of the sense probes and 11.9 % of the antisense probes have signal above background and can be classified as expressed sequences. Our custom sugarcane oligonucleotide array provides sensitivity and good coverage of sugarcane transcripts for the identification of a representative proportion of natural antisense transcripts (NATs) and sense-antisense transcript pairs (SATs). The antisense transcriptome showed, in most cases, co-expression with respective sense transcripts.

The Benefits of Sugarcane Chain Development in Africa

As consumers continue to be concerned about the future of sustainable agriculture and the scarcity of natural resources, biofuels can be an important component of the "people" solution through job creation, development and interiorizing economic activities of a country through moving money from cities into rural areas. The Brazilian sugarcane industry is well developed in terms of corporate social responsibility and can serve as an example for other countries such as Africa. The objective of this article is to show how sugar cane can contribute to the development of Africa by producing renewable fuel for use in booming African cities. A supply of sugar can be developed for use in local markets and exports. Other opportunities exist to produce bioelectricity from the process of burning the bagasse and other new products such as plastic and diesel. In the case of Ethanol, this fuel has proven to be the most efficient in competing with gasoline in the last 40 years, and Africa may gain with a strategic plan on ethanol.

Emergy analysis of oil production from microalgae

The use of microalgae and cyanobacteria for the production of biofuels and other raw materials is considered a very promising sustainable technology due to the high areal productivity, potential for CO2 fixation and use of non-arable land. The production of oil by microalgae in a large scale plant was studied using emergy analysis. The joint transformity calculated for the base scenario was 1.32E + 5 sej/J, the oil transformity was 3.51E + 5 sej/J, the emergy yield ratio (EYR) was 1.09 and environmental loading ratio was 11.10 and the emergy sustainability index (ESI) was 0.10, highlighting some of the key challenges for the technology such as high energy consumption during harvesting, raw material consumption and high capital and operation costs. Alternatives scenarios and the sensitivity to process improvements were also assessed, helping prioritize further research based on sustainability impact. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Determination of the activation energies of beef tallow and crude glycerin combustion using thermogravimetry

The present study deals with the determination of the activation energy for the thermal decomposition of two renewable fuels crude glycerin and beef tallow. The activation energies were investigated by using a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) in the temperature range of 25-600 degrees C in atmosphere of synthetic air. The TG curves of the thermal decomposition process of both samples were divided into several phases and the second, called PH2, was chosen for the kinetic study because it is associated with the combustion ignition. Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) showed an endothermic event at the PH2 region for the crude glycerin corresponding to devolatilization, while for beef tallow, this step presented an exothermic event, called LTO (low-temperature oxidation), which is correlated with devolatilization followed by combustion. For the entire PH2, activation energy values for crude glycerin were between 90 kJ mol(-1) and 42 kJ mol(-1), while for the beef tallow they ranged from 50 kJ mol(-1) to 113 kJ mol (1). The activation energy values obtained at the pre-ignition stage - conversion between 0 and 0.45 - showed that the crude glycerin with higher values requires an additional energetic support at the start of combustion processes and the beef tallow ignites more easily, presenting lower values. According to the Wolfer's equation, a direct relation between the activation energy and the ignition delay is established and the results of this study provides useful data for the development and design of new combustion chambers and engines when non-traditional fuels are used as feedstock. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Life cycle assessment of sugarcane ethanol and palm oil biodiesel joint production

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) and palm tree (Elaeis guianeensis) are crops with high biofuel yields, 7.6 m(3) ha (1) y(-)1 of ethanol and 4 Mg ha(-1) y(-1) of oil, respectively. The joint production of these crops enhances the sustainability of ethanol. The objective of this work was comparing a traditional sugarcane ethanol production system (TSES) with a joint production system (JSEB), in which ethanol and biodiesel are produced at the same biorefinery but only ethanol is traded. The comparison is based on ISO 14.040:2006 and ISO 14044:2006, and appropriate indicators. Production systems in Cerrado (typical savannah), Cerradao (woody savannah) and pastureland ecosystems were considered. Energy and carbon balances, and land use change impacts were evaluated. The joint system includes 100% substitution of biodiesel for diesel, which is all consumed in different cropping stages. Data were collected by direct field observation methods, and questionnaires applied to Brazilian facilities. Three sugarcane mills situated in Sao Paulo State and one palm oil refinery located in Para State were surveyed. The information was supplemented by secondary sources. Results demonstrated that fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions decreased, whereas energy efficiency increased when JSEB was compared to TSES. In comparison with TSES, the energy balance of JSEB was 1.7 greater. In addition, JSEB released 23% fewer GHG emissions than TSES. The ecosystem carbon payback time for Cerrado, Cerradao, and Degraded Grassland of JSEB was respectively 4, 7.7 and -7.6 years. These are typical land use types of the Brazilian Cerrado region for which JSEB was conceived. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.