Hydrodynamic characterization and performance evaluation of an aerobic three phase airlift fluidized bed reactor in a recirculation aquaculture system for Nile Tilapia production

The hydrodynamic characterization and the performance evaluation of an aerobic three phase fluidized bed reactor in wastewater fish culture treatment are presented in this report. The objective of this study was to evaluate the organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorous removal efficiency in a physical and biological wastewater treatment system of an intensive Nile Tilapia laboratory production with recirculation. The treatment system comprised of a conventional sedimentation basin operated at a hydraulic detention time HDT of 2.94 h and an aerobic three phase airlift fluidized bed reactor AAFBR operated at an 11.9 min HDT. Granular activated carbon was used as support media with density of 1.64 g/cm(3) and effective size of 0.34 mm in an 80 g/L constant concentration. Mean removal efficiencies of BOD, COD, phosphorous, total ammonia nitrogen and total nitrogen were 47%, 77%, 38%, 27% and 24%, respectively. The evaluated system proved an effective alternative for water reuse in the recirculation system capable of maintaining water quality characteristics within the recommended values for fish farming and met the Brazilian standards for final effluent discharges with exception of phosphorous values. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Energetic efficiency programs and power quality

This paper presents the results of the investigations that were done to identify and to quantify the power quality problems resultant from the actions done to improve the efficiency on electric energy consumption. The efficiencies of several electric devices were evaluated, among them: fluorescent bulb, electronic ballast, soft-starter, temperature controller for showers, dimmer and others. This evaluation allowed to establish a cause/effect analysis of the power quality.

Reavaliação da eficiência de óleo de coco saponificado e de sua microemulsão como inibidores de corrosão em uma célula eletroquímica

An interesting development in surfactants science and technology is their application as corrosion inhibitors, since they act as protective films over anodic and cathodic surfaces. This work aims to investigate the efficiency of saponified coconut oil (SCO) as corrosion inhibitor and of microemulsified system (SCO + butanol + kerosene oil + distilled water), in saline medium, using an adapted instrumented cell, via techniques involving linear polarization resistance (LPR) and mass loss coupons (MLC). For this, curves of efficiency versus SCO concentration (ranging between 0 and 75 ppm) have been constructed. According to the obtained results, the following efficiency levels were reached with OCS: 98% at a 75 ppm concentration via the LPR method and 95% at 75 ppm via the MLC method. The microemulsified system, for a concentration of 15 ppm of SCO, obtained maximum inhibition of 97% (LPR) and 93% (MLC). These data indicate that it is possible to optimize the use of SCO in similar applications. Previous works have demonstrated that maximal efficiencies below 90% are attained, typically 65% as free molecules and 77% in microemulsified medium, via the LPR method in a different type of cell. Therefore, it can be concluded that the adapted instrumented cell (in those used methods) showed to be an important tool in this kind of study and the SCO was shown effective in the inhibition of the metal

Avaliação do comportamento de argila ativada na presença de água destilada, soluções salinas e inibidores de hidratação catiônicos

The clay swelling is today one of the major problems during the well drilling. Nearly 50% of clays that constitute shale expand easily in the presence of water molecules. During the drilling of a geological formation containing swelling clays, when is feasible the use of water base fluids, it is necessary to apply clay inhibitors. This avoids the incorporation of the cutting to the drilling fluid which is responsible for the wall swelling and crumbling. The aim of this work was to evaluate the synergistic behavior that occurs when swelling clay inhibitors are associated to NaCl and KCl salts. Three swelling clay inhibitors samples, INIB A, INIB B and INIB C, were analyzed. Each inhibitor was characterized by the amount of chlorides and active matter content. For the water-clay interaction evaluation in the presence of various fluids, it was used the Capillary Suction Timer (CST, Fann) and Linear Swell Meter (LSM 2000, Fann). For better interpretation of results, a Design of Experiments (DOE, Umetrics MODDE 7.0 TM) through Result Surface Methodology (RSM) was employed, taking into account the type, the swelling inhibitors concentration and the contact time with the clay. The results showed different efficiencies among the inhibitors employed, and the salt-inhibitors mixtures were more efficient than those products alone. However, for field operation, other parameters should be taking into account, as operational cost, environmental requests and time of application for each product

Análise dos Processos de Flotação e Oxidação Avançada para o Tratamento de Efluente Modelo da Indústria do Petróleo

The generation of wastes in most industrial process is inevitable. In the petroleum industry, one of the greatest problems for the environment is the huge amount of produced water generated in the oil fields. This wastewater is a complex mixture and present great amounts. These effluents can be hazardous to the environmental without adequate treatment. This research is focused in the analysis of the efficiencies of the flotation and photo-oxidation processes to remove and decompose the organic compounds present in the produced water. A series of surfactants derivated from the laurilic alcohol was utilized in the flotation to promote the separation. The experiments have been performed with a synthetic wastewater, carefully prepared with xylene. The experimental data obtained using flotation presented a first order kinetic, identified by the quality of the linear data fitting. The best conditions were found at 0.029 g.L-1 for the surfactant EO 7, 0.05 g.L-1 for EO 8, 0.07 g.L-1 for EO 9, 0.045 g.L-1 for EO 10 and 0.08 g.L-1 for EO 23 with the following estimated kinetic constants: 0.1765, 0.1325, 0.1210, 0.1531 and 0.1699 min-1, respectively. For the series studied, the most suitablesurfactant was the EO 7 due to the lower reagent consumption, higher separation rate constant and higher removal efficiency of xylene in the aqueous phase (98%). Similarly to the flotation, the photo-Fenton process shows to be efficient for degradation of xylene and promoting the mineralization of the organic charge around 90% and 100% in 90 min

Controlled release system for ametryn using polymer microspheres: Preparation, characterization and release kinetics in water

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

Inibição à corrosão do aço AISI 1020, em meios ácido e salino, por tensoativos e substâncias nitrogenadas microemulsionados

Corrosion inhibition efficiency of saponified coconut oil (SCO) and sodium dodecilbenzene sulfonate (DBS) surfactants in AISI 1020 carbon steel was evaluated by electrochemical methods. These surfactants were also evaluated as microemulsion systems (SCO-ME and DBS-ME), of O/W type (water-rich microemulsion), in a Winsor IV region. They were obtained according to the following composition: 15% SCO, 15% butanol (30% Co-surfactant/Surfactant C/T), 10% organic phase (FO, kerosene) and 60% aqueous phase (FA). These systems were also used to solubilize the following nitrogenated substances: Diphenylcarbazide (DC), 2,4-dinitro-phenyl-thiosemicarbazide (TSC) and the mesoionic type compound 1,3,4-triazolium-2-thiolate (MI), that were investigated with the purpose of evaluating their anticorrosive effects. Comparative studies of carbon steel corrosion inhibition efficiencies of free DBS and DBS-ME, in brine and acidic media (0.5%), showed that DBS presents better inhibition results in acidic media (free DBS, 89% and DBS-ME, 93%). However, the values obtained for DBS in salted solution (72% free DBS and 77% DBS-ME) were similar to the ones observed for the SCO surfactant in brine (63% free SCO and 74% SCO-ME). Analysis of corrosion inhibition of the nitrogenated substances that were solubilized in the SCO-ME microemulsion system by the linear polarization method in brine (0.5% NaCl) showed that such compounds are very efficient an corrosion inhibitors [DC-ME-SCO (92%), TSC-ME-SCO (93%) and MI-ME-SCO (94%)]

Obtenção de novos sistemas nanoautoemulsificantes a partir do óleo das sementes de Azadirachta indica A Juss e suas aplicações como inibidores de corrosão

Corrosion is a natural process that causes progressive deterioration of materials, so, reducing the corrosive effects is a major objective of development of scientific studies. In this work, the efficiency of corrosion inhibition on a AISI 1018 carbon steel of the nanoemulsion system containing the oil of the seeds of Azadirachta indica A. Juss (SNEOAI) was evaluated by the techniques of linear polarization resistance (LPR) and weight loss (CPM), a instrumented cell. For that, hydroalcoholic extract of leaves of A. indica (EAI) was solubilized in a nanoemulsion system (SNEOAI) of which O/W system (rich in aqueous phase). This nanoemulsion system (tested in different concentrations) was obtained with oil from the seeds of this plant species (OAI) (oil phase), dodecylammonium chloride (DDAC) (surfactant), butanol (cosurfactant) and water, using 30 % of C/T (cosurfactant/surfactant), 0.5 % of oil phase and 69.5 % of aqueous phase, and characterized by surface tension, rheology and droplet sizes. This systems SNEOAI and SNEOAI-EAI (nanoemulsion containing hydroalcoholic extract - EAI) showed inhibition efficiencies in corrosive environment in saline (1 %), for the method of LPR with significant value of 70.58 % (300 ppm) to SNEOAI, 74.17 % (100 ppm) and 72.51 % (150 ppm) to SNEOAI-EAI. The best efficiencies inhibitions were observed for the method of CPM with 85.41 % for the SNEOAI (300 ppm) and 83.19 % SNEOAI-EAI (500 ppm). The results show that this formulation could be used commercially for use as a corrosion inhibitor, this research contributed to the biotechnological applicability of Azadirachta indica, considering the large use of this plant species rich in limonoids (tetranortriterpenoids), especially azadirachtin

Aplicação de sabões de ácidos graxos epoxidados como inibidores de corrosão em oleoduto

Corrosion usually occurs in pipelines, so that it is necessary to develop new surface treatments to control it. Surfactants have played an outstanding role in this field due to its capacity of adsorbing on metal surfaces, resulting in interfaces with structures that protect the metal at low surfactant concentrations. The appearance of new surfactants is a contribution to the area, as they increase the possibility of corrosion control at specific conditions that a particular oil field presents. The aim of this work is to synthesize the surfactants sodium 12 hydroxyocadecenoate (SAR), sodium 9,10-epoxy-12 hydroxyocadecanoate (SEAR), and sodium 9,10:12,13-diepoxy-octadecanoate (SEAL) and apply them as corrosion inhibitors, studying their action in environments with different salinities and at different temperatures. The conditions used in this work were chosen in order to reproduce oil field reality. The study of the micellization of these surfactants in the liquid-gas interface was carried out using surface tensiometry. It was observed that cmc increased as salt concentration was increased, and temperature and pH were decreased, while cmc decreased with the addition of two epoxy groups in the molecule. Using the values of cmc and the Gibbs equation, the values of Gibbs free energy of adsorption, area per adsorbed molecule, and surface excess were calculated. The surface excess increases as salt concentration and temperature decreases, increasing as pH is increased. The area per adsorbed molecule and the free energy of adsorption decrease with salt concentration, temperature, and pH increase. SAXS results showed that the addition of epoxy group in surfactant structure results in a decrease in the repulsion between the micelles, favoring the formation of more oblong micellar structures, ensuring a better efficiency of metal coverage. The increase in salt and surfactant concentrations provides an increase in micellar diameter. It was shown that the increase in temperature does not influence micellar structure, indicating thermal stability that is advantageous for use as corrosion inhibitor. The results of inhibition efficiency for the surfactants SEAR and SEAL were considered the best ones. Above cmc, adsorption occurred by the migration of micelles from the bulk of the solution to the metal surface, while at concentrations below cmc film formation must be due to the adsorption of semi-micellar and monomeric structures, certainly due to the presence of the epoxy group, which allows side interactions of the molecule with the metal surface. The metal resistance to corrosion presented values of 90% of efficiency. The application of Langmuir and Frumkin isotherms showed that the later gives a better description of adsorption because the model takes into account side interactions from the adsorbing molecules. Wettability results showed that micelle formation on the solid surface occurs at concentrations in the magnitude of 10-3 M, which isthe value found in the cmc study. This value also justifies the maximum efficiencies obtained for the measurements of corrosion resistance at this concentration. The values of contact angle as a function of time suggest that adsorption increases with time, due to the formation of micellar structures on metal surface

Tratamento de borra de petróleo com sistemas microemulsionados

During the storage of oil, sludge is formed in the bottoms of tanks, due to decantation, since the sludge is composed of a large quantity of oil (heavy petroleum fractions), water and solids. The oil sludge is a complex viscous mixture which is considered as a hazardous waste. It is then necessary to develop methods and technologies that optimize the cleaning process, oil extraction and applications in industry. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the composition of the oil sludge, to obtain and characterize microemulsion systems (MES), and to study their applications in the treatment of sludge. In this context, the Soxhlet extraction of crude oil sludge and aged sludge was carried out, and allowing to quantify the oil (43.9 % and 84.7 % - 13 ºAPI), water (38.7 % and 9.15 %) and solid (17.3 % and 6.15 %) contents, respectively. The residues were characterized using the techniques of X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Xray diffraction (XRD) and transmission Infrared (FT-IR). The XRF technique determined the presence of iron and sulfur in higher proportions, confirming by XRD the presence of the following minerals: Pyrite (FeS2), Pyrrhotite (FeS) and Magnetite (Fe3O4). The FT-IR showed the presence of heavy oil fractions. In parallel, twelve MES were prepared, combining the following constituents: two nonionic surfactants (Unitol L90 and Renex 110 - S), three cosurfactants (butanol, sec-butanol and isoamyl alcohol - C), three aqueous phase (tap water - ADT, acidic solution 6 % HCl, and saline solution - 3.5 % NaCl - AP) and an oil phase (kerosene - OP). From the obtained systems, a common point was chosen belonging to the microemulsion region (25 % [C+S] 5 % OP and AP 70 %), which was characterized at room temperature (25°C) by viscosity (Haake Rheometer Mars), particle diameter (Zeta Plus) and thermal stability. Mixtures with this composition were applied to oil sludge solubilization under agitation at a ratio of 1:4, by varying time and temperature. The efficiencies of solubilization were obtained excluding the solids, which ranged between 73.5 % and 95 %. Thus, two particular systems were selected for use in storage tanks, with efficiencies of oil sludge solubilization over 90 %, which proved the effectiveness of the MES. The factorial design delimited within the domain showed how the MES constituents affect the solubilization of aged oil sludge, as predictive models. The MES A was chosen as the best system, which solubilized a high amount of aged crude oil sludge (~ 151.7 g / L per MES)

Estudo da imobilização de proteases para a síntese de oligolisinas

Enzymatic synthesis of peptides using proteases has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years. One key challenge in peptide synthesis is to find supports for protease immobilization capable of working in aqueous medium at high performance, producing watersoluble oligopeptides. At present, few reports have been described using this strategy. Therefore, the aim of this thesis was to immobilize proteases applying different methods (Immobilization by covalent bound, entrapment onto polymeric gels of PVA and immobilization on glycidil metacrylate magnetic nanoparticles) in order to produce water-soluble oligopeptides derived from lysine. Three different proteases were used: trypsin, α-chymotrypsin and bromelain. According to immobilization strategies associated to the type of protease employed, trypsin-resin systems showed the best performance in terms of hydrolytic activity and oligopeptides synthesis. Hydrolytic activities of the free and immobilized enzymes were determined spectrophotometrically based on the absorbance change at 660 nm at 25 °C (Casein method). Calculations of oligolysine yield and average degree of polymerization (DPavg) were monitored by 1H-NMR analysis. Trypsin was covalently immobilized onto four different resins (Amberzyme, Eupergit C, Eupergit CM and Grace 192). Maximum yield of bound protein was 92 mg/g, 82 mg/g and 60 mg/g support for each resin respectively. The effectiveness of these systems (Trypsin-resins) was evaluated by hydrolysis of casein and synthesis of water-soluble oligolysine. Most systems were capable of catalyzing oligopeptide synthesis in aqueous medium, albeit at different efficiencies, namely: 40, 37 and 35% for Amberzyme, Eupergit C and Eupergit CM, respectively, in comparison with free enzyme. These systems produced oligomers in only 1 hour with DPavg higher than free enzyme. Among these systems, the Eupergit C-Trypsin system showed greater efficiency than others in terms of hydrolytic activity and thermal stability. However, this did not occur for oligolysine synthesis. Trypsin-Amberzyme proved to be more successful in oligopeptide synthesis, and exhibited excellent reusability, since it retained 90% of its initial hydrolytic and synthetic activity after 7 reuses. Trypsin hydrophobic interactions with Amberzyme support are responsible for protecting against strong enzyme conformational changes in the medium. In addition, the high concentration of oxirane groups on the surface promoted multi-covalent linking and, consequently, prevented the immobilized enzyme from leaching. The aforementioned results suggest that immobilized Trypsin on the supports evaluated can be efficiently used for oligopeptides synthesis in aqueous media

Eficiência de extração de cobre e níquel utilizando sistemas microemulsionados bifásicos e trifásicos

The environmental impact due to the improper disposal of metal-bearing industrial effluents imposes the need of wastewater treatment, since heavy metals are nonbiodegradable and hazardous substances that may cause undesirable effects to humans and the environment. The use of microemulsion systems for the extraction of metal ions from wastewaters is effective when it occurs in a Winsor II (WII) domain, where a microemulsion phase is in equilibrium with an aqueous phase in excess. However, the microemulsion phase formed in this system has a higher amount of active matter when compared to a WIII system (microemulsion in equilibrium with aqueous and oil phases both in excess). This was the reason to develop a comparative study to evaluate the efficiency of two-phases and three-phases microemulsion systems (WII and WIII) in the extraction of Cu+2 and Ni+2 from aqueous solutions. The systems were composed by: saponified coconut oil (SCO) as surfactant, n-Butanol as cosurfactant, kerosene as oil phase, and synthetic solutions of CuSO4.5H2O and NiSO4.6H2O, with 2 wt.% NaCl, as aqueous phase. Pseudoternary phase diagrams were obtained and the systems were characterized by using surface tension measurements, particle size determination and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The concentrations of metal ions before and after extraction were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. The extraction study of Cu+2 and Ni+2 in the WIII domain contributed to a better understanding of microemulsion extraction, elucidating the various behaviors presented in the literature for these systems. Furthermore, since WIII systems presented high extraction efficiencies, similar to the ones presented by Winsor II systems, they represented an economic and technological advantage in heavy metal extraction due to a small amount of surfactant and cosurfactant used in the process and also due to the formation of a reduced volume of aqueous phase, with high concentration of metal. Considering the reextraction process, it was observed that WIII system is more effective because it is performed in the oil phase, unlike reextraction in WII, which is performed in the aqueous phase. The presence of the metalsurfactant complex in the oil phase makes possible to regenerate only the surfactant present in the organic phase, and not all the surfactant in the process, as in WII system. This fact allows the reuse of the microemulsion phase in a new extraction process, reducing the costs with surfactant regeneration

Ultrastructure of the intercellular protuberances in leaves of Paepalanthus superbus Ruhl. (Eriocaulaceae)

Folhas adultas de Paepalanthus superbus mostram protuberâncias intercelulares, entre a parede periclinal interna das células epidérmicas e superfície de células parenquimáticas; depósitos semelhantes ocorrem na superfície das células parenquimáticas do mesofilo. Estas protuberâncias são mais proeminentes ao redor de células parenquimáticas, formando uma estrutura que lembra uma cápsula gelatinosa. Testes histoquímicos com vermelho de rutênio evidenciam sua natureza péctica, com inclusões lipídicas dispersas, detectadas por sudan IV e sudan black B. Ultra-estruturalmente as protuberâncias mostram matriz fibrilar permeada por estruturas fimbriadas e tubulares, com margem distinta formada por estrutura membranosa. Nossos resultados sugerem que estas protuberâncias são derivadas de atividade secretora, sendo formadas após o desenvolvimento dos espaços intercelulares. em P. superbus esta estrutura pode representar uma especialização da parede celular, relacionada com adesão e mecanismos de transporte entre células.

ZapA, a possible virulence factor from Proteus mirabilis exhibits broad protease substrate specificity

The opportunistic bacterium Proteus mirabilis secretes a metalloprotease, ZapA, considered to be one of its virulence factors due to its IgA-degrading activity. However, the substrate specificity of this enzyme has not yet been fully characterized. In the present study we used fluorescent peptides derived from bioactive peptides and the oxidized ß-chain of insulin to determine the enzyme specificity. The bradykinin- and dynorphin-derived peptides were cleaved at the single bonds Phe-Ser and Phe-Leu, with catalytic efficiencies of 291 and 13 mM/s, respectively. Besides confirming already published cleavage sites, a novel cleavage site was determined for the ß-chain of insulin (Val-Asn). Both the natural and the recombinant enzyme displayed the same broad specificity, demonstrated by the presence of hydrophobic, hydrophilic, charged and uncharged amino acid residues at the scissile bonds. Native IgA, however, was resistant to hydrolysis by ZapA.