Estudo das emissões de fontes móveis na região metropolitana de Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul

The present study aims at assessing the influence of pollution from mobile sources on air quality in the Metropolitan Area of Porto Alegre by means of an inventory based on methods applied specifically to vehicular emissions. The study uses the method described by CETESB, based on inventories on vehicular emissions, according to USEPA methodology. Following fuel types were taken into account: gasoline (24% ethanol), alcohol, diesel oil, and CNG (compressed natural gas). Results have shown that gasoline-powered vehicles are still responsible for emitting the highest CO and HC concentrations, while diesel-powered vehicles are the source of highest NOx, MP and SOx concentrations.

Thermodynamic study of the solubility of sodium naproxen in some ethanol + water mixtures

By using the van't Hoff and Gibbs equations the apparent thermodynamic functions Gibbs energy, enthalpy, and entropy of solution for sodium naproxen in ethanol + water cosolvent mixtures, were evaluated from solubility data determined at temperatures from (278.15 to 308.15) K. The drug solubility was greatest in neat water and lowest in neat ethanol at all the temperatures studied. By means of non-linear enthalpy-entropy compensation analysis, it follows that the dissolution process of this drug in ethanol-rich mixtures is entropy-driven, whereas, in water-rich mixtures the process is enthalpy-driven.

Diesel/biodiesel soot oxidation with ceo2 and ceo2-zro2-modified cordierites: a facile way of accounting for their catalytic ability in fuel combustion processes

CeO2 and mixed CeO2-ZrO2 nanopowders were synthesized and efficiently deposited onto cordierite substrates, with the evaluation of their morphologic and structural properties through XRD, SEM, and FTIR. The modified substrates were employed as outer heterogeneous catalysts for reducing the soot originated from the diesel and diesel/biodiesel blends incomplete combustion. Their activity was evaluated in a diesel stationary motor, and a comparative analysis of the soot emission was carried out through diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The analyses have shown that the catalyst-impregnated cordierite samples are very efficient for soot oxidation, being capable of reducing the soot emission in more than 60%.

Thermodynamic study of the solubility of triclocarban in ethanol + propylene glycol mixtures

By using the van't Hoff and Gibbs equations the apparent thermodynamic functions Gibbs energy, enthalpy, and entropy of solution for triclocarban in ethanol + propylene glycol mixtures were evaluated from solubility data determined at temperatures from (293.15 to 313.15) K. The drug solubility was greatest in the mixture with 0.60 in mass fraction of ethanol and lowest in neat propylene glycol at almost all the temperatures studied. Non-linear enthalpy-entropy compensation is found indicating apparently different mechanisms of the solution process according to the mixtures composition.

Certified reference material to water content determination in bioethanol fuel

Bioethanol is a strategic biofuel in Brazil. Thus, a strong metrological basis for its measurements is required to ensure the quality and promote its exportation. Recently, Inmetro certified a reference material for water content in bioethanol. This paper presents the results of these studies. The characterization, homogeneity, short-term stability and long-term stability uncertainty contributions values were 0.00500, 0.0166, 0.0355 and 0.0391 mg g-1, respectively. The certificated value for water content of bioethanol fuel was (3.65 ± 0.11) mg g-1. This CRM is the first and up to now the unique in the world.

A utilização de etanol em célula a combustível de óxido sólido

This work reports a review on the status and technical feasibility of the application of ethanol as fuel for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC), presenting both external reform and cell with direct utilization of ethanol. Based on this survey, both experimental results and mathematical modeling indicated the technical feasibility of power generation by ethanol SOFC, with cell units producing 450 mW/cm², sufficient for scale up to large stationary plants. The quantitative assessments in the literature show this field to be promising for researchers and private sector investment as well being a strategic technology for government policy in the short and long term.

Solution thermodynamics of methocarbamol in some ethanol + water mixtures

Apparent thermodynamic functions, Gibbs energy, enthalpy and entropy of solution and mixing, for methocarbamol in ethanol + water mixtures, were evaluated from solubility data determined at temperatures from 293.15 K to 313.15 K and from calorimetric values of drug fusion. The drug solubility was greatest in the mixtures with 0.70 or 0.80 mass fraction of ethanol and lowest in neat water across all temperatures studied. Non-linear enthalpy-entropy compensation was found for the dissolution processes. Accordingly, solution enthalpy drives the respective processes in almost all the solvent systems analyzed.

Use of sorghum straw (Sorghum bicolor) for second generation ethanol production: pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis

Agronomic biomass yields of forage sorghum BRS 655 presented similar results to other energy crops, producing 9 to 12.6 tons/ha (dry mass) of sorghum straw. The objective of this study was to evaluate the lignocellulosic part of this cultivar in terms of its potential in the different unit processes in the production of cellulosic ethanol, measuring the effects of pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. Three types of pre-treatments for two reaction times were conducted to evaluate the characteristics of the pulp for subsequent saccharification. The pulp pretreated by alkali, and by acid followed by delignification, attained hydrolysis rates of over 90%.

Química Sem Fronteiras: o desafio da energia

Coal, natural gas and petroleum-based liquid fuels are still the most widely used energy sources in modern society. The current scenario contrasts with the foreseen shortage of petroleum that was spread out in the beginning of the XXI century, when the concept of "energy security" emerged as an urgent agenda to ensure a good balance between energy supply and demand. Much beyond protecting refineries and oil ducts from terrorist attacks, these issues soon developed to a portfolio of measures related to process sustainability, involving at least three fundamental dimensions: (a) the need for technological breakthroughs to improve energy production worldwide; (b) the improvement of energy efficiency in all sectors of modern society; and (c) the increase of the social perception that education is a key-word towards a better use of our energy resources. Together with these technological, economic or social issues, "energy security" is also strongly influenced by environmental issues involving greenhouse gas emissions, loss of biodiversity in environmentally sensitive areas, pollution and poor solid waste management. For these and other reasons, the implementation of more sustainable practices in our currently available industrial facilities and the search for alternative energy sources that could partly replace the fossil fuels became a major priority throughout the world. Regarding fossil fuels, the main technological bottlenecks are related to the exploitation of less accessible petroleum resources such as those in the pre-salt layer, ranging from the proper characterization of these deep-water oil reservoirs, the development of lighter and more efficient equipment for both exploration and exploitation, the optimization of the drilling techniques, the achievement of further improvements in production yields and the establishment of specialized training programs for the technical staff. The production of natural gas from shale is also emerging in several countries but its production in large scale has several problems ranging from the unavoidable environmental impact of shale mining as well as to the bad consequences of its large scale exploitation in the past. The large scale use of coal has similar environmental problems, which are aggravated by difficulties in its proper characterization. Also, the mitigation of harmful gases and particulate matter that are released as a result of combustion is still depending on the development of new gas cleaning technologies including more efficient catalysts to improve its emission profile. On the other hand, biofuels are still struggling to fulfill their role in reducing our high dependence on fossil fuels. Fatty acid alkyl esters (biodiesel) from vegetable oils and ethanol from cane sucrose and corn starch are mature technologies whose market share is partially limited by the availability of their raw materials. For this reason, there has been a great effort to develop "second-generation" technologies to produce methanol, ethanol, butanol, biodiesel, biogas (methane), bio-oils, syngas and synthetic fuels from lower grade renewable feedstocks such as lignocellulosic materials whose consumption would not interfere with the rather sensitive issues of food security. Advanced fermentation processes are envisaged as "third generation" technologies and these are primarily linked to the use of algae feedstocks as well as other organisms that could produce biofuels or simply provide microbial biomass for the processes listed above. Due to the complexity and cost of their production chain, "third generation" technologies usually aim at high value added biofuels such as biojet fuel, biohydrogen and hydrocarbons with a fuel performance similar to diesel or gasoline, situations in which the use of genetically modified organisms is usually required. In general, the main challenges in this field could be summarized as follows: (a) the need for prospecting alternative sources of biomass that are not linked to the food chain; (b) the intensive use of green chemistry principles in our current industrial activities; (c) the development of mature technologies for the production of second and third generation biofuels; (d) the development of safe bioprocesses that are based on environmentally benign microorganisms; (e) the scale-up of potential technologies to a suitable demonstration scale; and (f) the full understanding of the technological and environmental implications of the food vs. fuel debate. On the basis of these, the main objective of this article is to stimulate the discussion and help the decision making regarding "energy security" issues and their challenges for modern society, in such a way to encourage the participation of the Brazilian Chemistry community in the design of a road map for a safer, sustainable and prosper future for our nation.

Advances in ethanol reforming for the production of hydrogen

Catalytic steam reforming of ethanol (SRE) is a promising route for the production of renewable hydrogen (H2). This article reviews the influence of doping supported-catalysts used in SRE on the conversion of ethanol, selectivity for H2, and stability during long reaction periods. In addition, promising new technologies such as membrane reactors and electrochemical reforming for performing SRE are presented.

Amphoteric behavior of di-2-pyridyl ketone benzoylhydrazone in ethanol-water mixtures

The ligand di-2-pyridyl ketone benzoylhydrazone (DPKBH) is widely used for the determination of transition metal ions in environmental samples. Due to its low solubility in water it is used in aqueous-ethanol (1:1) solvent and for higher sensitivity the pH must be properly adjusted. The properties of DPKBH solutions must be known at different ethanol-water percentages in order to achieve higher sensitivity and/or selectivity for metal analysis. The acid-base behavior of this reagent in aqueous-ethanol solvent and the dissociation/ionization constants (pK1 and pK2) of DPKBH have been determined in different aqueous-ethanol solvent mixtures (10, 20, 30 and 50 % V/V of ethanol) from potentiometric titrations at 25.0 ± 0.1° C. As the amount of ethanol increases from 10 to 30% the pK1 and pK2 values increased, but they decreased in 50% of the organic solvent. The results are correlated with the medium composition and its effects.

Effect of alcohol concentration and electrode composition on the ethanol electrochemical oxidation

The electrochemical oxidation on platinum and platinum rhodium bimetallic electrodes was studied by Differential Electrochemical Mass Spectrometry for several ethanol concentrations in solution. It is found that increasing the ethanol concentration the production of the partially oxidized products (acetaldehyde) increases as the concentration increases. On the other hand, addition of 25% at. of rhodium increases the full oxidation to CO2. Another interesting result observed is a correlation between the intensity of the dehydrogenations peak at 0.3 V vs. RHE and the CO2 yield for the different ethanol concentration studied.

Determination of Copper, Iron, Nickel and Zinc in fuel kerosene by FAAS after adsorption and pre-concentration on 2-aminothiazole-modified silica gel

Silica gel chemically modified with 2-Aminotiazole groups, abbreviated as SiAT, was used for preconcentration of copper, zinc, nickel and iron from kerosene, normally used as a engine fuel for airplanes. Surface characteristics and surface area of the silica gel were obtained before and after chemical modification using FT-IR, Kjeldhal and surface area analysis (B.E.T.). The retention and recovery of the analyte elements were studied by applying batch and column techniques. The experimental parameters, such as shaking time in batch technique, flow rate and concentration of the eluent (HCl- 0.25-2.00 mol L-1) and the amount of silica, on retention and elution, have been investigated. Detection limits of the method for copper, iron, nickel and zinc are 0.77, 2.92, 1.73 and 0.097 mg L-1, respectively. The sorption-desorption of the studied metal ions made possible the development of a preconcentration method for metal ions at trace level in kerosene using flame AAS for their quantification.