Development of mint (Mentha piperita L.) grown on biosolids: evaluation of productivity and essential oil content

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Análise topológica experimental por perfilometria cíclica indutiva de superficies de paredes estruturais

To enhance the maintenance practices, Oil and Gas Pipelines are inspected from the inside by automated systems called PIG (Pipeline Inspection Gauge). The inspection and mapping of defects, as dents and holes, in the internal wall of these pipelines are increasingly put into service toward an overall Structural Integrity Policy. The residual life of these structures must be determined such that minimize its probability of failure. For this reason, the investigation on the detection limits of some basic topological features constituted by peaks or valleys disposed along a smooth surface is of great value for determining the sensitivity of the measurements of defects from some combinations of circumferential, axial and radial extent. In this investigation, it was analyzed an inductive profilometric sensor to scan three races, radius r1, r2, r3, in a circular surface of low carbon steel, equipped with eight consecutive defects simulated by bulges and holes by orbit, equally spaced at p/4 rad. A test rig and a methodology for testing in laboratory were developed to evaluate the sensor response and identify their dead zones and jumps due to fluctuations as a function of topological features and scanning velocity, four speeds different. The results are presented, analyzed and suggestions are made toward a new conception of sensor topologies, more sensible to detect these type of damage morphologies

Medição e modelagem da resposta de um sensor de pig perfilométrico sob diferentes solicitações dinâmicas

Ensure the integrity of the pipeline network is an extremely important factor in the oil and gas industry. The engineering of pipelines uses sophisticated robotic inspection tools in-line known as instrumented pigs. Several relevant factors difficult the inspection of pipelines, especially in offshore field which uses pipelines with multi-diameters, radii of curvature accentuated, wall thickness of the pipe above the conventional, multi-phase flow and so on. Within this context, appeared a new instrumented Pig, called Feeler PIG, for detection and sizing of thickness loss in pipelines with internal damage. This tool was developed to overcome several limitations that other conventional instrumented pigs have during the inspection. Several factors influence the measurement errors of the pig affecting the reliability of the results. This work shows different operating conditions and provides a test rig for feeler sensors of an inspection pig under different dynamic loads. The results of measurements of the damage type of shoulder and holes in a cyclic flat surface are evaluated, as well as a mathematical model for the sensor response and their errors from the actual behavior

Modelagem e simulação da deposição de parafinas em escoamento turbulento

The flow assurance has become one of the topics of greatest interest in the oil industry, mainly due to production and transportation of oil in regions with extreme temperature and pressure. In these operations the wax deposition is a commonly problem in flow of paraffinic oils, causing the rising costs of the process, due to increased energy cost of pumping, decreased production, increased pressure on the line and risk of blockage of the pipeline. In order to describe the behavior of the wax deposition phenomena in turbulent flow of paraffinic oils, under different operations conditions, in this work we developed a simulator with easy interface. For that we divided de work in four steps: (i) properties estimation (physical, thermals, of transport and thermodynamics) of n-alkanes and paraffinic mixtures by using correlations; (ii) obtainment of the solubility curve and determination the wax appearance temperature, by calculating the solid-liquid equilibrium of parafinnic systems; (iii) modelling wax deposition process, comprising momentum, mass and heat transfer; (iv) development of graphic interface in MATLAB® environment for to allow the understanding of simulation in different flow conditions as well as understand the matter of the variables (inlet temperature, external temperature, wax appearance temperature, oil composition, and time) on the behavior of the deposition process. The results showed that the simulator developed, called DepoSim, is able to calculate the profile of temperature, thickness of the deposit, and the amount of wax deposited in a simple and fast way, and also with consistent results and applicable to the operation

Non-destructive determination of photosynthetic pigments in the leaves of castor oil plants

Objetivou-se com o presente trabalho, estabelecer a relação entre os pigmentos fotossintéticos extraídos em DMSO e as leituras obtidas no clorofilômetro portátil ClorofiLOG® 1030, gerando modelos matemáticos capazes de predizer os teores de clorofila e de carotenóides em folhas de mamoneira. O trabalho foi conduzido na Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA) Algodão, situada em Campina Grande, Estado da Paraíba, em outubro de 2010. Para a análise indireta, foi utilizado um equipamento portátil, sendo realizada a leitura em discos foliares com diferentes tonalidades de verde, sendo feita, nesses mesmos discos, a determinação da clorofila pelo método clássico. Para a extração da clorofila, utilizaram-se 5 mL de dimetilsulfóxido (DMSO), a qual foi mantida em banho-maria a 70ºC, por 30 minutos, e retirou-se 3 mL da alíquota para leitura em espectrofotômetro nos comprimentos de onda de 470, 646 e 663 nm. Os dados foram submetidos à análise da variância e regressão polinomial. A leitura obtida no clorofilômetro portátil foi a variável dependente, e os pigmentos fotossintéticos determinados pelo método clássico foi a variável independente. Os resultados indicaram que o clorofilômetro portátil ClorofiLOG® 1030, associado a modelos matemáticos, permitiu estimar a concentração dos pigmentos fotossintéticos, exceto a clorofila b, com alta precisão, com economia de tempo e com reagentes normalmente utilizados nos procedimentos convencionais.

Estudo da circulação hidrodinâmica e da dispersão de óleo na zona costeira entre Macau e Galinhos RN

This paper presents a study on coastal hydrodynamics and the spread of an oil spill in waters off Macau and Galinhos, on the east coast of the state of Rio Grande do Norte in Northeast Brazil. This area has a very marked coastal dynamic owing to the complexity of its geomorphological features, developed in a regime of semidiurnal mesotides involving reefs, spits, estuaries, mangroves, lakes and dunes. The region also plays an important role in the socioeconomic development of the state, given that the production of oil, natural gas, salt and shrimp is concentrated there. The series of oil platforms is interconnected by a pipeline system that carries oil to the local terminal. This pipeline could leak at any moment, causing immense ecological damage. To gauge the risks of an oil leak and resulting contamination of the coastal region, two hydrodynamic scenarios were simulated. The results obtained were used to implement a contaminant transport model with the creation of various oil leak scenarios modeled at different volumes (from small to large) and intensities (sporadic and continuous), at points considered critical for the model (on two platforms and at two pipeline intersections), under different wind (summer and winter) and tidal (high and low at new, full and quarter moon phases) conditions. The use of hydrodynamic circulation computer models as a tool for representing a real project design has been increasingly frequent in recent years, given that they enable the realistic simulation of the hydrodynamic circulation pattern in bodies of water and an analysis of the impacts caused by contaminants released into the water. This study used the computer models contained in SisBAHIA®, in continuous development in the area of Coastal Engineering and Oceanography at COPPE/UFRJ

Screening Botryosphaeria species for lipases: Production of lipase by Botryosphaeria ribis EC-01 grown on soybean oil and other carbon sources

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Effect of soybean oil and Tween 80 on the production of botryosphaeran by Botryosphaeria rhodina MAMB-05

The addition of soybean oil and Tween 80 was evaluated with the objective of increasing the production of botryosphaeran, an exopolysaccharide (EPS) of the (1 -> 3 ;1 -> 6)-beta-D-glucan type produced by the fungus Botowsphaeria rhodina MAMB-05. Factorial design and analysis by response surface methodology was developed to select the main factors that would affect and enhance EPS production. The optimized culture conditions were: 40g l(-1) glucose with 10ml l(-1) soybean oil, and 4.5 ml l(-1) Tween 80, during 72h cultivation at 28 degrees C (180 rpm) and initial pH 5.7. The predicted result for botryosphaeran production was 8.22 +/- 1.36 g l(-1), and compared with the experimental value of 7.74 +/- 0.13 g l(-1) . Partial characterization of the botryosphaeran produced under the optimized conditions showed one type of polysaccharide with P-glycosidic linkages containing glucose as monosaccharide. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Anticandidal Efficacy of Cinnamon Oil Against Planktonic and Biofilm Cultures of Candida parapsilosis and Candida orthopsilosis

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Components of Turnera diffusa Willd. var. afrodisiaca (Ward) Urb. essential oil

Turnera diffusa Willd. var. afrodisiaca (Ward) Urb. (syn. T aphrodisiaca) (Turneraceae) is a common aromatic plant growing wild in the subtropical regions of America and Africa. Its essential oil was studied by GC and GC-MS. Fifty-four components were characterized and identified, the most abundant being 1,8-cineol (11.4%), opoplenone (10.3%) cadalene (5.1%) and epi-cubenol (4.1%). Copyright (C) 2002 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.

Solid dispersions with hydrogenated castor oil increase solubility, dissolution rate and intestinal absorption of praziquantel

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Prospective study for the development of emulsion systems containing natural oil products

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Effect of the essential oil of Achillea millefolium L. in the production of hydrogen peroxide and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in murine macrophages

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

Evaluation of the performance of a castor-oil based formulation in limiting pesticide residues in strawberry crops

A study was made to evaluate the effect of a castor oil-based detergent on strawberry crops treated with different classes of pesticides, namely deltamethrin, folpet, tebuconazole, abamectin and mancozeb, in a controlled environment. Experimental crops of greenhouse strawberries were cultivated in five different ways with control groups using pesticides and castor oil-based detergent. The results showed that the group 2, which was treated with castor oil-based detergent, presented the lowest amount of pesticide residues and the highest quality of fruit produced.