Caracterização de água produzida na indústria de petróleo para fins de descarte e otimização do processo de separação óleo/água

The oil industry has several segments that can impact the environment. Among these, produced water which has been highlight in the environmental problem because of the great volume generated and its toxic composition. Those waters are the major source of waste in the oil industry. The composition of the produced water is strongly dependent on the production field. A good example is the wastewater produced on a Petrobras operating unit of Rio Grande do Norte and Ceará (UO-RNCE). A single effluent treatment station (ETS) of this unit receives effluent from 48 wells (onshore and offshore), which leads a large fluctuations in the water quality that can become a complicating factor for future treatment processes. The present work aims to realize a diagnosis of a sample of produced water from the OU - RNCE in compliance to certain physical and physico-chemical parameters (chloride concentration, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, pH, TOG (oil & grease), nitrate concentration, turbidity, salinity and temperature). The analysis of the effluent is accomplished by means of a MP TROLL 9500 Multiparameter probe, a TOG/TPH Infracal from Wilks Enterprise Corp. - Model HATR - T (TOG) and a MD-31 condutivimeter of Digimed. Results were analyzed by univariated and multivariated analysis (principal component analysis) associated statistical control charts. The multivariate analysis showed a negative correlation between dissolved oxygen and turbidity (-0.55) and positive correlations between salinity and chloride (1), conductivity, chloride and salinity (0.70). Multivariated analysis showed there are seven principal components which can explain the variability of the parameters. The variables, salinity, conductivity and chloride were the most important variables, with, higher sampling variance. Statistical control charts have helped to establish a general trend between the physical and chemical evaluated parameters

Extração do corante reactive blue 19 utilizando tensoativo não iônico

The generation of effluent from the finishing process in textile industry is a serious environmental problem and turned into an object of study in several scientific papers. Contamination with dyes and the presences of substances that are toxic to the environment characterize this difficult treatment effluent. Several processes have already been evaluated to remove and even degrade such pollutants are examples: coagulation-flocculation, biological treatment and advanced oxidative processes, but not yet sufficient to enable the recovery of dye or at least of the recovery agent. An alternative to this problem is the cloud point extraction that involves the application of nonionic surfactants at temperatures above the cloud point, making the water a weak solvent to the surfactant, providing the agglomeration of those molecules around the dyes molecules by affinity with the organic phase. After that, the formation of two phases occurred: the diluted one, poor in dye and surfactant, and the other one, coacervate, with higher concentrations of dye and surfactants than the other one. The later use of the coacervate as a dye and surfactant recycle shows the technical and economic viability of this process. In this paper, the cloud point extraction is used to remove the dye Reactive Blue from the water, using nonionic surfactant nonyl phenol with 9,5 etoxilations. The aim is to solubilize the dye molecules in surfactant, varying the concentration and temperature to study its effects. Evaluating the dye concentration in dilute phase after extraction, it is possible to analyze thermodynamic variables, build Langmuir isotherms, determine the behavior of the coacervate volume for a surfactant concentration and temperature, the distribution coefficient and the dye removal efficiency. The concentration of surfactant proved itself to be crucial to the success of the treatment. The results of removal efficiency reached values of 91,38%, 90,69%, 89,58%, 87,22% and 84,18% to temperatures of 65,0, 67,5, 70,0, 72,5 and 75,0°C, respectively, showing that the cloud point extraction is an efficient alternative for the treatment of wastewater containing Reactive Blue

Desenvolvimento de um sistema foto-oxidativo visando aplicação no tratamento de águas produzidas em campos de petróleo

Increasing concern with the environment, in addition to strict laws, has induced the industries to find altenatives to the treatment of their wastes. Actually, the oil industry has sought solutions to overcome a big environmental problem, i.e., oil field produced water being discharged to the sea. These effluents have organic compounds dissolved, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, phenols, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX). These compounds are difficult to be removed and have high toxicity. The advanced oxidation processes - AOP are effective to degradation of these organic compounds, because they generate hydroxyl radicals with high potential of oxidation. This work includes the reactor photochemical development applied in the photodegradation treatment (by photo-Fenton process) of wastewaters containing organic compounds dissolved, aiming at treatment and recovery the oil field produced water. The studied reactor allowed the evaluation of two ultraviolet radiation sources that is the main factor to describe the feasibility of the photo¬Fenton treatment, i.e., sun and black light fluorescent lamps, and other relevant variables the process: concentration of reagents, irradiated area and also various reactor configurations to maximize the use of radiation. The organic matter degradation was verified with samples collected during the experimental and analyzed with a total organic carbon analyzer (TOC), which expressed the results in terms of mgC/L. The solar radiation was more effective than radiation from the lamps. it's an important factor for the operation costs cutting. Preliminary experiments applied to oil field produced water treatment have showed satisfactory results, reducing up to 76 % of organic matter

Desenvolvimento de um sistema foto-oxidativo visando aplicação no tratamento de águas produzidas em campos de petróleo

Increasing concern with the environment, in addition to strict laws, has induced the industries to find alternatives to the treatment of their wastes. Actually, the oil industry has sought solutions to overcome a big environmental problem, i.e., oil field produced water being discharged to the sea. These effluents have organic compounds dissolved, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, phenols, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX). These compounds are difficult to be removed and have high toxicity. The advanced oxidation processes - AOP are effective to degradation of these organic compounds, because they generate hydroxyl radicals with high potential of oxidation. This work includes the reactor photochemical development applied in the photodegradation treatment (by photo-Fenton process) of wastewaters containing organic compounds dissolved, aiming at treatment and recovery the oil field produced water. The studied reactor allowed the evaluation of two ultraviolet radiation sources that is the main factor to describe the feasibility of the photo- Fenton treatment, i.e., sun and black light fluorescent lamps, and other relevant variables the process: concentration of reagents, irradiated area and also various reactor configurations to maximize the use of radiation. The organic matter degradation was verified with samples collected during the experimental and analyzed with a total organic carbon analyzer (TOC), which expressed the results in terms of mgC/L. The solar radiation was more effective than radiation from the lamps. It's an important factor for the operation costs cutting. Preliminary experiments applied to oil field produced water treatment have showed satisfactory results, reducing up to 76 % of organic matter

Incorporação do resíduo oriundo do beneficiamento de caulim em concreto asfáltico

The municipal district of Equador-RN is located in an area of great amounts of ores, being your main economical activity the extraction and the kaolin improvement. The main originating from environmental problem that activity is the amount of generated residue, about 70% of the extracted kaolin. The residues are simply piled up in lands of the improvement companies, occupying like this a large area and causing impact in the existent flora. When dry, the residues transform powdered and for the action of the wind, they disperse, polluting the air. Being like this, the present work has as objective evaluates the incorporation of the great residue, originating from of the kaolin improvement, in partial substitution of all the employed aggregates in a conventional mixture of asphalt concrete, which was used in the paving of BR101/RN061 - passage between Ponta Negra and Ares. That evaluation was accomplished in three stages. The first refers to the evaluation of the physical, thermal and mineralogical characteristics of the residue with the intention of to classify it and to define your application as aggregate (small and great). The second refers to the physical characterization of the aggregates and of the asphalt material used in the conventional mixture. And the third, to the evaluation of the mixtures containing residue, which were elaborated starting from the conventional mixture with the gradual incorporation of the residue, from 5 to 40%, in substitution to the part of the conventional aggregates, in way to obtain similar particle size curves the one of the conventional mixture. That evaluation was accomplished through the comparison between the volumetric composition, the mechanical behavior and the susceptibility to the humidity of the mixtures containing residue with the one of the conventional mixture, and with the one of the DNIT specifications. The results show that the great residue originating from of the kaolin improvement has grains of the most varied size, being like this, it can substitute part of all the conventional aggregates and of the filler in an asphalt mixture. Besides, your mineralogical composition presented the same present minerals in the composition of conventional aggregates used in paving. The results evaluation of the volumetric composition of the mixtures containing residue indicates that it can use up to 30% of residue in substitution to the conventional aggregates. The evaluation of the mechanical behavior of those mixtures indicates that the residue increment in the studied mixtures caused an increase of the stability and a reduction of the resistance to the traction. The values obtained in the resistance to the traction meet below the minimum value specified by DNIT, but close to the value obtained in the conventional mixture. When taking in consideration the susceptibility of the same ones to the humidity, the results indicate that she can use up to 25% of residue

Análise da adição de resíduo oriundo do tratamento de esgotos em massa cerâmica utilizada para fabricação de telhas

Sludge of Wastewater Treatment Plants (WTPs) disposal is a problem for any municipality, for this reason the amount of sludge production is now a key issue in selecting treatment methods. It is necessary to investigate new applications for this waste type, due to the restrictions imposed by the environmental organs. The raw materials used in the Red Ceramic, are generally very heterogeneous, for this reason, such materials can tolerate the presence of different types of wastes. In Rio Grande do Norte, the roof tiles production corresponds to 60,61% from the total of ceramic units produced. Due to the importance of the ceramic industry of roof tiles for the state, allied to the environmental problem of the sludge disposal, this work had for objective to verify the possibility of the incorporation of sewage sludge in ceramic body used for production of roof tiles. In the research, sludge originating from drying beds of WTP of the Central Campus from UFRN and clays originating from a ceramic industry from Goianinha/RN were used. The raw materials were characterized by techniques of: analysis of particles distribution by diffraction to laser; real density; consistence limits; chemical analysis by X-ray fluorescence; mineralogical analysis by X-ray diffraction; organic matter; and solids content. Five batches of roof tiles were manufactured in the approximate dosages of 2%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10%. To evaluate the properties of each final product, tests of water absorption, impermeability, bending strength, leachability and solubility were accomplished. The roof tiles manufactured with sludge presented characteristics similar to the roof tiles without sludge in relation to the environmental risk. The results showed that it is possible to use approximately up to 4% of sludge in ceramic bodies for production of roof tiles. However, it is observed that the high amount of organic matter (71%) present in the sludge is shown as factor that limits the sludge incorporation in ceramic bodies, worsening the quality of the roof tiles. It is necessary the use of mixtures of different raw materials under point of view of the granulometry and of the other chemical and mineralogical properties for the obtaining of a satisfactory mass to the production of ceramic roof tiles

Remoção biológica de nitrato em água de abastecimento humano utilizando o endocarpo de coco como fonte de carbono

The groundwater quality has been compromised as a result of the intensification of human activities over the years. Groundwater contamination by nitrate is one of the effects of this degradation, a socio-environmental problem that affects many regions of the world and particular the city of Natal (RN). Developing techniques for nitrate removal in water is intended to eliminate or reduce the concentration of this compound, and those that involve biological processes have produced economic and environmental advantages. This study proposes a technology for biological removal of nitrate in water supply for humans, using the endocarp s coconut as a carbon source and bacteria support. The experiments were performed in pilot scale anoxic, testing different areas of the substrate surface. Results showed high rates nitrate removal during the monitoring period, noting the occurrence of denitrification after the beginning of system operation. The best performance was achieved in the treatment system containing substrate surface area increased, indicating that the decrease in the endocarp size contributed to increased bacterial activity, improving the ability to remove nitrate. About the quality analyzed aspects of water, it was found that the proposed technology has the potential water use for human consumption

Mudanças climáticas globais e o compromisso pró-ecológico de adolescentes natalenses

In recent years, much has been discussed about global climate changes (GCCs), popularly known as global warming. The scientific evidences point out to the influence of human actions for its drastic intensification. Therefore, studies of the psychological aspects involved become relevant. This study aimed at the investigation of the views of adolescents concerning GCCs, and the possible relations between those views and their pro-ecological commitment. Such commitment is measured by willingness for engagement in pro-environmental behaviors; environmentalism attitudes, like ecocentric and anthropocentric; consideration of future consequences; and ecological worldviews. Participants were 348 adolescents who answered a questionnaire containing questions about socio-demographic data, open questions about the practice of environmental care, and about GCCs, and the scales of Ecocentric and Anthropocentric Environmentalism, the Consideration of Future Consequences and the Ecological Worldviews assessment scale. From the inter-relationships between variables, procedures carried out by means of descriptive and correlacional statistics, it was observed that 55% of teenagers said that they did not engage in actions of environmental care, which was associated with apathyanthropocentric, immediatism, and individualism. The consideration of future consequences joined the practice of environmental care, corroborating evidence from the literature. It was evident that views concerning GCCs were superficial; adolescents perceive it as a generic environmental problem, and are confused with other problems such as pollution. This study found no association between views about GCCs and the indicators of pro-ecological commitment, perhaps due to the conceptual confusion about the subject. However, the lack of environmental care actions and other indicators of non-commitment (apathy-anthropocentric, individualism and immediatism) were associated with conceptually poor or incomplete responses (with no indication of cause, consequence or responsibility for the problem), demonstrating diminished knowledge and the failure to consider these issues

Detecção de metamidofós em solos por métodos ecotoxicológico e cromatografia líquida acoplada à espectrometria de massas sequencial (LC-MS/MS)

Soil contamination by pesticides is an environmental problem that needs to be monitored and avoided. However, the lack of fast, accurate and low cost analytical methods for discovering residual pesticide in complex matrices, such as soil, is a problem still unresolved. This problem needs to be solved before we are able to assess the quality of environmental samples. The intensive use of pesticides has increased since the 60s, because the dependence of their use, causing biological imbalances and promoting resistance and recurrence of high populations of pests and pathogens (upwelling). This has contributed to the appearance of new pests that were previously under natural control. To develop analytical methods that are able to quantify residues pesticide in complex environment. It is still a challenge for many laboratories. The integration of two analytical methods one ecotoxicological and another chemical demonstrates the potential for environmental analysis of methamidophos. The aim of this study was to evaluate an ecotoxicological method as "screening" analytical methamidophos in the soil and perform analytical confirmation in the samples of the concentration of the analyte by chemical method LC-MS/MS In this work we tested two soils: a clayey and sandy, both in contact with the kinetic methamidophos model followed pseudo-second order. The clay soil showed higher absorption of methamidophos and followed the Freundlich model, while the sandy, the Langmuir model. The chemical method was validated LC-MS/MS satisfactory, showing all parameters of linearity, range, precision, accuracy, and sensitivity adequate. In chronic ecotoxicological tests with C. dubia, the NOEC was 4.93 and 3.24 for ng L-1 of methamidophos to elutriate assays of sandy and clay soils, respectively. The method for ecotoxicological levels was more sensitive than LC-MS/MS detection of methamidophos, loamy and sandy soils. However, decreasing the concentration of the standard for analytical methamidophos and adjusting for the validation conditions chemical acquires a limit of quantification (LOQ) in ng L-1, consistent with the provisions of ecotoxicological test. The methods described should be used as an analytical tool for methamidophos in soil, and the ecotoxicological analysis can be used as a "screening" and LC-MS/MS as confirmatory analysis of the analyte molecule, confirming the objectives of this work

Glycerol: A promising and abundant carbon source for industrial microbiology

Petroleum is the main energy source utilized in the world, but its availability is limited and the search for new renewable energy sources is of major interest. Biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, are among the most promising sources for the substitution of fossil fuels. Biodiesel can replace petroleum diesel, as it is produced from animal fats and vegetable oils, which generate about 10% (w/w) glycerol as the main by-product. The excess glycerol generated may become an environmental problem. since it cannot be disposed of in the environment. One of the possible applications is its use as carbon and energy source for microbial growth in industrial microbiology. Glycerol bioconversion in valuable chemicals, such as 1,3-propanediol, dihydroxyacetone, ethanol, succinate etc. is discussed in this review article. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pressão de preconsolidação como ferramenta de análise da sustentabilidade estrutural de classes de solos com diferentes usos

O principal problema ambiental causado pelo uso do solo em áreas de preservação permanente longitudinais aos rios é a supressão da mata ciliar. O tipo e a intensidade desse uso alteram a estrutura do solo e comprometem as funções físicas dessas áreas, principalmente próximo aos cursos d'água. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a sustentabilidade estrutural, a partir do ensaio de compressão uniaxial, de três classes de solo (Cambissolo Háplico, Argissolo Amarelo e Gleissolo Háplico) e o impacto de diferentes tipos de usos do solo - não permitido pela legislação ambiental - de áreas de preservação permanente na sub-bacia do rio Ribeira de Iguape, SP. Foram delimitadas na área experimental três classes de solo: Cambissolo, Argissolo e Gleissolo. Numa primeira etapa, compararam-se as três classes de solos sob mata nativa e sob pastagem. Na segunda, avaliou-se a influência de diferentes tipos de uso do solo - cultivo de banana, pastagem degradada, uso silvipastoril e mata nativa - sobre a estrutura de um Cambissolo. A pressão de preconsolidação mostrou-se ferramenta capaz de identificar a degradação nos solos. O uso do solo nas áreas de preservação permanente altera a pressão de preconsolidação do solo, causando sua degradação estrutural, colocando em risco a sustentabilidade das terras, e não deve ser permitido. O Gleissolo mostrou maiores valores de pressão de preconsolidação em função de teores crescentes de água e, portanto, maior capacidade de suporte de carga em relação ao Cambissolo e Argissolo. O cultivo de banana foi o tipo de uso que mais degradou os solos das áreas de preservação permanente.

Differential/combined effect of water contamination with cadmium and nickel on tissues of rats

The contamination of water by metal compounds is a worldwide environmental problem. Concentrations of metals are widely related to biochemical values which are used in disease diagnosis due to environmental toxicity. The acute combined effects of cadmium and nickel on biochemical parameters were determined and compared with those of Cd2+ or Ni2+ alone in rats. Male adult rats were given drinking solutions of CdCl2 [Cd(II) cation, 100 mg/liter] or NiSO4 [Ni(II) cation, 100 mg/liter]. For the combined treatment, the animals (Ni+Cd) received both Ni(II)) cation (100 mg/liter) and Cd(II) cation (100 mg/liter). Nickel treatment induced increased alanine transaminase (ALT) activity and hepatotoxicity, but not renal injury. In contrast, cadmium exposure produced hepatic, renal and myocardial damage, characterized by increased creatinine, total and direct bilirubin concentrations and increased ALT and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities. The combined effect Ni-Cd is less toxic than cadmium alone, suggesting antagonism between these toxicants. The toxicity of nickel and cadmium, alone and in combination, decreased Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and increased lipoperoxide formation. (C) 1998 Elsevier B.V. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Partially exchanged organophilic bentonites

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Growth, nodulation and nitrogen fixation of cowpea in soils amended with composted tannery sludge

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Influence of the vinasse application in sugar cane fields in Patrocínio Paulista, São Paulo State, Brazil

This investigation was carried out in Patrocínio Paulista municipality, located in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Sugarcane has been extensively cultivated in the area in order to be utilized by the sugar and ethanol industries. The major effluent from the ethanol industry, vinasse, has been applied in the sugarcane fields as an alternative to supply several nutrients in crop production. Because it may represent a major environmental problem in that area, with implications to human health, soil samples from six points were collected and analyzed in order to evaluate the main factors related to the vinasse application in the ground. The importance of clays, iron oxides, organic matter and minor refractory minerals was also considered for explaining several relationships identified from the acquired data. © 2009 WIT Press.