Microemulsões aplicadas ao tratamento de Óleos isolantes

Naphthenic lubricating oils are used in transformers with the purpose of promoting electrical insulation and dissipating heat. The working temperature range of these oils typically lies between 60°C and 90°C and their useful life is 40 years in average. In that temperature range, the oils are decomposed during operation, whereby a small fraction of polar compounds are formed. The presence of these compounds may induce failure and loss of physical, chemical and electrical properties of the oil, thus impairing the transformer operation. By removing these contaminants, one allows the oxidized insulating oil to be reused without damaging the equipment. In view of this, an investigation on the use of surfactants and microemulsions as extracting agents, and modified diatomite as adsorbent, has been proprosed in this work aiming to remove polar substances detected in oxidized transformer oils. The extraction was carried out by a simple-contact technique at room temperature. The system under examination was stirred for about 10 minutes, after which it was allowed to settle at 25°C until complete phase separation. In another experimental approach, adsorption equilibrium data were obtained by using a batch system operating at temperatures of 60, 80 and 100°C. Analytical techniques involving determination of the Total Acidity Number (TAN) and infrared spectrophotometry have been employed when monitoring the decomposition and recovery processes of the oils. The acquired results indicated that the microemulsion extraction system comprising Triton® X114 as surfactant proved to be more effective in removing polar compounds, with a decrease in TAN index from 0.19 to 0.01 mg KOH/g, which is consistent with the limits established for new transformer oils (maximal TAN = 0.03 mg KOH/g). In the adsorption studies, the best adsorption capacity values were as high as 0.1606 meq.g/g during conventional adsoprtion procedures using natural bauxite, and as high as 0.016 meq.g/g for the system diatomite/Tensiofix® 8426. Comparatively in this case, a negative effect could be observed on the adsorption phenomenon due to microemulsion impregnation on the surface of the diatomite

Atributos físicos e químicos de substratos compostos por biossólidos e casca de arroz carbonizada

O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar os atributos físicos e químicos de substratos com diferentes doses de biossólido (BIO) e de casca de arroz carbonizada (CAC), com vistas em obter um meio de crescimento adequado para o desenvolvimento de mudas. Desta forma, utilizando biossólido proveniente da SABESP, estação de Franca (SP), estabeleceu-se um ensaio com os seguintes tratamentos (proporções BIO/CAC): 100/0, 90/10, 80/20, 70/30, 60/40, 50/50, 40/60, 30/70, 20/80, 10/90 e 0/100, os quais foram comparados ao substrato comercial Multiplant®. Foram realizadas análises para determinação dos atributos físicos, como: densidade aparente do substrato, macro e microporosidade, porosidade total, capacidade máxima de retenção de água, e dos atributos químicos dos substratos, como: teores totais de macro e micronutrientes, pH, relação C/N e condutividade elétrica. Com a elevação da dose de BIO no substrato houve aumento da densidade e do percentual de microporos e, conseqüentemente, da capacidade de retenção de água. O BIO apresentou teores razoáveis de nutrientes com destaque para N e P, mas baixos teores de K. Não foram detectados teores de metais pesados superiores aos limites estabelecidos pela Legislação Brasileira no biossólido usado. Comparando-se os valores considerados adequados para o desenvolvimento de mudas encontrados na literatura com os obtidos neste trabalho, encaixaram-se na faixa adequada os substratos cujas doses de biossólido variaram de 30 a 60 %. Nenhum substrato testado, incluindo o do tratamento com substrato comercial, apresentou valores ideais em todas as propriedades estudadas.

Síntese e caracterização de aluminofosfato impregnado com molibdênio/zinco visando a dessulfurização por adsorção

Discussions about pollution caused by vehicles emission are old and have been developed along the years. The search for cleaner technologies and frequent weather alterations have been inducing industries and government organizations to impose limits much more rigorous to the contaminant content in fuels, which have an direct impact in atmospheric emissions. Nowadays, the quality of fuels, in relation to the sulfur content, is carried out through the process of hydrodesulfurization. Adsorption processes also represent an interesting alternative route to the removal of sulfur content. Both processes are simpler and operate to atmospheric temperatures and pressures. This work studies the synthesis and characterization of aluminophosphate impregnate with zinc, molybdenum or both, and its application in the sulfur removal from the gasoline through the adsorption process, using a pattern gasoline containing isooctane and thiophene. The adsorbents were characterized by x-ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis (DTG), x-ray fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The specific area, volume and pore diameter were determined by BET (Brunauer- Emmet-Teller) and the t-plot method. The sulfur was quantified by elementary analysis using ANTEK 9000 NS. The adsorption process was evaluated as function of the temperature variation and initial sulfur content through the adsorption isotherm and its thermodynamic parameters. The parameters of entropy (ΔS), enthalpy variation (ΔH) and free Gibbs energy (ΔG) were calculated through the graph ln(Kd) versus 1/T. Langmuir, Freundlich and Langmuir-Freundlich models were adjusted to the experimental data, and the last one had presented better results. The thermodynamic tests were accomplished in different temperatures, such as 30, 40 and 50ºC, where it was concluded the adsorption process is spontaneous and exothermic. The kinetic of adsorption was studied by 24 h and it showed that the capability adsorption to the adsorbents studied respect the following order: MoZnPO > MoPO > ZnPO > AlPO. The maximum adsorption capacity was 4.91 mg/g for MoZnPO with an adsorption efficiency of 49%.