Avaliação da auto-suficiência energética de reatores anaeróbios no tratamento de esgoto sanitário e de água preta

The purpose of this project is to verify whether anaerobic reactors applied to sewage treatment are energetically self-sufficient. This evaluation can be made by balancing the methane produced through the anaerobic transformation stages (hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis and methanogenesis) and the reactor energy consumption requirements. The original project included methanogenic activity tests, which could not be performed due to setbacks in the installation of an analytical instrument. Scientific articles about bench- and full-scale anaerobic reactors were investigated instead. An average substrate-to-methane conversion efficiency of 58,2±18,6% was found for the bench-scale reactors and higher efficiencies (89,2%) were found for the cases which had higher Organic Loading Rates (OLRs) values. The average energy output was 0,013 kWh/Lsewage, value unable to meet the energy needs for the reactor operation, considering equipments normally used such as temperature controller. This balance can become positive if few hypotheses are made, for example (i) to eliminate the use of temperature controller (ii) to alter the operation pattern from continuous to intermittent. Based on energy balance assessment of eight bench-scale reactors, it was observed that the implementation of a system for biogas utilization is not energetically feasible. However, interesting results were found for a full-scale sewage treatment plant, ETE Ouro Verde – Foz do Iguaçu, PR, Brazil. Even though its substrate-tomethane conversion efficiency was about 10% only, the energy balance was quite positive, with energy consumption of 68 kWh/month and energy production of 660 kWh/month. This analysis leads us to conclude that energy recovery from full-scale sewage treatment plants should be practiced by other plants

Principais práticas e indicadores de sustentabilidade corporativa no setor de energia elétrica no Brasil

The questions involving environment and society have been increasingly considered into account when companies make business decisions. However many of them have not yet incorporated sustainability effectively in their business plan, sometimes performing only a few external actions and outside their area of expertise. The concept of corporate sustainability is within this context, and therefore the practice of companies consider, the environmental and social issues into their strategies, along with economic issues. This work has as main objective to identify what are the key indicators and related practices of the concept of corporate sustainability that has been introduced in companies on environmental reference of a certain sector of the Brazilian economy. The sector that was chosen is electric power, having enormous significance both in economy, society and environment. The results indicate that the main practice are in the areas of energy efficiency, security and good relationship with its key business stakeholders

Diagnóstico ambiental do município de Ipeúna: subsídios para o planejamento do turismo

This study sought to address the tourism system in its various strands, compared to socioeconomic and environmental issues. Contextualizing the theme of sustainable tourism, or ecotourism, the reality of the city of Ipeúna, there is the incipient state of efforts in this activity because, predominantly, its territory is occupied by the monoculture of cane sugar and pastures, which damages the maintenance of vegetation fragments, as well as degrading areas that often could take a value tour. Through environmental planning, was intended to raise major issues of interface tourism / environment in order to seek alternatives to the implementation and development of tourism in Ipeúna. As a result, it presents an environmental diagnosis of the study area through which to assess the current status of tourist attractions in relation to environmental and socio-economic dynamics of the city.

Mapeamento geológico-geontécnico de trecho da estrada vicinal na Serra de Itaqueri, Charqueada (SP)

Geological-geotechnical problems affecting escarps as well as embankment and fill slopes of roads and motorways may generate different types of unsteadiness, which are mainly arisen from the deficient knowledge about the physical environment. This results in unsuitable engineering projects and inadequate executions, which can be worsened by an occasional inappropriate maintenance of the construction. A geologically-geotechnically characterization of escarps and slopes is crucial in order to prevent these problems. This work deals with a geological-geotechnical study of 1:10.000 scale mapping in a stretch of a local road (CHQ-40) at the Serra de Itaqueri, Charqueada town, State of São Paulo. The stretch is known by several physical problems as erosion and mass movement. The methods of study were based on an integrative analysis of the diverse elements of the physical environment by using aerial photographs - to obtain the physiographic compartmentalization of terrain units - as well as field work - to accomplish the evaluation of the units by employing sketch lists. To achieve this, we selected several techniques in order to identify and classify different types of existing problems as erosion, landslide in embankments and fill slopes, rockfall, block rolling, among others. We also included the analysis of soil horizon, thickness and composition. The geological-geotechnical mapping resulted in six units: 1- Sandstones in cuesta’s backhill; 2 – Basalts in cuesta’s front; 3- Sandstones in cuesta’s front; 4 – Talus and colluvial deposits at cuesta’s foothill; 5- Sandstones of the Piramboia Formation in hillside; and 6 – Colluvial soil in the hill top. A characterization of the geological-geotechnical units is detailed, coupled to the cartographic material. Other cartographic products elaborated for this study included 1:10.000 maps of hypsometry, slope and curvature

Utilização de técnicas de geoprocessamento para monitoramento de atividades de mineração ao longo de dutos: poliduto Rio de Janeiro/Minas Gerais

The transportation of oil through polyducts implies a concern related to safety and environmental impacts they may cause, especially when exposed to risks that affect their integrity. Among the various anthropogenic activities included in this scenario, mining can aggravate, increase the risks and degrade the environment. Since these polyducts go through significant extensions, remote sensing has great applicability as a tool for data acquisition. For this, change detection techniques were used to monitor mining activities in a defined study area in the state of Rio de Janeiro, along the duct ORBEL. The characterization of the study area and the mining activities were developed through bibliographical data. The satellite images processing and the application of change detection technique were performed in two scenes for the years 2002 and 2010. The growth in the mining area was about 6.67 times and it was possible to identify types of extraction involved which can represent direct risks to the pipeline

Modelagem matemática e simulação computacional de derrames de óleo em corpos d'água: um estudo de caso na região do Porto de Santos

The objective of this work is to accomplish studies of mathematical modeling and computational simulation of oil spills in water bodies. For this reason, a case study in the region of the Port of Santos was developed using the softwares SisBAHIA and ADIOS2 for the simulation of different hypothetical scenarios of oil spilling on the surface of water, aiming to obtain information that contribute to the reduction of the possible environmental impacts that can be caused by such accidents. The results generated in the different simulations had shown that the obtained data can be extremely useful to subsidize the elaboration of mitigation plans, the mapping of risk areas or even the proposal of emergencial strategies in cases of real accidents, configuring the modeling and the simulation as important and modern tools for the environmental planning and management.

Mapeamento geológico-geotécnico na rodovia Amparo - Morungaba (SP - 360)

The work depicts the study of geological and geotechnical characteristics presents, together with an analysis of the physical environment components and evaluation of its units, along a marginal stretch at Rodovia Amparo-Morungaba (SP-360) in order to present a geological and geotechnical map, 1:25.000 scale (one of the objectives of the work). There was also a geotechnical assessment of the present geological processes and the development of corrective measures necessary to establish safe conditions for road traffic. The method for the characterization of geological and geotechnical analysis was integrated the physical components associated with photo interpretation (another objective of this work) based on Google Earth´s air images along the referred highway. In addition, field studies were made that helped in the distribution and compartmentalization of the six geological and geotechnical units and profiles of each specific alteration were also made. The finals results present the above mentioned map, a detailed description of each of the six units and a a geotechnical assessment of the present geological processes and the development of corrective measures necessary to establish safe conditions for road traffic. Also, had success at photo interpretation based on Google Earth´s air images, obtaining stereoscopy

Avaliação da viabilidade econômica da implantação de uma usina de triagem e compostagem na cidade de Rio Claro-SP

The question of the solid waste is without a doubt one of the biggest problems faced for the world-wide population in the present time, resulting in the call “collapse of the garbage”. In this direction that appears the composting, in the scope of the treatment of organic waste origin, that in Brazil, approximately correspond 50% of the generated volume. However, the rare plants of selection and composting (UTC) existing at least do not obtain auto-to support themselves, increasing to each day the number of deactivations, almost always related the financial questions. In this direction, the present research brings the analysis of the economic viability of the implantation of a UTC for the city of Rio Claro-SP, relating it with the thick organic composition sales, for the cultures of vegetables cultivated in a ray of 30 km of the study area. For in such a way, they had been carried through, calculations concerning the regional demand for organic composition, and the verification of the implantation costs and operation of the plant. The reached results had been the flow of box for the first year of functioning of the UTC, as well as the break-even point between the gotten expenditures and prescriptions. From this relation investment profitability, it was verified that the UTC is presented impracticable under the economic point of view.

Diagnóstico dos riscos e impactos ambientais da suinocultura no Ribeirão dos Pinheirinhos, município de Torrinha, (SP)

The porcine activity is characterized by its great pollution capacity, generally produce loads of waste that usually are released in superficial water or soil without concern for the consequences to the environment. With this in mind, this study aimed to adjust the porcine production to the protection of water resources, in particular, Ribeirão dos Pinheirinhos in the town of Torrinha (SP), through inventory and diagnosis of the environmental impacts already present and environmental hazards linked to the activity in question. To achieve the proposed objectives, the productions of porcine on the studied area were raised and georeferenced, viewed and analyzed according to the technical and scientific literature. The production visited showed to be at odds with the protection of water resources due to lack of technical criteria in the development of treatment systems and waste handling, indiscriminate use of effluent and waste in the fertilization of crops and the lack of knowledge of producers on the influence of porcine waste into the environment. Based on these results, were set guidelines for action in the environmental awareness of farmers, to stimulate voluntary and conscious initiatives of environmental conservation in the direction of settlement of the activity.

Seleção de micro-organismos com potencial de biodegradação de hidrocarbonetos e biodiesel

The oil and biodiesel are oily substances which, if spilled or thrown out in the environment, can cause serious damages. In this context, bioremediation techniques can be used to the recovering of sites degradated by mineral or vegetable oil, besides them, the biodegradation. However, it is necessary that there are microorganism strains used to degradate the contaminant, previously selected for the fast, efficient and minimum impact remediation. The main objective of this study was to isolate microorganism strains coming from different ecological recesses and verify their potentiality on biodegradating oil and biodiesel. Strains of bacteria, fungi and yeasts were isolated from soils contaminated by hydrocarbons (diesel, gasoline, grease) before, by doing striations on culture plates. On the biodegradation tests, it was used the redox indicator, 2,6-dichlorophenol indophenol (DCPIP), then, after the indicador’s discoloration, the absorbance of the suspension obtained was measured. 46 different microorganism strains were isolated, and the oil, when it was used as a carbon resource, it was degradate easier than the biodiesel. The experiments showed that, in a period, the site impacted by oil spills recovers itself by the biodegradation, in aerobic conditions, by the redox activity.

Estudo da viabilidade técnica/econômica no aumento da eficiência energética sustentável aplicada à residência unifamiliar

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

Radioatividade e hidroquímica em águas subterrâneas do município de Botucatu (SP)

The main objective of this study is to determine the activity of Po-210, Pb-210 and gross alpha/beta radioactivity in groundwater collected in Botucatu, municipality of the São Paulo state, Brazil. Samples were collected in wells to perform the radiochemical analysis. Most wells are registered in DAEE, Sabesp or CPRM. The activity of polonium was obtained by the method of alpha spectrometry, held in LABIDRO at UNESP, Rio Claro. All samples showed radioactivity values below the maximum allowed by WHO, that are: gross alpha radioactivity = 0,5 Bq/L, gross beta radioactivity = 1,0 Bq/L, Po210 = 0,2 Bq/L and Pb210 = 0,1 Bq/L. The results of hydrochemical analysis were compared with the 1469 Ordinance of the Health Ministry, and all values are bellow the maximum allowed. The data also allowed obtain the samples classification using the Piper diagram. The samples AAB, Quinta do Manacás, Faz. Quatro Irmãs, Sesi, Sitio São José and ITE are classified as calcic bicarbonate; the samples Staroup and Caio are potassic; the samples Banespa and BTC are bicarbonate and mixed interms of dissolved cations; Sitio das Palmeiras sample is sodium bicarbonate; the sample Faz. São Paulo is chlorinated calcic; the sample Sítio Btu-Pardinho chlorinated and mixed interms of dissolved cations

Proposta de elaboração de carta de sensibilidade ambiental aplicada a postos de combustíveis em Rio Claro-SP

Leaking of hydrocarbon in fuel underground storage tanks constitute object of concern for urban environmental management, because therefore they provoke damages to the physical, biological and socioeconomic environment. Though laws that regulate this essential activity exist, aiming at to prevent contamination with hydrocarbon, we observe that this still happens. This fact evidences that the selection of places for installation of gas stations has not considered the characteristics of the natural environment, implying in more critical consequences associated to the leaking. The objective of this work is to elaborate a chart applied to the gas stations in Rio Claro/SP. The determination of the Index of Environmental Sensitivity for elaboration of such chart was carried through breaking the selection of factors of Environmental Sensitivity of physical, biological and socioeconomic environment. The balance of these factors was given by means of Ad hoc consultation. The crossing of the information was carried through using the method of overlapping of overlays. The result is a chart that shows us areas with classes of high, middle and low Environmental Sensitivity. One gives credit that this type of material can be used as criterion in the selection of adjusted areas for installations of new gas stations and management of the already installed gas stations. The diagnosis of the current situation of the gas stations in the area and recommendations had also been elaborated.

Fases de investigação geológico-geotécnica para a implantação de dutovias

The research addresses the need for detailed geological and geotechnical investigations in pipeline’s design, given the diversity of geological units crossed by these works along its layout, which often extends for hundreds of miles. For its large size, this type of work often goes through different states and regions with very different characteristics in terms of topography, vegetation, geology and geotechnical conditions. For a better use of these investigations in order to avoid unnecessary costs and inefficient results, some authors recommend that steps be taken to study, seeking a progressive detail of the pipeline’s implantation area. The main objective of the study is to describe, analyze and correlate the proposals for geological and geotechnical’s investigation recommended by the authors selected. Nogueira Junior & Marques (1998) suggest that for better effectiveness of geological and geotechnical investigations associated with the deployment of pipelines, different research methods are applied sequentially in five major stages of the building. Rocha et al (2008) recommend that, for the pipeline’s implantation using horizontal directional drilling, investigations are performed in three phases of study, to be developed in coordination with the project stages. For Gelinas & Mathy (2004), when time and budget constraints permit, geotechnical investigations for directional drilling projects for pipelines must be made in four sequential phases. Heinz (2008) suggests that the geotechnical investigations for pipeline’s implantation using horizontal directional drilling at crossings of water bodies are carried out in three successive stages. By the development of research, we could see that all the different proposals recommend studies in sequential phases, starting from a more general scale for a more specific, seeking a progressive understanding of the geological model of the area where you intend to deploy the pipeline

Diagnóstico ambiental da área de influência do distrito industrial de Rio Claro - SP

Economic activities, whether large or small, can cause a range of environmental changes, not always reversible, harming society and its quality of life. Many potentially polluting activities have already been installed in various Brazilian cities, just as at the industrial district of Rio Claro / SP, which allow the synthesis of the many environmental impacts. In this sense, this report aims to make an environmental assessment in the influence area of the industrial district of Rio Claro / SP, located in the urban area of the city. As a result, the existence of prior related studies was observed, especially the diagnosis and study of the many implications that arises from activities impacting, and further, there was a demarcation of the influence area of the district and its derivatives impacts in the influence area, the steps of prediction and mitigation measures and if these activities meet the minimum technical requirements in planning and environmental applicable legislation.