Utilização de microemulsões como agentes modificadores de superfícies para remoção de íons metálicos

The heavy metals are used in many industrial processes and when discharged to the environment can cause harmful effects to human, plants and animals. The adsorption technology has been used as an effective methodology to remove metallic ions. The search for new adsorbents motivated the development of this research, accomplished with the purpose of removing Cr (III) from aqueous solutions. Diatomite, chitosan, Filtrol 24TM and active carbon were used as adsorbents. To modify the adsorbent surface was used a bicontinuous microemulsion composed by water (25%), kerosene (25%), saponified coconut oil (10%) and as co-surfactant isoamyl or butyl alcohols (40%). With the objective of developing the best operational conditions the research started with the surfactant synthesis and after that the pseudo-ternary diagrams were plotted. It was decided to use the system composed with isoamyl alcohol as co-surfactant due its smallest solubility in water. The methodology to impregnate the microemulsion on the adsorbents was developed and to prepare each sample was used 10 g of adsorbent and 20 mL of microemulsion. The effect of drying time and temperature was evaluated and the best results were obtained with T = 65 ºC and t = 48 h. After evaluating the efficiency of the tested adsorbents it was decided to use chitosan and diatomite. The influence of the agitation speed, granule size, heavy metal synthetic solution concentration, pH, contact time between adsorbent and metal solution, presence or not of NaCl and others metallic ions in the solution (copper and nickel) were evaluated. The adsorption isotherms were obtained and Freundlich and Langmuir models were tested. The last one correlated better the data. With the purpose to evaluate if using a surfactant solution would supply similar results, the adsorbent surface was modified with this solution. It was verified that the adsorbent impregnated with a microemulsion was more effective than the one with a surfactant solution, showing that the organic phase (kerosene) was important in the heavy metal removal process. It was studied the desorption process and verified that the concentrated minerals acids removed the chromium from the adsorbent surface better than others tested solutions. The treatment showed to be effective, being obtained an increase of approximately 10% in the chitosan s adsorption capacity (132 mg of Cr3+ / g adsorbent), that was already quite efficient, and for diatomite, that was not capable to remove the metal without the microemulsion treatment, it was obtained a capacity of 10 mg of Cr3+ / g adsorbent, checking the applied treatment effectiveness

Tratamento de água de produção de petróleo visando o aproveitamento na obtenção de barrilha

The petroleum production is associated to the produced water, which has dispersed and dissolved materials that damage not only the environment, but also the petroleum processing units. This study aims at the treatment of produced water focusing mainly on the removal of metals and oil and using this treated water as raw material for the production of sodium carbonate. Initially, it was addressed the removal of the following divalent metals: calcium, magnesium, barium, zinc, copper, iron, and cadmium. For this purpose, surfactants derived from vegetable oils, such as coconut oil, soybean oil, and sunflower oil, were used. The investigation showed that there is a stoichiometric relationship between the metals removed from the produced water and the surfactants used in the process of metals removal. It was also developed a model that correlates the hydrolysis constant of saponified coconut oil with the metal distribution between the resulting stages of the proposed process, flocs and aqueous phases, and relating the results with the pH of the medium. The correlation coefficient obtained was 0.963. Next, the process of producing washing soda (prefiro soda ahs ou sodium carbonate) started. The resulting water from the various treatment approaches from petroleum production water was used. During this stage of the research, it was observed that the surfactant assisted in the produced water treatment, by removing some metals and the dispersed oil entirety. The yield of sodium carbonate production was approximately 80%, and its purity was around 95%. It was also assessed, in the production of sodium carbonate, the influence of the type of reactor, using a continuous reactor and a batch reactor. These tests showed that the process with continuous reactor was not as efficient as the batch process. In general, it can be concluded that the production of sodium carbonate from water of oil production is a feasible process, rendering an effluent that causes a great environmental impact a raw material with large scale industrial use

Estudo da influência de tensoativos em sistemas microemulsionados na extração de gálio e alumínio

Gallium is an important material used in the electronic industry whose demand in the world market is increasing in view of its potential applications. A selective technique is required to allow for the production of the metal, separated from aluminium. Due to the fact that microemulsions constitute an attractive alternative to metal extraction procedures, microemulsified systems have been employed as gallium-selective extraction agents. Two surfactants have been synthesized: sodium 12-N,N-diethylamino-9,10-dihydroxyestearate (AMINE) and saponified coconut oil (SCO), both produced from raw materials readily available in Northeastern Brazil. Also, the commercial extraction agent KELEX-100, conventionally used with the same purpose, has been used in this work for comparison. The optimization of the extraction process with microemulsions was carried out by investigating the influence of some parameters, namely the type of cosurfactant, the cosurfactant/surfactant (C/S) ratio, the pH and concentration of metals in the aqueous phase. Pseudoternary diagrams, which are representative of the microemulsified systems under study, have been constructed in order to establish the boundaries of the regions where the several Winsor systems are formed. An experimental planning methodology (Scheffé Net) has been used to optimize the extraction. The extraction percentage values were as high as 100% for gallium and 99.99% for aluminium for the system with KELEX-100; 96.6% for gallium and 98.8% for aluminium for the system containing AMINE; and 88% for gallium and 85% for aluminium for the system with SCO. The microemulsified system chosen for presenting the best results in gallium extraction was composed by SCO/isoamyl alcohol/kerosene/Bayer licquor with a C/S ratio of 28 and pH of the original aqueous phase of 6.0. The selectivity that has not been observed in the extraction stage was accomplished in the reextraction process using HCl. For the KELEX-100 system, gallium was reextracted at 100% with 6M HCl and aluminium was reextracted at 100% with 0.8M HCl. For the AMINE system, the reextraction percentages were also 100% for both metals, using 6M HCl for gallium and 0.5M HCl for aluminium. On the other hand, the reextraction percentages for the system with SCO were as high as 84% for gallium and 92% for aluminium, with HCl in the same concentrations as those used in the AMINE system. Finally, an optimized system was applied in the gallium extraction process employing a reciprocating perforated-plates extractor. As a result, the metal content was extracted at a recovery rate of 95% for gallium and 97% for aluminium

Estudo da funcionalidade de espécies comestíveis do semiárido nordestino e estratégias para sua utilização como ingredientes para fins alimentícios

The Brazilian caatinga is characterized by low annual rainfall and arid soils. Several cactaceae, either native or adapted species, grow in this semi-arid region, including the prickly pear (Opuntia fícus indica) and facheiro ((Philosocereus pachycladus Ritter) which produce underexploited edible fruits. In addition to these species, the algaroba is a leguminous with little studied technological applications and bioactive potential so far. Therefore, this research aims to investigate the physicochemical, bioactive and functional attributes of the prickly pear and facheiro fruit pulps and the algaroba flour. Specifically, this study approaches the physicochemical characterization, total phenolic compounds (TPC) and the betalain identification and quantification by HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS. It is also investigated the DPPH antioxidant capacity and the antienzymatic activities against alpha-amylase and alphaglucosidase of water and ethanolic extracts of these food material. In order to address their potential to be used as food ingredients, juice blends prepared with mixtures of cajá and prickly pear, biofilms with facheiro and cereal bars with algaroba flour were elaborated and analyzed. The prickly pear fruits presented low acidity and high sugar content when compared to facheiro. The Philosocereus pachycladus Ritter fruits had higher protein and ash content, but the algaroba flour was the species with higher protein and sugar content among all. The algaroba flour also presented outstanding food fiber content, which reveals its potentiality to be used as a natural intestinal regulator. The TPC of water and ethanol extracts ranged from 3.87 to 16.21 mg GAE/100g for algaroba flour, 79.24 to 110.20 GAE/ 100g for prickly pear and 412.23 to 539.14 mg GAE/100g for facheiro. The 70% (w/v) ethanol extract reached the highest DPPH antioxidant activity, which was linearly correlated to its high TPC content. In regard to the enzymatic inhibitory activities, the best performance was observed for the prickly pear extracts which presented a moderate inhibition for both investigated enzymes, but interestingly, no alpha-glucosidase inhibition was observed for facheiro extracts. This work shows, for the first time in the literature, the functional attributes of facheiro fruits, as well as the presence of betacianins and isobetanin in the pulp of this exotic fruit. When it comes to the food products developed here, the sensory attributes that better described the juice blend cajá-prickly pear were sweetness, acidity, color yellow-orange, body, turbidity and cajá flavor. The discriminative test applied for cereal bars produced with and without algaroba revealed that the texture was the only sensory attribute that differed (p<0.05) between these two samples. It was also observed that the addition of facheiro extracts did not influence the visual characteristics of the biofilms. Overall, this work unveils the physicochemical and bioactive attributes of these commercial and technologically underexploited species widely found in the Brazilian caatinga and presents alternatives for their rational use

Concepção e estudo de um biofiltro para tratamento de compostos orgânicos voláteis COVs

In the last decade, biological purification of gaseous waste has become an important alternative to many conventional methods of exhaust air treatment. More recently, biofiltration has proved to be an effective and inexpensive method for the treatment of air contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs). A biofilter consists in a reactor packed with a porous solid bed material, where the microorganisms are fixed. During the biofiltration process, polluted air is transported through the biofilter medium where the contaminant is degraded. Within the biofilm, the pollutants in the waste gases are energy and carbon sources for microbial metabolism and are transformed into CO2, water and biomass. The bed material should be characterized by satisfactory mechanical and physical properties as structure, void fraction, specific area and flow resistance. The aim of this research was the biofilter construction and study of the biological degradation of ethanol and toluene, as well as the modeling of the process. Luffa cylindrica is a brazilian fiber that was used as the filtering material of the present work. The parameters and conditions studied were: composition of nutrients solution; effect of microflorae strains, namely Pseudomanas putida and Rhodococcus rhodochrous; waste gas composition; air flow rate; and inlet load of VOCs. The biofilter operated in diffusion regime and the best results for remotion capacity were obtained when a microorganisms consortion of Pseudomanas putida and Rhodococcus rhodochrous,were used, with a gas flow rate of 1 m3.h-1 and molar ratio nitrogene/phosphore N/P=2 in the nutrients solution. The maximum remotion capacity for ethanol was around 90 g.m-3.h-1 and 50 g.m-3.h-1 to toluene. It was proved that toluene has inhibitory effect on the ethanol remotion When the two VOCs were present in the same waste gas, there was a decrease of 40% in ethanol remotion capacity. Luffa cylindrica does not present considerable pressure drop. Ottengraf and van Lith models were used to represent the results obtained for ethanol and toluene, respectively. The application of the transient model indicated a satisfactory approximation between the experimental results obtained for ethanol and toluene vapors biofiltration and the ones predicted it

Dimensões geométricas das fibras do músculo sóleo de ratos exercitados em esteira rolante: a importância da análise por meio de imagens digitalizadas

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

Effects of Statin and Aerobic Physical Exercise Association in the Cardiomyocytes of the Rat. Morphometric Study

Physical exercise and statins, recommended interventions to dyslipidaemia treatment, are independently related to cardiomyocytes alterations, characterized by miocardic hypertrophy and apoptosis, respectively. Thus, the objective of the present study was to analyze the effects of statin and aerobic physical exercise association in the morphometric parameters of cardiac cell nucleus. 40 male rats adults were divided into four groups: exercised (DE); sedentary (DS), exercised and statin use (DES); sedentary and statin use (DSS). The animals received during the whole experimental period a hiperlipidic diet added 20% of coconut oil and 1.25% of cholesterol; after 30 days of its ingestion, a blood collection was made to verify the dyslipidaemia. Simvastatin (20 mg) was taken five days a week, during eight weeks. During this period, the animals exercised 60 minutes daily in the treadmill. After the last day of the protocol, the cardiac muscle was collected and maintained in liquid nitrogen (-180 degrees C); the cuts were stained by Hematoxilin-Eosin method, and the cardiac fibers were submitted to the nuclear morphometric analyses. The data were analyzed using descriptive analyses, paired T test, Kruskal-Wallis test and Dunn post hoc test; for all analyses, it was adopted p<0.05. It was verified that the group receiving statin presented values statistically significant in comparison to the other groups, in the tridimensional and linear variables. The exercised and statin group, the values obtained in the morphometric analyses were similar to the control group. It is suggested that statins alone can cause alterations in the nucleus of cardiac cells that can be related to apoptosis occurrence and, when exercise is practiced associated to statin administration, the effects of statin can be reduced, what can be related to beneficial adaptations of cardiac mitochondrial in response to physical exercise, turning them more resistant to apoptotic stimuli.

Muscle response to the association of statin and physical exercise in rats

Physical exercise and statins, which are recommended for the treatment of dyslipidemia, are independently associated to the occurrence of muscle injury. The objective is analyze the effect of aerobic exercise associated to the use of simvastatin on the morphology of the gastrocnemius muscle. Thirty Wistar rats were divided into six groups, two of which received a standard diet (1 sedentary and 1 exercised) and four (1 sedentary with medication, 1 sedentary without medication, 1 exercised with medication, 1 exercised without medication) received a hypercholesterolemic diet (standard diet with the addition of cholesterol and coconut oil). Simvastatin (20 mg/Kg) was administered five days a week for eight weeks, together with aerobic training on a treadmill (9.75 m/min) for 60 minutes a day. The gastrocnemius muscle was removed, sliced, stained with Hematoxylin-Eosin and submitted to a histochemical reaction to determine mitochondrial activity. The data were analyzed using a paired t-test, analysis of variance and Scheffe's post hoc test (p<0.05). Greater histological alterations were found in the medicated and exercised animals, with a greater frequency of occurrence as well. The histochemical analysis revealed that the medicated groups had fibers with more intensive mitochondrial activity alongside fibers with an absence of reaction. The morphometric analysis revealed no significant differences between groups. It is suggested that simvastatin is a medication that leads to the occurrence of muscle injury and its administration in association with physical activity may exacerbate these injuries. This finding may be related to cellular respiration.

Determinação do perfil dos usuários e da composição química e nutricional da alimentação oferecida no restaurante universitário da Universidade Estadual Paulista, Araraquara, Brasil

Este estudo teve como objetivos determinar o perfil e o estado nutricional da clientela e a composição química e nutricional das refeições oferecidas no restaurante universitário da Universidade Estadual Paulista de Araraquara, Brasil. Realizou-se a determinação química do teor de proteínas, lipídios, carboidratos, fibra, cinzas e umidade de amostras das refeições fornecidas. A amostra populacional foi constituída de 403 usuários (212 mulheres e 191 homens). em relação ao perfil do usuário, constatou-se que 82,60% encontravam-se na faixa etária de 18 a 25 anos e 75,44% dos indivíduos apresentaram índice de massa corporal dentro da faixa de normalidade. em média, as refeições continham 4,74% de proteínas, 10,84% de lipídeos, 24,32% de carboidratos, 3,30% de fibras, 1,00% de cinzas e 55,00% de umidade. Os dados mostraram que as refeições do restaurante universitário continham excesso de proteínas e de energia e que se faz necessário realizar ajustes na sua composição para adequá-la ao perfil da clientela atendida.

Síndrome da fragilidade e fatores associados em idosos comunitários do município de Santa Cruz RN

The frailty in the elderly is characterized by decreased physiological reserves, and is associated with increased risk of disability and high vulnerability to morbidity and mortality. This study is part of a multicentric project on Frailty in Elderly Brazilians (REDE FIBRA). Aims: to investigate characteristics, prevalence and associated factors related to frailty. Metodology: We interviewed 391 elderly patients aged 65 years, selected randomly. Data collection was performed using a multidimensional questionnaire containing information about socio-demographic and clinical variables. To characterize the frail elderly, was considered the phenotype proposed by Fried. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, bivariate analysis (χ ²) and binary logistic regression. Results: The prevalence of frailty was 17.1%. In the final model of multivariate analysis, was obtained as factors associated with frailty: advanced chronological age (p <0.001), have comorbidity (p <0.035), show dependence on performing basic activities of daily living (p <0.010) and instrumental (p <0.003) and have poor perception of health status (p <0030). Conclusions: The factors associated with frailty suggest a predictive model helping to understand the syndrome, guiding actions that minimize adverse effects on the aging process

Caracterização in situ e diversidade genética de algodoeiros mocós (Gossypium hissutum raça marie galante) da Região Nordeste do Brasil

Brazil is one of the major centers of diversity for polyploid cotton plants; these plants belong to the genus Gossypium, which has three known species: G. hirsutum, G. barbadense and G. mustelinum. The Northeast is the only region where the three species occur, the last group being endemic. Northeast s cotton plants can be important sources of variability for genetic breeding. It is believed that great part of local diversity is being lost, due to economic, political, cultural and agricultural problems. In an attempt to mitigate this loss and delineate conservation strategies it is necessary to know how the species are found where they occur. The objective was to characterize and determine how plants are maintained in situ in the states of Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte and Paraíba at the beginning of the XXI century. The in situ characterization of G. hirsutum and G. barbadense was conducted through structured interviews with the cotton plants owners and through the analysis of the environment. The data were collected during expeditions undertaken between the years 2004 to 2005. Twenty-two plants were collected in the state of Paraíba, forty-four in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, one hundred and forty-six in the state of Ceará, forty in the state of Maranhão and ninety-one plants in the state of Piauí. All plants collected in the states of Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte belonged to moco type. Moco cotton plants also predominated in the other states, representing 92%, 62% and 78% of plants collected in Ceará, Piauí and Maranhão, respectively. The other cotton plants collected belong to the species G. barbadense. The cotton plants were found in situ as dooryard plants, roads side, feral populations, cultivation or local varieties. Great part were dooryard plants (45.2%), being major in Piauí and Maranhão. Cultivation predominated in Ceará; in Rio Grande do Norte feral populations were the most frequent and, in Paraíba, local varieties. The maintenance of moco plants is related, mainly, to the phytotherapic domestic use (20.9%) and to confection of lamp wicks (29.7%). Few inhabitants in Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte, Piauí and none in Maranhão used harvest the plants, storage the seeds or gin; however, in Ceará, 40.5% of owners affirmed that they harvested and commercialized the fiber. It was found that the maintenance of species is dependent of the fragile cultural habits of local inhabitants, therefore the maintenance in situ is not a suitable way to conservation of genetic resources. The efforts must be directed to the continuity of collections, maintenance and characterization ex situ

Características da carcaça e qualidade da carne de ovinos terminados em pastagens cultivadas

The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of housing and the physical and chemical characteristics of meat from sheep raised on pasture Brachiaria brizantha and Panicum maximum. The experiment was conducted in the physical area of the Study Group on Forage (GEFOR), located in the Academic Unit Specialized in Agricultural Sciences - Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte - UFRN in Macaíba, RN, Brazil. We used 32 lambs SPRD, obtained from herds in the state, with liveweight (LW) of 24.5 kg were assigned randomly to four treatments consisting of tropical grasses, two cultivars of Brachiaria brizantha, Marandu and Piatã, and two of Panicum maximum, Aruana and Massai. The experimental area was 2.88 ha, divided into 4 paddocks of 0.72 ha, where each picket consisted of a farm and was divided into six plots of 0.12 ha, where the animals remained under rotational grazing. The period of adaptation to the pickets was seven days. At the beginning of the experiment the animals were weighed, identified with plastic earrings and necklaces colored according to the treatment, and treated against. The lambs were loose in the paddock at 8 am and collected at 16 hours, which returned to collective pens. During the time of grazing animals had free access to mineral supplement with monensin Ovinofós ® and water. Before entering the paddocks of pasture were sampled to characterize the chemical composition. Every seven days occurred at weighing, with fasting, to monitor the weight development. Cultivars Marandu, Aruana, Piatã and Massai were grazed for 133, 129, 143 and 142 days, respectively, until the lambs reach slaughter weight. Arriving at 32 kg lambs were evaluated subjectively for body condition score by, passed through fasting period, diet and water for 16 hours were slaughtered. Measurements were made in the inner and outer casings in addition to subjective evaluations regarding muscling, finish and quantity of pelvic-renal fat, then each was divided longitudinally into two half-carcases and cuts were made in the commercial left half, and after heavy calculated their income. Between the 12th and 13th thoracic vertebrae, was performed a cut to expose the cross section of the Longissimus dorsi, which was drawn on the rib eye area (REA) in transparent film. Fat thickness and extent of AOL GR were determined using a caliper. A tissue composition was determined by dissection of the legs. Analyzes were performed physical (color, cooking loss and shear force) and chemical composition of meat (moisture, ash, protein and lipids) in Longissimus dorsi muscle. Grazing tropical grass Brachiaria brizantha cvs. Marandu and Piatã and Panicum maximum cvs. Aruana and Massai can be used for lambs SRPD in the rainy season, because not alter the physico-chemical and chemical composition of meat

Valor nutritivo de fenos de moringa (moringa oleifera lam) com diferentes idades de corte

This study was conducted to evaluate the consumption and digestibility of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), total carbohydrates (TC), non-fiber carbohydrates (NFC) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) in sheep fed hay moringa (Moringa oleifera Lam) obtained with four cutting ages (28, 35, 42 and 49 days). We used 20 females Morada Nova breed, with 20kg of live weight, distributed in a completely randomized design and maintained in metabolism cages. There was a negative linear effect of age of cutting on DM intake, with an estimated maximum consumption of 0.67 kg / day for the hay produced at 28 days of cutting. It was also observed linear behavior, with an estimated maximum consumption 172g/dia, 0.36 kg / day; 18g/dia, at 35, 42 and 49 days old, for CP, OM and EE, respectively. For NDF, quadratic effect was found with advancing maturity of the plant. The apparent digestibility of DM, CP, OM and TC linearly decreased with advancing age of cutting hay Moringa oleifera. It was concluded that the hay Moringa oleifera showed better nutritional value after 28 days of cutting

Análise fractográfica do modo de falha de compósitos carbono/epóxi

A utilização de compósitos poliméricos na fabricação de aeronaves vem sendo cada vez mais intensa. em função disso, a possibilidade de ocorrer falhas em serviço de um componente fabricado em compósito polimérico torna-se cada vez maior. A análise de falhas de materiais compósitos ainda é um tema pouco explorado, principalmente no Brasil, porém vem tornando-se cada vez mais importante em apoio à área de prevenção e investigação de acidentes aeronáuticos. Este trabalho teve como objetivo a caracterização de fraturas em laminados unidirecionais de fibra de carbono de módulo intermediário com sistema de resina epóxi modificada, tipo 8552, em resistência ao cisalhamento interlaminar nas condições ambiente e saturado de umidade em câmara higrotérmica. A análise fractográfica no plano de falha dos laminados foi realizada por microscopias óptica e eletrônica de varredura. A comparação dos resultados mostrou que o condicionamento higrotérmico afetou significativamente a região de interface da resina sem alterar a adesão interfacial fibra/resina. Os aspectos de fratura presentes na região de resina, como cristas de galo e escarpas, e do reforço foram detalhados, podendo-se assim estabelecer a direção de propagação da trinca e caracterizar o modo de falha, por ser do tipo misto (arrancamento e cisalhamento simultaneamente).

Atributos químicos, produção e qualidade do capim braquiária em solos corrigidos com calcário e escória silicatada

As pastagens constituem a base dos sistemas de produção de bovinos, o que evidencia sua importância e a necessidade de outras práticas de manejo que resultem em maior eficiência desses sistemas. Assim, este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar os atributos químicos do solo (pH, Ca, Mg e H+Al), o potencial produtivo e a composição química do capim braquiária (Brachiaria decumbens Stapf) em solo corrigido com diferentes doses de calcário e escória silicatada. O experimento foi conduzido em ambiente protegido no período de 2006/2007, na UNESP de Ilha Solteira. Foram testadas cinco doses de calcário e escória silicatada, 0,0; 0,5; 1,0; 1,5; 2,0 vezes a dose recomendada. O delineamento experimental foi inteiramente casualizado, com quatro repetições. Avaliou-se a composição química do solo após incubação dos corretivos, o perfilhamento, a matéria seca, proteína, FDN (fibra em detergente neutro) e FDA (fibra em detergente ácido). Ambos os corretivos proporcionaram ao solo efeito positivo em relação ao pH e teores de cálcio e magnésio. As variáveis matéria seca e FDA não foram influenciadas significativamente pelos tipos e doses de corretivos.