Eficiência agronômica da ureia estabilizada com inibidores de urease e nitrificação na cultura do milho

Nitrogen (N) is the most required nutrient for corn plants and, in order to supply this demand in highly productive crops, mineral fertilizers are used, especially urea. The disadvantage of urea is the loss of N-NH3 to atmosphere. To reverse this situation, some technologies have been developed, such as nitrification and urease inhibitors, which are used as additives to urea. This work aimed at evaluating the agronomic efficiency of urea stabilized with urease and nitrification inhibitors applied to cover the 2013/2014 corn crop. We evaluated 11 nitrogen fertilizer applied in coverage: urea + PA (41.6% N, 3% Cu); urea + PA (41.6% N, 1.5% Cu); urea + PA (41.6% N, 3% Zn); urea + PA (41.6% N, 1.5% Zn); urea + PA (41.6% N, 0.34% Cu, 0.94% B); urea + PA (41.6% N, 0.25% Cu, 0.68% B); urea + PA (41.6% N); urea (44.3% N, 0.15% Cu, 0.4% B); urea (43% N, 0.1% Cu, 0.3% B, 0.05% Mo); pearled urea (46% N); urea + 0,8% DMPP (45% N) and the control, which did not receive nitrogen topdressing. The evaluations were: Nitrogen losses through volatilization, content and accumulation of N, boron (B), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) to the dry matter of aerial parts, grains, and in straw and grain productivity. Fertilizers stabilized with urease and nitrification inhibitors did not reduce the volatilization of ammonia volatilization, when compared to pearled urea. Urea with 0.8% of DMPP nitrification inhibitor (3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate) provided higher loss by volatilization, lower productivity and agronomic efficiency compared to pearled urea. The coating of urea with Cu, B and Zn did not increase the accumulation of these nutrients in grains and MSPA plants. The use of fertilizers stabilized and coated with micronutrients did not increase the productivity and agronomic efficiency compared to conventional urea.

Fertilizers applied to certified organic tomato culture

The tomato culture demands large quantities of mineral nutrients, which are supplied by synthetic fertilizers in the conventional cultivation system. In the organic cultivation system only alternative fertilizers are allowed by the certifiers and accepted as safe for humans and environment. The chemical composition of rice bran, oyster flour, cattle manure and ground charcoal, as well as soils and tomato fruits were evaluated by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). The potential contribution of organic fertilizers to the enrichment of chemical elements in soil and their transfer to fruits was investigated using concentration ratios for fertilizer and soil samples, and also for soil and tomato. Results evidenced that these alternative fertilizers could be taken as important sources of Br, Ca, Ce, K, Na and Zn for the organic tomato culture.

Nanoparticles based Permeable Reactive Barriers as an Eco-efficient Technology for nitrate remediation in soil and groundwater

The need to increase agricultural yield led, among others, to an increase in the consumption of nitrogen based fertilizers. As a consequence, there are excessive concentrations of nitrates, the most abundant of the reactive nitrogen (Nr) species, in several areas of the world. The demographic changes and projected population growth for the next decades, and the economic shifts which are already shaping the near future are powerful drivers for a further intensification in the use of fertilizers, with a predicted increase of the nitrogen loads in soils. Nitrate easily diffuses in the subsurface environments, portraying high mobility in soils. Moreover, the presence of high nitrate loads in water has the potential to cause an array of health dysfunctions, such as methemoglobinemia and several cancers. Permeable Reactive Barriers (PRB) placed strategically relatively to the nitrate source constitute an effective technology to tackle nitrate pollution. Ergo, PRB avoid various adverse impacts resulting from the displacement of reactive nitrogen downstream along water bodies. A four stages literature review was carried out in 34 databases. Initially, a set of pertinent key words were identified to perform the initial databases searches. Then, the synonyms of those initial key words were used to carry out a second set of databases searches. The third stage comprised the identification of other additional relevant terms from the research papers identified in the previous two stages. Again, databases searches were performed with this third set of key words. The final step consisted of the identification of relevant papers from the bibliography of the relevant papers identified in the previous three stages of the literature review process. The set of papers identified as relevant for in-depth analysis were assessed considering a set of relevant characterization variables.

Comparison of digestion methods to determine heavy metals in fertilizers

The lack of a standard method to regulate heavy metal determination in Brazilian fertilizers and the subsequent use of several digestion methods have produced variations in the results, hampering interpretation. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of three digestion methods for determination of metals such as Cd, Ni, Pb, and Cr in fertilizers. Samples of 45 fertilizers marketed in northeastern Brazil were used. A fertilizer sample with heavy metal contents certified by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) was used as control. The following fertilizers were tested: rock phosphate; organo-mineral fertilizer with rock phosphate; single superphosphate; triple superphosphate; mixed N-P-K fertilizer; and fertilizer with micronutrients. The substances were digested according to the method recommended by the Ministry for Agriculture, Livestock and Supply of Brazil (MAPA) and by the two methods 3051A and 3052 of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). By the USEPA method 3052, higher portions of the less soluble metals such as Ni and Pb were recovered, indicating that the conventional digestion methods for fertilizers underestimate the total amount of these elements. The results of the USEPA method 3051A were very similar to those of the method currently used in Brazil (Brasil, 2006). The latter is preferable, in view of the lower cost requirement for acids, a shorter digestion period and greater reproducibility.

Technology for sugarcane agroindustry waste reuse as granulated organomineral fertilizer

Aiming to evaluate the use of sugarcane industry waste such as byproducts from vinasse concentration process, it was assessed the organomineral fertilizer BIOFOM (concentrated vinasse, filter cake, boiler ash, soot from chimneys and supplemented with mineral fertilizers). The study included characterization and agronomic potential analysis of a test plant (corn), by noting the differences between mineral fertilizers and BIOFOM fertilization until 45 days after sowing. The technology traditionally used to produce BIOFOM was based on vinasse evaporation with high heat transfer coefficients. It was observed that the technology, which can be formulated according to the needs of any crop, could be used in many cases as mineral fertilizer. Therefore, the use of this organomineral fertilizer reduces waste generation of sugarcane industry.

Application of low cost technology for the management of irrigation in organic orchards

Throughout history, humans have cyclically return to their old traditions such as the organic orchards. Nowadays, these have been integrated into the modern cities and could supply fresh vegetables to the daily food improving human health. Organic orchards grow crops without pesticides and artificial fertilizers thus, they are respectful with the environment and guarantee the food's safety . In modern society, the application of new technology is a must, in this case to obtain an efficient irrigation. In order to monitor a proper irrigation and save water and energy, soil water content probes are used to measure soil water content. Among them, capacitive probes ,monitored with a specific data logger, are typically used. Most of them, specially the data loggers, are expensive and in many cases are not used. In this work, we have applied the open hardware Arduino to build and program a low cost datalogger for the programming of irrigation in an experimental organic orchard. Results showed that the application of such as low cost technology, which is easily available in the market and easy to understand, everyone can built and program its own device helping in managing water resources in organic orchards .

Biomass Refinery as a Renewable Complement to the Petroleum Refinery

Biomass Refinery is a sequential of eleven thermochemical processes and one biological process with two initial basic treatments: prehydrolysis for lignocellulosics and low temperature conversion for biomass with medium-to-high content of lipids and proteins. The other ten processes are: effluent treatment plant, furfural plant, biodiesel plant, cellulignin dryer, calcination, fluidized bed boiler, authotermal reforming of cellulignin for syngas production, combined cycle of two-stroke low-speed engine or syngas turbine with fluidized bed boiler heat recovery, GTL technologies and ethanol from cellulose, prehydrolysate and syngas. Any kind of biomass such as wood, agricultural residues, municipal solid waste, seeds, cakes, sludges, excrements and used tires can be processed at the Biomass Refinery. Twelve basic products are generated such as cellulignin, animal feed, electric energy, fuels (ethanol, crude oil, biodiesel, char), petrochemical substitutes, some materials (ash, gypsum, fertilizers, silica, carbon black) and hydrogen. The technology is clean with recovery of energy and reuse of water, acid and effluents. Based on a holistic integration of various disciplines Biomass Refinery maximizes the simultaneous production of food, electric energy, liquid fuels and chemical products and some materials, achieving a competitive position with conventional and fossil fuel technologies, as well as payment capacity for biomass production. Biomass Refinery has a technical economical capability to complement the depletion of the conventional petroleum sources and to capture its GHGs resulting a biomass + petroleum ""green"" combination.

Roadmapping for technology push and partnership: A contribution for open innovation environments

There are several tools in the literature that support innovation in organizations. Some of the most cited are the so-called technology roadmapping methods, also known as TRM. However, these methods are designed primarily for organizations that adopt the market pull strategy of technology-product integration. Organizations that adopt the technology push integration strategy are neglected in the literature. Furthermore, with the advent of open innovation, it is possible to note the need to consider the adoption of partnerships in the innovation process. Thus, this study proposes a method of technology roadmapping, identified as method for technology push (MTP), applicable to organizations that adopt the technology push integration strategy, such as SMEs and independent research centers in an open-innovation environment. The method was developed through action-research and was assessed from two analytical standpoints: externally, via a specific literature review on its theoretical contributions, and internally, through the analysis of potential users` perceptions on the feasibility of applying MTP. The results indicate both the unique character of the method and its perceived implementation feasibility. Future research is suggested in order to validate the method in different types of organizations (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integrating technology roadmapping and portfolio management at the front-end of new product development

Many authors point out that the front-end of new product development (NPD) is a critical success factor in the NPD process and that numerous companies face difficulties in carrying it out appropriately. Therefore, it is important to develop new theories and proposals that support the effective implementation of this earliest phase of NPD. This paper presents a new method to support the development of front-end activities based on integrating technology roadmapping (TRM) and project portfolio management (PPM). This new method, called the ITP Method, was implemented at a small Brazilian high-tech company in the nanotechnology industry to explore the integration proposal. The case study demonstrated that the ITP Method provides a systematic procedure for the fuzzy front-end and integrates innovation perspectives into a single roadmap, which allows for a better alignment of business efforts and communication of product innovation goals. Furthermore, the results indicated that the method may also improve quality, functional integration and strategy alignment. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR POSITIONING WITH GNSS TECHNOLOGY

This paper presents a proposal for a Quality Management System for a generic GNSS Surveying Company as an alternative for management and service quality improvements. As a result of the increased demand for GNSS measurements, a large number of new or restructured companies were established to operate in that market. Considering that GNSS surveying is a new process, some changes must be performed in order to accommodate the old surveying techniques and the old fashioned management to the new reality. This requires a new management model that must be based on a well-described procedure sequence aiming at the Total Management Quality for the company. The proposed Quality Management System was based on the requirements of the Quality System ISO 9000:2000, applied to the whole company, focusing on the productive process of GNSS surveying work.

Implementation of a Control Loop Experiment in a Network-Based Control System With LonWorks Technology and IP Networks

Considering the increasing popularity of network-based control systems and the huge adoption of IP networks (such as the Internet), this paper studies the influence of network quality of service (QoS) parameters over quality of control parameters. An example of a control loop is implemented using two LonWorks networks (CEA-709.1) interconnected by an emulated IP network, in which important QoS parameters such as delay and delay jitter can be completely controlled. Mathematical definitions are provided according to the literature, and the results of the network-based control loop experiment are presented and discussed.

Technology assessment for power quality mitigation devices - Micro-DVR case study

This work presents a case study on technology assessment for power quality improvement devices. A system compatibility test protocol for power quality mitigation devices was developed in order to evaluate the functionality of three-phase voltage restoration devices. In order to validate this test protocol, the micro-DVR, a reduced power development platform for DVR (dynamic voltage restorer) devices, was tested and the results are discussed based on voltage disturbances standards. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

DEVELOPMENT OF A MICRO-HEAT EXCHANGER WITH STACKED PLATES USING LTCC TECHNOLOGY

A green ceramic tape micro-heat exchanger was developed using Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramics technology (LTCC). The device was designed by using Computational Aided Design software and simulations were made using a Computational Fluid Dynamics package (COMSOL Multiphysics) to evaluate the homogeneity of fluid distribution in the microchannels. Four geometries were proposed and simulated in two and three dimensions to show that geometric details directly affect the distribution of velocity in the micro-heat exchanger channels. The simulation results were quite useful for the design of the microfluidic device. The micro-heat exchanger was then constructed using the LTCC technology and is composed of five thermal exchange plates in cross-flow arrangement and two connecting plates, with all plates stacked to form a device with external dimensions of 26 x 26 x 6 mm(3).