Brazil has 38 of the Arecaceae family genera resulting in an enormous potential to implement a sustainable exploitation of palm's bioresources or improve those already in progress. Therefore, a systematic literature review (SLR) has been applied to the past ten years over industrial processes that add value to extracts or residues obtained from trees of the Arecaceae family, also known as Palm trees. The methodology selected 111 papers from 1784 found, according to the criteria utilized. The results have shown that scientific papers were concentrated on the subjects of Oil, Reviews, Fuel and Chemicals corresponding to 14%, 21%, 23% and 25% of the results. The assisted extraction techniques like microwave and ultrasound, sub and supercritical fluids, thermal processes like pyrolysis and gasification and also biochemical treatments such as enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation are the main choices among the results to transform biomass into high value products. Ten papers have studies based on Arecaceae species different from Oil Palm tree that have considerable production available in Brazil and could be explored. The overall future trends are mostly focused in the use of lignocellulosic biowaste for biofuels and platform chemicals synthesis. The results obtained by the SLR have shown to be very useful to analyze specific fields of application of a technology and to identify topics of interest and current trends related to biorefining concepts. Finally, a technological framework for Arecaceae biorefineries in Brazil is proposed.

As global demand for vegetable oil and its derived biomass residues rises, modern less toxic and more effective oil extraction techniques are needed. Butia odorata seeds were submitted to a semi-continuous microwave-assisted ethanol extraction (SMAE) and its solid residue was sequentially sent to enzymatic hydrolysis (EH) aiming to obtain fermentable sugars. The content of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin was determined. The process has been evaluated for oil extraction and sugars yield, and kinetic curves of the extraction and hydrolysis were performed. Antioxidant activity in Trolox equivalent has been evaluated to assess oil stability at 30, 60, and 90 days after extraction. SMAE best performance corresponded to a recovery of 81.30 ± 2.15

La generación de residuos sólidos urbanos (RSU) ha ido en aumento. Los residuos orgánicos son los principales constituyentes de los RSU. Cuando se destina y se trata adecuadamente, puede aprovechar su potencial para generar energía. Actualmente una buena alternativa para la eliminación de este material es la digestión anaeróbica con fines energéticos. Sin embargo, existen otras formas de tratamiento como compostaje e incineración y disposición final como vertederos sanitarios. La digestión anaeróbica es un proceso fermentativo en el que se extrae materia orgánica transformado en biogás y biofertilizante. El biogás contiene metano que se puede utilizar como fuente de energía o biofertilizante utilizado como abono orgánico. Los otros métodos de tratamiento presentan algunas desventajas en relación con la digestión anaeróbica, como la pérdida de gas a la atmósfera, el alto costo de operación y la generación de cenizas. En la digestión anaeróbica hay varios factores que interfieren en el proceso como el pH, la alcalinidad, la temperatura, el sustrato, la TRH, la humedad, la relación C/N. Es muy importante controlar estos factores para el correcto funcionamiento del proceso de biodigestión. Esta revisión bibliográfica se centra sobre los últimos avances en digestión anaeróbica y los principales parámetros de control implicados. Se ha identificado una tendencia de trabajo en los estudios actuales que conducen a la producción de biogás. Se observó que conocer los factores más influyentes en el proceso de biodigestión y su comportamiento contribuye al buen funcionamiento del tratamiento biológico con producción de metano.

Butia capitata endocarp (BCE) is a biomass residue with the potential to produce a wide variety of bio-products. The processing of BCE in a sequential process of subcritical water hydrolysis (SWH) and hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) was investigated to obtain fermentable sugars, platform chemicals, bio-oil, and biochar. The SWH was evaluated at 230 and 260 °C and solvent: feed mass ratios (R) of 10 and 20 for the production of fermentable sugars and platform chemicals. The solid residue from SWH was sequentially submitted to the HTL at 330 and 360 °C for bio-oil and biochar production. The results were analyzed by comparing the sequential (SWH/HTL) and individual (HTL only) processes. The highest yields of fermentable sugars (5.26 g/ 100 g BCE) were obtained for SWH at 260 °C and R-20 with higher contents of xylose (2.64 g/100 g BCE) and cellobiose (1.75 g/100 g BCE). The highest yields of platform chemicals (2.44 g/100 g BCE) were obtained for SWH at 260 °C and R-10 with higher contents of acetic acid (1.78 g/100 g BCE) and furfural (0.54 g/100 g BCE). The highest yield of bio-oil (25.30 g/100 g BCE) occurred in HTL individual process at 360 °C and R-20. Sequential process SWH/HTL showed a decrease in bio-oil yield but maintained a similar biochar yield compared to HTL, in addition to the production of fermentable sugars and platform chemicals.

Soybean husk is a lignocellulosic residue with potential to be utilized as feedstock for platform chemicals’ production such as 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, furfural, formic acid, acetic acid, and levulinic acid. In this study, the conversion of soybean husk into fermentable sugars and platform chemicals through subcritical water hydrolysis catalyzed by tungstated zirconia (WO3/ZrO2) was investigated. The effect of temperature (240°C and 280°C) and mass of tungsten (W) in WO3/ZrO2 (5, 10, and 20

Aerobic composting (AC), anaerobic digestion (AD), and anaerobic manure storage tank (AMST) are conventional systems for treating liquid swine manure (LSM). In this study, life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to evaluate environmental impact in both construction and operation phases to compare AC, AD, and AMST systems. The results were obtained using SimaPro® with ReCiPe impact assessment method. The system boundary was from cradle to grave, and the adopted functional unit was 10.0 m3 of LSM. LCA results showed that steel and cement were the inputs with higher environmental impact in construction phase in AC and AD with average percentages of 74.25 and 24.56

Butia odorata seeds (BOS) present high economical potential because they contain oil and lignocellulosic compounds. Oil extracted by supercritical technology may have potential use in the food industry and the remaining solid from the process can be used to produce second- generation ethanol from the hydrolysis of its carbohydrates to obtain fermentable sugars. This work evaluates the processing of BOS using supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), to obtain oil, and subsequent subcritical water hydrolysis (SWH) of SFE residue (BOSR), to obtain fermentable sugars and platform chemicals. Kinetic curves at temperatures of 40 degrees C and 60 degrees C, and pressures of 18, 20, and 22 MPa were obtained for SFE using CO2 as solvent, with the best oil yield of 29.05 +/- 1.42 wt% at 60 degrees C and 22 MPa. In the SWH, the explored conditions were 230 degrees C and 260 degrees C for temperature, 50 and 100 for solvent to feed ratio (S/F) with a constant pressure of 15 MPa. The best results for the yields of fermentable sugars and platform chemicals were 5.78 +/- 1.15 g/100 g and 2.90 +/- 0.24 g/100 g, respectively, at 260 degrees C and S/ F 50.

Sweet Sorghum bagasse (SSB) as potential to processing into ethanol due to its lignocellulosic composition and agricultural productivity. The composition of this biomass undissolved by pretreatment with ionic liquid (1-butyl-3-methyimidazolium chloride) was investigated aiming at the production of sugars and bioproducts using subcritical water hydrolysis (SWH). Changes in the composition of undissolved sweet sorghum bagasse at different pretreatment times were evaluated by the derivative of thermogravimetric analysis. The undissolved SSB in the pretreatment presented an enrichment in the content of hemicelluloses (90.07 %) and delignification (76.9 %). Under the same condition of SWH (220 °C / R-100) the yield of fermentable sugars increased 2.05 times in the same study time interval (10 min) when comparing pretreated and untreated SSB.

Brazil is the largest producer of paddy rice in the American Continent, straw discarded in the field after the rice harvest can be used for methanol production and help mitigate the impact of global warming. This paper presents the first environmental impact study of the life cycle of rice straw methanol in Brazil, whose objective was to produce an inventory and determine impacts on global warming based on collected data from actual logistic process of rice straw grown in a region in southern Brazil, since there is no such information in the Brazilian literature. Methanol production from rice straw involves different activities associated with rice cultivation, straw collection, straw transportation, and methanol production. The study focuses on the detailed evaluation of the processes responsible for direct and indirect emissions, including emissions from decomposition processes in the flooded rice fields and carbon neutral emissions from the methane production stage. The results show that the removal of rice straw from the field after harvest promoted the reduction of biogenic emissions of methane, on the other hand increased nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide emissions due to the higher use of fertilizers to maintain the yield of harvested rice. The rice straw required for the methanol plant with an annual production of 148.70 thousand tons level is 4.52 kg per of kg methanol and the life cycle carbon footprint is 8.09 x 10(-01) kg CO2eq per kg methanol, of which straw collection stage is the largest contributor with a share of 43.15%, followed by transport of straw bales with 15.32%. Comparing to fossil methanol, biomethanol has the potential to reduce GHG emissions by 67-74%. This advantage is a consequence of the carbon dioxide emissions from the gasification, gas conditioning, and rice straw burning processes being considered as neutral carbon.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) can be a viable treatment option of organic wastes from restaurants, also generating biogas and digestate. Therefore, the aim of this work is to assess the treatment of organic residues from a university restaurant of Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM). For this purpose, a 200 L semi-pilot scale anaerobic digester was monitored over 240 days, operating at mesophilic temperature in different hydraulic retention times (30 and 60 days). Substrate and digestate pH varied from 4.8 to 6.3 and 6.2-7.3, respectively. The average removal of chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand, total solids, sedimentable solids, and volatile solids were 95%, 95%, 53%, 93%, and 77%, respectively. Biogas yield was 0.22 m(3)center dot kg(-1) VS or 67 L kg(-1) of substrate with 60% of CH4 in average. Despite the variability in substrate composition, the results show high efficiency of the AD operation on decreasing the polluting potential of food waste, simultaneously generating both biogas and digestate, as a potential organic fertilizer. This work is a pioneer in the energy use of food waste from university restaurants in RS-Brazil, providing important information on AD operation, which can be useful in the design of a larger scale plant.

Electricity production from renewable sources is an important option aiming the mitigation of greenhouse gases, especially in off-grid communities. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess economically and environmentally scenarios related to the generation of electricity using wet ethanol produced from sugarcane on small scale. Thus, two scenarios were proposed considering six cases where ethanol fuel is produced in three different concentrations: 92% (E92W8), 90% (E90W10), and 80% (E80W20) by mass of ethanol. In Scenario 1, ethanol is utilized only to generate electricity (electricity consumed in production process and surplus of electricity for grid), while in Scenario 2 ethanol is consumed to provide electricity to the production process and the surplus of ethanol is used to replace gasoline in vehicles. A Life Cycle Assessment demonstrated an impact reduction in all impact categories when ethanol is utilized in electricity generation and/or to replace gasoline. The production and use of E90W10 for generation of electricity consumed in the process and for replacement of gasoline resulted in higher impact reduction with emission reduction of up to 49.5 ton of CO(2)eq per year. However, economic assessment proved that none of the cases presented feasibility, although the use of ethanol to replace gasoline is more attractive than its utilization in electricity generation. Nevertheless, off-grid communities can benefit from the options assessed in this study.

Rural areas in the southern region of Brazil are primarily occupied by smallholder farms where a variety of food crops are cultivated. Sugarcane is one of the most common food crop in this region because it is used in animal feed and as feedstock in production of brown sugar, schimier, sugarcane syrup, cachaca, and hydrous ethanol fuel (HEF). This study evaluated a small farm in a basalt hill region of Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. The raw material was processed in a family agro-industry with small-scale HEF production and food products from sugarcane. The study was based in an average cultivation area of 15 ha. In industrial stage, an economic assessment was developed according to operational diversity of industrial production (HEF and food products). Payback for production of brown sugar, sugarcane syrup, schimier, and cachaca, were 0.53, 0.36, 0.77 and 3.85, respectively, whereas HEF was not economically viable. This study demonstrated that small-scale sugarcane production can be economically and environmentally attractive. This is because the technologies necessary for agricultural cultivation and industrial processing are simplified, the process is capable of generating a range of marketable products, and the wastes (specially bagasse) can be reutilized in the agro-industrial process. The proposed model has potential to be utilized in regions with similar characteristics as those considered in this study.

Bioherbicides are an alternative more environment-friendly for weed management in organic agriculture and also providing new modes of action for conventional agriculture. In this way, the present study is focused on the optimization of bioherbicide production by Phoma sp. in submerged fermentation and the development of a formulation to increase its efficiency. Fermentation media based on sucrose and corn steep liquor (CSL) was optimized aiming to maximize the target control. Additionally, several formulations containing adjuvants and fermented broth were developed aiming to increase the herbicidal activity. The optimized condition for bioherbicide production was 13 g.L-1 of sucrose and 15 g.L-1 of CSL. The use of adjuvants increased the herbicidal activity in pre and post-emergence of C. sativus and S. bicolor. The maximum herbicidal activity was obtained with 30% v/v of fermented broth combined with 1% v/v of surfactant and nitrogen source.

Life Cycle Energy Analysis (LCEA) has been widely used for net energy balance and energy ratio calculation, expressing the overall efficiency, renewability, and sustainability of biofuels production. However, over 27 methodologies have been found in the literature, representing a barrier for the comparison between different studies. The aim of this research is to discuss the main LCEA indicators methodologies and to propose a more comprehensive and user-friendly system of standard equations for the calculation of energy efficiency indicators, considering allocation criteria and renewability of energetic inputs. The standardized equations were evaluated via their application in two case studies related to sugarcane ethanol and biodiesel production and the results were compared to evaluate the influence of allocation criteria and inputs characteristics (renewable and non-renewable) in both attributional and consequential LCEA. As a result, 10 methodologies were proposed in order to standardize those 27 energy indicators. It was observed a significant variation in energy values depending on the use of allocation criteria, which were 114–468% for attributional LCEA and 114–387% for consequential LCEA in ethanol production, and between a range of 106–147% for attributional LCEA and 159–212% for consequential LCEA, in biodiesel production. The consideration of renewable energy inputs resulted in energy variations between 99 and 428% (attributional LCEA) and 61–268% (consequential LCEA) in ethanol production and between 47 and 76% (attributional LCEA) and 78–114% (consequential LCEA) in biodiesel production. Also, results showed that allocation criteria, input characteristics, and LCEA approach have a significant influence on the energy balance. Standardized methodologies proposed for energy balance equations in a biofuel production system make easier the application, understanding, and comparison among results of an LCEA.

Objetivo do estudo: apresentar a análise dos dados coletados referentes às características de esgoto afluente da Estação de Tratamento de Esgoto Serraria, em Porto Alegre/RS.Metodologia / abordagem: pesquisa descritiva com abordagem quantitativa e centralizada no estudo de caso da exploração de biogás gerada para produção de energia elétrica.Originalidade/relevância: este estudo concentra-se na viabilidade técnica e econômica para a geração de eletricidade a partir de efluente de biogás para uso na própria estação, atendendo a maioria das cargas locais, e também, da tecnologia de conversão de energia empregada a partir do ciclo de combustão interna Otto, com seus acessórios.Principais resultados: os custos de instalação, operação e manutenção por cinco anos estão estimados em torno de R$ 4.500.000,00. Além disso, o retorno sobre o capital investido ocorre, no máximo, em 4 anos e 7 meses.Contribuições teóricas / metodológicas: há uma tendência de aumento da eletricidade a partir da tarifa da rede e do fluxo de insumos nos UASBs, tornando a autogeração ainda mais viável. Atualmente, o biogás é queimado e o lodo gerado é depositado em aterros sanitários, o que possibilita a produção de energia elétrica e fornecimento à rede de distribuição.Conclusão: as usinas de estação de tratamento de esgoto constituídas de depósito de lodo anaeróbio de fluxo ascendente seguida de lodos ativos têm como objetivo o tratamento de efluentes, isto é, promover a separação dos gases, sólidos e líquidos como forma de tratamento sustentável e, além disso, proporcionar benefícios e recursos sustentáveis para a sociedade.

Countercurrent flow in conventional dual-flow trays results in segregation in liquid and vapor flow, reducing tray efficiency. Therefore, a new dual-flow tray with fractal geometry was experimentally investigated. Air and water were used as vapor and liquid models. Flow regime and fluid dynamics parameters such as dry (Delta P-d) and wet (Delta P-w) tray pressure drop, froth height (H), clear liquid height (h(CL)), and froth porosity (epsilon) were evaluated. The results showed a lower and a more stable Delta P-w in the fractal tray with a smaller hole diameter compared to the conventional tray when F-s ranged from 0.59 to 1.04. Fluid dynamics parameters such as H, h(CL), and epsilon were similar between the fractal tray with a smaller hole diameter and the conventional tray for capacity factor (F-s) values from 0.68 to 1.04 and for all values of liquid flow rate (Q(L)). Fractal geometry provided a more stable liquid and vapor flow through the alternating formation of high and low pressure microzones.

Objective of the study: to present the analysis of the collected data referring to the characteristics of affluent sewage of the Serraria Sewage Treatment Station, in Porto Alegre/RS. Methodology / approach: descriptive research with a quantitative approach and centralized in the case study of the biogas exploration generated for the production of electric energy. Originality / relevance: this study focuses on the technical and economic feasibility for generating electricity from biogas effluent for use at the station itself, serving most of the local loads, as well as the energy conversion technology used from of the internal combustion Cycle Otto, with its accessories. Main results: installation, operation and maintenance costs for five years are estimated at around R$ 4.500.000,00. In addition, the return on invested capital occurs, at most, in 4 years and 7 months. Theoretical / methodological contributions: there is a tendency to increase electricity from the network tariff and the flow of inputs in the UASBs, making self-generation even more viable. Currently, biogas is flared and the sludge generated is deposited in landfills, which makes it possible to produce electricity and supply it to the distribution network. Conclusion: sewage treatment plants consisting of an upstream flow anaerobic sludge deposit followed by active sludge aims to treat effluents, that is, to promote the separation of gases, solids and liquids as a form of sustainable treatment and, in addition, to provide sustainable benefits and resources for society.

The dry tray pressure drop (Delta P-d) is a design parameter that provides preliminary information about the total pressure drop. This work aimed to assess correlations for Delta P-d prediction for different types of trays without downcomer and to evaluate the effects of the free area ratio (phi) and the hole diameter (d) on Delta P-d. Assessment was performed by comparing results of several correlations with those from an experimentally validated computational fluid dynamics simulation. The study shows that the correlations of Cervenka and Kolar, Bennett, Agrawal and Cook, and Stichlmair and Mersmann predicted the dry pressure drop satisfactorily. The correlation of Bennett, Agrawal and Cook can be recommended for the prediction of Delta P-d for a wide range of geometries and operation conditions. Also, phi has a higher influence on Delta P-d than d.

The objective of this work was to evaluate the use of TLC, using the iodine vapor visualization method, for identification and preliminary characterization of biodiesel produced by esterification. The esterification reaction was performed at constant temperature of 65 °C for 2 hours, using dimethyl sulfate as alkylating agent and dodecanoic acid as oleaginous raw material. The chromatographic plate was subjected to the method of revelation after adding 5 µL of a sample of fatty acid and biodiesel on the chromatographic vessel. The indication of biodiesel formation was obtained by calculating the retention factor (Rf) and validated by hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance (H 1 NMR). The R f values and of the region of peaks of chemical functions were identical to those found in other studies, which allowed to confirm the formation of biodiesel. It can be concluded that TLC can be used as a innovative technique for preliminary qualitative characterization of biodiesel formation by esterification.

In the last decades, the environmental impacts are considered in the decision making of processes and equipment. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a widely used environmental methodology for environmental impacts assessment of projects and products. This study used the LCA for environmental evaluation of two types of distillation column manufacturing: a conventional tray column and a hybrid-packed and tray-column. Eco-Indicator 99 and CML 2 methods were used for inputs conversion in environmental impacts and to compare the distillation columns. Eco-Indicator 99 results showed that the use of electricity and the stainless steel are the inputs with greater environmental impact potential in both columns. Use of stainless steel presented an environmental impact percentage of 38.87% in tray column and 35.91% in hybrid column. Use of electricity apport an environmental impact percentage of 35.68% and 34.25% in tray and hybrid column, respectively. Results obtained by Eco-Indicator 99 and CML 2 methods showed that the hybrid column manufacturing presented a mean environmental impact reduction of 8.7% and 8.92%, respectively, in relation to tray column. CML 2 results showed that hybrid column manufacturing decreases the total CO(2)emissions in 180.70 kg CO(2)eq, resulting in a reduction of 15% when compared with the tray column manufacturing. Construction of the hybrid column is an alternative for environmental impact mitigation.