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The biochar is characterized by low surface area and, in order to their use as adsorbent it is possible to use the activation process that allows to liberate and to increase the pores of the surface, increasing its sorption capacity. In the present work the activation of the biochar produced in the pyrolysis of agroindustrial residue (fiber) of the green coconut was studied, being done with sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) at high temperature. Biochar (BC) and activated biochar (ABC) were characterized and ABC was tested for use in the extraction of organic compounds present in the phenolic liquor, produced during the same pyrolysis process. The determination of the textural characteristics was done by N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, obtaining an area of 1130 m2 g−1 for the ABC, being superior to the area of commercial activated coals, with a total volume of pores of 0.55 cm3 g−1. For the solid phase extraction (SPE) test, 500 mg of ABC were used in cartridges (equal to the commercial ones) obtaining a retention of about 100% of the organic compounds pre-existing in the sample, demonstrating the high adsorptive capacity of the activated biochar produced in this work. Desorption, as expected, had a lower performance than adsorption, being improved using ultrasonic bath, reaching values of the order of 40% recovery.

O tabaco energético é uma opção alternativa ao tabaco convencional e tem como principal característica a fácil adaptação aos solos improdutivos, além de ser praticamente isento de nicotina. O principal foco das pesquisas com tabaco energético está no uso das sementes para a obtenção do óleo com vistas à produção de biodiesel, tendo como subproduto a torta residual da prensagem. Neste trabalho foi realizado o estudo da pirólise da torta residual do processo de prensagem para a extração de óleo da semente de tabaco energético. A torta residual foi submetida à pirólise em leito fixo com fluxo de nitrogênio, gerando bio-óleo, gases e biochar. Os principais produtos (bio-óleo e biochar) foram detalhadamente estudados. No bio-óleo, através da análise por cromatografia gasosa, foram encontrados compostos de grande importância para a indústria química e farmacêutica, como o fenol, o guaiacol e grande teor de compostos nitrogenados, em especial as piridinas. A biomassa e o biochar foram caracterizados por diversas técnicas (análise elementar, poder calorífico, teor de cinzas, ICP-OES, FT-IR, etc) e o biochar foi testado para uso como adsorvente, carga para borrachas, fertilizantes, etc. O resultado mais promissor foi para uso como adsorvente, após a ativação do biochar. Tanto a biomassa quanto os produtos de pirólise apresentaram compostos nitrogenados, assim podendo isolá-los, no caso do bio-óleo, para futuras aplicações, como em fármacos (piridinas) e pesticidas (nitrilas). Energetic tobacco is an alternative to conventional tobacco and its main feature is the easy adaptation to unfertile lands beside that it is practically free of nicotine. The energetic focus of research is in the use of tobacco seeds for obtaining oil for producing biodiesel. From this process results a byproduct that is the residual cake from the pressing. In this work, this residual cake was studied through pyrolysis in a fixed bed reactor with nitrogen flow, producing bio-oil, gas and biochar. The main products (bio-oil and biochar) were characterized in detail. In the bio-oil, important industrial feedstocks were identified by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography, as phenols, guaiacols and N-compounds, with recognized use in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. The biochar and biomass were characterized by some solid-state techniques (porosity, elemental analysis, ash content, presence of metals, themogravimetric analysis and infrared spectrocopy). Biochar was subjected to some tests for use as adsorbent, charge for rubber or fertilizers. Its most promising result was for use as adsorbent after activation of biochar. The biomass and its pyrolysis products showed nitrogenous compounds, thus being able to isolate them, in the case of bio-oil, for further applications, such as drugs (pyridines) and pesticides (nitriles).

The characteristics of biodiesel produced can affect its susceptibility to biodegradation by microbial action, which has been of frequent concern since it leads to changes of fuel properties during storage. The goal of the present work was to compare the microbial growth in biodiesel obtained from tallow catalyzed by NaOH or KOH and purified with water or the solid adsorbent magnesium silicate. The experiment was carried out in 200 mL glass bottles containing 45 mL of mineral medium and 5 mL of each type of biodiesel (4 treatments) and 104 spores.mL­–1 of the filamentous fungi Pseudallescheria boydii. The analyses were carried out during 60 days and after each 10 days it was evaluated: fungi biomass formation (dry weight); production of metabolites originated from the fungi growth (pH); variation in the amount of total esters and total glycerol in the oily phase. After 60 days it was possible to observe lower biomass formation in the biodiesel NaOH-water (576 mg) followed by biodiesel NaOH-magnesol (773 mg). The biodiesel KOH-magnesol and KOH-water favored the biomass formation (891 mg and 930 mg respectively)., As características do biodiesel produzido podem afetar a sua suscetibilidade à biodegradação por ação microbiana, o que tem sido uma preocupação freqüente, pois leva a mudanças nas propriedades de combustível durante o armazenamento. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi comparar o crescimento microbiano em biodiesel de sebo bovino, catalisado com NaOH ou KOH e purificado com água ou com o adsorvente sólido silicato de magnésio. O experimento foi realizado em frascos de vidro com capacidade para 200 mL, constituído de 45 mL de meio mínimo mineral e 5 mL de cada tipo de biodiesel (4 tratamentos), e foram adicionados 104 esporos.mL-1 do fungo filamentoso Pseudallescheria boydii. As análises foram realizadas durante 60 dias, a cada 10 dias avaliou-se: formação de biomassa do fungo (peso seco); produção de metabólitos oriundos do crescimento do fungo (pH); e, na fase oleosa, a variação no teor de ésteres totais e de glicerina total. Ao final dos 60 dias, pode-se observar menor formação de biomassa no biodiesel NaOH-Água (576 mg), seguido pelo biodiesel NaOH-Magnesol (773 mg). Os biodieseis KOH-Magnesol e KOH-Água favoreceram a formação de biomassa (891 mg e 930 mg, respectivamente).

Neste trabalho, realizou-se o estudo do Crambe Abyssinica, uma planta originária do Mediterrâneo, mas já adaptada às condições brasileiras, e tendo uma semente rica em óleo, o qual, devido ao alto teor de ácido erúcico, não pode ser destinado ao consumo humano, sugerindo seu uso como fonte de biomassa. O óleo da semente de crambe foi extraído a partir das sementes de crambe, comparando métodos convencionais (prensagem e soxhlet) com um método alternativo (Extração com fluido supercrítico), obtendo-se rendimentos semelhantes. Uma tentativa de obter biodiesel metílico a partir do óleo de crambe foi realizada, alcançando uma razoável conversão em ésteres somente através da transesterificação supercrítica. As tortas residuais das extrações do óleo de crambe foram submetidas à pirólise rápida, produzindo bio-óleo e resíduos sólidos. Os bio-óleos foram analisados cromatograficamente, mostrando a presença de resíduos de óleo vegetal e um série de compostos (hidrocarbonetos, compostos oxigenados e nitrogenados) com predominância de fenóis, hidrocarbonetos aromáticos e olefínicos e aminas. A grande quantidade de alquil fenóis, guaiacóis, piridinas e anilinas é interessante para a indústria química e farmacêutica. In this work, it was carried out the study of Crambe abyssinica, a plant originated in the Mediterranean but already adapted to the Brazilian conditions, and having a seed rich in vegetable oils, which can not be intended for human consumption due to its high content of erucic acid, suggesting its use as biomass source. The oil was extracted from the seed of crambe, comparing the conventional methods (pressing and soxhlet) with an alternative method (Supercritical Fluid Extraction), showing similar yields. An attempt to obtain methylic biodiesel from the crambe oil was also performed, achieving a reasonable conversion of esters only by supercritical transesterification. Residual oil cakes of these extractions were subjected to fast pyrolysis, producing bio-oil and char. Bio-oils were analyzed chromatographically, showing the presence of residues of vegetable oil and a series of compounds (hydrocarbons, oxygenated and nitrogenated compounds) with a predominance of phenols, olefinic and aromatic hydrocarbons and amines. The large amount of alkyl phenols, guaiacols, pyridines and anilines is interesting for chemical and pharmaceutical industry. An attempt to obtain methylic biodiesel from the crambe oil was also performed, achieving a reasonable conversion of esters only by supercritical transesterification.