The cement industry is the second-largest single industrial emitter in the world and therefore has an important role to play in reducing the intensity of its carbon emissions: participation of the sector is important to contribute to the goal of the Paris Climate Change Agreement to limit global warming. One of the strategies for reducing the carbon footprint of the cement industry is substitution of Portland cement, which is a component of the concrete mix widely used as a construction material worldwide. Geopolymer cement has emerged as an alternative for Portland cement, with several advantages. This study applied the Life Cycle Assessment methodology to quantify the carbon emissions associated with 1m³ of two types of concrete (concrete PC-II cement-based Portland cement vs. geopolymer concrete). Geopolymer concrete presented almost 43% less carbon emissions, while also presenting high physic-chemical performance. It was verified that geopolymer concrete has the potential to help mitigate climate change, and can be employed as part of the plan to minimize the emissions associated with the construction sector.

Smoke is the main threat of death in fires. For this reason, it becomes extremely important to understand the dispersion of this pollutant and to verify the influence of different control systems on its spread through buildings, in order to avoid or minimize its effects on living beings. Thus, this work aims to perform thermo-fluid dynamic study of smoke dispersion in a closed environment. All numerical analysis was performed using the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) software. Different simulations were carried out to evaluate the influence of the exhaust system (natural or mechanical), the heat release rate (HRR), ventilation and the smoke curtain in the pollutant dispersion. Results of the smoke layer interface height, temperature profile, average exhaust volumetric flow rate, pressure and velocity distribution are presented and discussed. The results indicate that an increase in the natural exhaust area increases the smoke layer interface height, only for the well-ventilated compartment (open windows); an increase in the HRR accelerates the downward vertical displacement of the smoke layer and that the 3 m smoke curtain is efficient in exhausting smoke, only in the case of poorly ventilated compartments (i.e., with closed windows).

Drying is a thermodynamic process in which the moisture contained in the solid is removed by evaporation through the supply of an appreciable amount of thermal energy. It is recognized as a critical and intricate stage in the manufacturing process of ceramic materials. In general, drying at higher temperatures and lower air-relative humidity provokes severe hydric, thermal, and mechanical fractures in the ceramic parts, thus reducing product quality after the process. Then, this process must be realized under controlled conditions. From an industrial point of view, the drying process of sanitary ware takes place in two stages: drying at low temperatures (less than 40 °C) and drying at high temperatures (above 50 °C). Thus, the purpose of this work is to experimentally investigate the drying process at low temperatures in sanitary toilets. Drying experiments were conducted in an oven with the same temperature (35 °C) and different relative humidity of the drying air. The results of the moisture content, temperature, and dimension variations along the process, as well as drying and heating rates, are reported and analyzed. The results indicate that the higher the air’s relative humidity, the slower the moisture removal. Herein, aspects of the product quality after the drying process are also discussed.

The search for the reduction of costs for the implementation of renewable energies implies in the optimization of the parameters of the manufacturing processes of consolidated technologies. Among these technologies are the solar collectors composed of absorber films characterized by high absorption in the spectrum range corresponding to solar radiation and low emittance in the infrared range, allowing an increase in the collector's operating temperature (300 to 700°C). The present work produced selective surfaces based on black chrome absorber films on stainless steel substrate by electrodeposition. The substrates were immersed in a chromium trioxide bath with hexafluorosilicic acid using a Pb-Sn electrode. In the project some parameters of deposition were evaluated (time, distance and voltage) and their influence on the surface roughness of the coatings obtained by correlating them with the absorptions of the produced surfaces. For this, the surfaces produced were characterized by UV-Vis-NIR, profilometry and SEM. The results indicate that the working distance directly influenced the increase of the films absorption and that the influence of the surface roughness on the film absorption is related to the electrodeposition time as the voltage is raised.

Drying is one of the stages with the highest energy consumption in the manufacturing process of ceramic materials and aims to reduce the product’s moisture to levels necessary for safe firing stage, reducing the chances of defect formation. For sanitary ware, there is an additional energy cost in the pre-drying stage, which takes place immediately after removing the parts from the molds, and is carried out in an environment with lower temperatures (ranging from 30 to 40 °C). This work aims to experimentally study the drying process of sanitary ware at low temperatures, with particular reference to sanitary toilets with industrial dimensions. Four drying experiments were carried out in an oven with different operating conditions (temperature and relative humidity). The results indicate that an increase in temperature and reduction in relative humidity provoke a faster drying rate. For some physical situations, it is more interesting to dedicate efforts to reducing the relative humidity of the drying air instead of seeking solutions to raise its temperature. Furthermore, a correlation between the linear retraction and moisture content was observed; the greater the moisture loss, the greater the sample shrinkage.