The reutilization of agro-industrial by-products for obtaining of high-value added biosurfactants is a promising approach for minimizing the total production costs. In this context, this study aimed to evaluate the production of biosurfactant by the Mucoralean fungus Syncephalastrum racemosum UCP 1302, by bioconversion of renewable substrates: cassava wastewater (CWW), waste soybean oil (WSO) and corn steep liquor (CSL). For this, a 2³ full-factorial design (FFD) was applied and the results showed the ability of this strain to produce biosurfactant in all conditions of the FFD, standing out the condition 7 due to the greatest reduction of surface tension (from 72 to 30.9 mN/m). Preliminary characterization showed the lipopeptide nature of the biomolecule, as well as its anionic character and critical micellar concentration (CMC) of 1.25 mg/ml. Biotensoactive demonstrated stability to variations of temperature, pH and NaCl concentrations, wettability in polyester textile and it was effective on reduction of viscosity of burned motor oil. Hence, S. racemosum showed excellent ability to produce biosurfactant by green bioconversion of low-cost substrates, making the bioprocess economical and enabling its biotechnological applications.

O mercado cervejeiro, seja ele industrial ou artesanal está em constante crescimento no Brasil, sendo ele o terceiro maior produtor de cerveja do mundo. Devido a isto as cervejarias artesanais estão cada vez mais tentando se adequar nos parâmetros de controle de qualidade, e a medição de amargor é uma delas. O presente estudo tem como objetivo avaliar se o amargor identificado nos rótulos das cervejas, sejam elas industriais ou artesanais, de diferentes estilos, coincidem com o valor encontrado através no método analítico validado do European Brewery Convention. A metodologia utilizada consiste em fazer a extração da isomerização do α-ácidos, que é uma resina do lúpulo, e o principal responsável por dar o sabor amargo da cerveja, portanto é utilizando o espectrofotômetro por radiação ultravioleta visível, no qual ele mensura, a presença dos iso-α-ácidos presentes na cerveja, a partir da absorbância em um comprimento de onda de 275nm, que é posteriormente convertida para Internatinal Bitterness Unit (IBU). As cervejas analisadas foram provenientes do estado de Pernambuco e São Paulo, de produção artesanal e industrial. Os resultados obtidos através das análises ficaram dentro da faixa de especificação dos seus respectivos estilos e sua variação vai de +1,56% a -7,55% em relação ao que é identificado pelos fabricantes, sendo a menor variação na produção industrial e a maior na artesanal. As cervejas analisadas tiveram um resultado satisfatório, no qual as cervejarias que utilizam o método Glenn Tinseth, tiveram valores próximos do que é validado pelo European Brewery Convention.

This work investigates the hydrodynamics of a circulating fluidized-bed riser by combining CFD simulations with noninvasive gamma-radiation transmission measurements. Two drag models, Gidaspow and EMMS, were evaluated. The computational setup underwent mesh-independence verification using the Grid Convergence Index, and model performance was quantified against experiments with RMSE and NRMSE. The analysis shows that EMMS generally provides closer agreement with measured solids volume-fraction profiles, particularly in the dilute core and in regions prone to particle clustering, while both models reproduce the principal axial and radial trends. In some sections with lower local solids concentration, Gidaspow tends to underestimate the solids holdup. Predictions of axial pressure variation are consistent with experimental tendencies for both closures. The integrated use of gamma-radiation diagnostics and CFD is shown to be effective for validating model predictions and for guiding model selection in riser simulations, balancing accuracy and computational cost. These results provide a documented, reproducible basis for simulations of gas–solid flows in circulating fluidized-bed systems and inform design and optimization decisions where reliable estimates of cross-sectional solids distribution are required.

Studies have reported the incorporation of microorganisms into cement to promote the formation of calcium carbonate in cracks of concrete, a process known as biomineralization. The paper aims to improve the process of the cascade system for biomineralization in cement by identifying the best hydrodynamic conditions in a reaction cell in order to increase the useful life of concrete structures and, therefore, bring energy and environmental benefits. Two central composite rotatable designs were used to establish the positioning of the air inlet and outlet in the lateral or upper region of the geometry of the reaction cell. The geometries of the reaction cell were constructed in SOLIDWORKS^®, and computational fluid dynamics was performed using the Flow Simulation tool of the same software. The results were submitted to statistical analysis. The best combination of meshes for the simulation was global mesh 4 and local mesh 5. The statistical analysis applied to gas velocity and pressure revealed that air flow rate was the factor with the greatest sensitivity, with ${\mathrm{R}}^2$ values up to 99.9%. The geometry with the air outlet and inlet in the lateral region was considered to be the best option.

This work investigates the fluid dynamic behavior of a circulating fluidized bed riser through CFD simulations and experimental measurements using gamma radiation. The main objective was to compare the accuracy of the Gidaspow and EMMS drag coefficient models in predicting the distribution of solids along the riser. The simulations were conducted using ANSYS Fluent software, which focused on predicting the volumetric fraction of solids and the pressure variation along the riser height. The results showed that the EMMS model, which considers interactions at multiple scales, provided more accurate predictions of solids concentration, especially in less dense regions. In contrast, the Gidaspow model presented underestimation in some sections. The experimental analysis reinforces the importance of considering the effects of particle clustering on flow behavior, highlighting the superiority of the EMMS model in simulating circulating fluidized beds. It is concluded that the EMMS model is more suitable for this type of application due to its greater accuracy in representing the interactions between the solid and gas phases.

A vazão é uma das variáveis de processo essenciais em plantas de destilação, sendo necessário sua constante medição e controle, para alcançar o melhor desempenho da planta. Este trabalho tem como objetivo garantir o processo de automação, controle e calibração de instrumento de medição de vazão em planta experimental de destilação. Foi criado um programa no IDE do Arduino de forma a determinar o coeficiente do medidor de vazão, com uma vazão ajustada (manualmente) na faixa de 0,3 L/min (indicado pelo serial), medindo a vazão real com o auxílio de uma proveta de 500 mL deixando a vazão pré-definida preencher com o auxílio de uma mangueira a proveta durante 1 minuto. Com o coeficiente definido para o medidor (modelo YF-S401) foram escolhidas cinco vazões, iniciando em 0,25 L/min até 1,25 L/min. Com o auxílio do IDE e do Labview foi criado um VI (Virtual Instrument) combinando o Labview/LINX com o auxílio da ferramenta VISA (Virtual Instrument Software Architecture). Em ambas as partes do experimento foram utilizadas resposta de superfície (auxiliado pelo software STATISTICA 10) para a relação entre frequência, pulso e vazão. Após os resultados obtidos no experimento manual e no experimento automatizado, as correlações obtidas e as respostas de superfície encontradas sugerem uma resposta eficaz da integração de LINX e VISA para a medição da vazão, além de confirmar a calibração (devido ao fato do programa corrigir o erro utilizando as correlações). Sendo possível afirmar que o programa desenvolvido pode ser integrado em um sistema de automação mais completo.