Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T18:01:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Andreia Peiter.pdf: 1366062 bytes, checksum: e0b82884da5c768cb61affcb50cffecf (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-07-27 / According on the demand for processes that minimize the environmental impact generated by waste, efficient systems that make possible the degradation of these compounds and allow its use as an alternative source for renewable energy generation are increasingly required. The increasing food production to meet the needs of the world population has encouraged the use of agrochemicals in order to ensure productivity in crops. The use of insecticides is increasing to control pests and herbicides for weed control, because there is a lack of effective control that includes new production strategies. Techniques such as crop rotation, no-till system introduction and use of green pesticides (natural insecticides) provide a more sustainable agriculture and reduce impacts to the environment. In this context, this work presents an alternative development of an integrated system for remediation of environments contaminated with simultaneous generation of electricity. The materials were prepared from reagents and accessible metals, which reduce costs and contribute to a clean process, without the addition of organic additives. Due to the high oxidizing potential of hydroxyl radicals generated by the pair electron-hole (e+ + h+) in the semiconductors, was possible to degrade the organic compounds used in the system. The results showed that the generation of current in an area of 6,9 cm2 was 193,37 uA in potassium hydrogen phthalate degradation, using Cu/CuO electrode as a photocatalyst. The Aminol® and Connect® pesticides have been degraded at a percentage of 54,46% and 21,02%, respectively, after 1 hour and 30 minutes in the system, under ultraviolet radiation. The degradation of organic contaminants and simultaneous power generation of energy in integrated system provides a self-sustaining form of wastewater treatment and energy recovery, being possible its use on a large scale. / Em função da demanda por processos que minimizem os impactos ambientais gerados por resíduos, sistemas eficientes que possibilitem a degradação desses compostos e permitam sua utilização como fonte alternativa para geração de energia renovável são cada vez mais requeridos. A crescente produção de alimentos para suprir as necessidades da população mundial tem incentivado o emprego de agroquímicos com o objetivo de assegurar a produtividade nas lavouras. Cada vez mais aumenta o uso de inseticidas para o controle de pragas e herbicidas para o controle de ervas daninhas, pois há carência de um controle efetivo que inclua novas estratégias de produção. Técnicas como rotação de cultura, introdução do sistema de plantio direto e utilização de inseticidas verdes (inseticidas naturais) propiciam uma agricultura mais sustentável e reduzem os impactos causados ao ambiente. Nesse contexto, o presente trabalho apresenta uma alternativa de desenvolvimento de um sistema integrado para remediação de ambientes contaminados com geração simultânea de energia elétrica. Os materiais foram preparados a partir de reagentes e metais acessíveis, os quais reduzem os custos e contribuem para um processo mais limpo, sem a ação de aditivos orgânicos. Devido ao alto potencial oxidante dos radicais hidroxila gerados por meio do par elétron-lacuna (e- + h+) em semicondutores, foi possível degradar os compostos orgânicos utilizados no sistema. Os resultados mostraram que a geração de corrente em uma área de 6,9 cm2 foi de 193,37 µA na degradação do padrão hidrogenoftalato de potássio, utilizando eletrodo de Cu/CuO como fotocatalisador. Os agrotóxicos Aminol 806® e Connect® foram degradados com percentual de 54,46% e 21,02%, respectivamente, após 1 hora e 30 minutos no sistema, sob radiação ultravioleta. A degradação de contaminantes orgânicos e simultânea geração de energia no sistema integrado prevê uma forma autossustentável de tratamento de efluentes e recuperação de energia, sendo possível sua utilização em grande escala.

Content: One of the well-explored alternatives to the lime – sulfide approach for dehairing and fibre opening is the enzymatic approach. In the approach, using a drum method, about 2.5 – 5.0%, on the soaked weight of the skin/hide, of the protease and amylase are sequentially employed, with each operation run for about 6 h. An extensive washing between the two steps required as the activity of one enzyme may be compromised in the presence of the other, especially during a long running of the drum. Though a combination approach, through the use of a bifunctional enzyme has been reported in the past for single step dehairing and fibre opening, this process is likely to have limited applications as there are reports that the storage stability of combination enzymes comprising of protease, amylase and lipase is low, which is generally circumvented by employing higher concentration of amylase and lipase over protease. The individual enzyme activities are also compromised in the presence of detergents and chelators. A similar scenario has also been observed in other industries such as food, laundry etc. The applicability of nanoparticlebased approach to immobilization of enzymes (individual) has been reported in areas such as catalysis and our earlier work immobilization of enzymes on iron oxide nanoparticles has been well received. In this paper, the immobilization of multiple enzymes on copper oxide nanoparticle surfaces is reported. The immobilization, the stability of the enzyme immobilized nanoparticles and the activity of the enzymes present in the immobilized system has been confirmed using various analytical techniques. The extended storage stability of the protease – amylase – nanoparticle system has been studied. A comparative study between protease – amylase combination (in the absence/presence of nanoparticles) indicated that in the absence of nanoparticles, the amylase activity was reduced, possibly due to denaturation of the amylase by the protease. The mechanism by which copper oxide nanoparticles prevent the denaturation of amylase has been studied through computational methods. From the leather processing point of view, the use of protease – amylase – nanoparticle system for combined dehairing and fibre opening has been established and the intact nature of the collagen fibres confirmed through histopathological studies. A comparison between lime-sulfide, protease followed by amylase, protease-amylase-nanoparticle systems for dehairing – fibre opening has been made and the effectivity of the nanoparticle immobilization demonstrated. Take-Away: - A transition from chemical to bioprocessing - Better acceptability of enzymatic approaches as known lacunae are overcome - Sustainable beam house operations

Esta tesis consiste en la implementación de la tecnología de impresión 30 como una herramienta para el diseño y fabricación de soportes monolíticos que mejoran las prestaciones de los soportes convencionales. En un primer enfoque se ha empleado la estereolitografía (impresión 30) para la preparación directa de estructuras monolíticas de resina polimérica. Estos monolitos poliméricos con diferentes diseños geométricos se han empleado como soporte de la fase activa Cu0/Ce02 y su rendimiento fue estudiado en la reacción de oxidación preferencial de C0 (C0-Prüx). Un segundo enfoque ha consistido en la preparación de plantillas (moldes) mediante la tecnología de impresión 30 de modelado por deposición fundida, las cuales junto con un procedimiento de síntesis de hidrogeles de resorcinol y formaldehído han permitido obtener estructuras monolíticas de carbón con diferentes configuraciones geométricas de sus canales y una porosidad definida por las condiciones de síntesis. Estos monolitos de carbón se han empleado con éxito como soportes de las fases activas Cu0/Ce02 y Ni/Ce02, y su rendimiento catalítico fue estudiado en la reacción C0-Prüx y la reacción de metanación de C02, respectivamente.

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In this work we investigate the reaction propagation velocity of aluminum and copper oxide Metastable Intermolecular Composites (MIC's). All samples were deposited in a magnetron sputtering system using 2 aluminum targets and 2 copper targets. The copper is sputtered in an oxygen rich environment in order to obtain copper oxide rich films. Three different layer structures are used for various measurements that are composed of alternating 20 layer pairs, 30 layer pairs, and 40 layer pairs. All layer pairs maintain a constant total thickness of 3.2 microns. Each layer structure can be prepared independent of a substrate and is measured with the use of photodiodes or with direct device contact. Aluminum and copper oxide structures have potential use as propellants and additives to explosives, thus, accurate propagation velocity or burn rate measurements are important. The developed measurement system for burn rate measurements of Al/CuO MIC's can achieve and accuracy of 0.1 m/s. In order to determine the velocity limiting characteristics, MIC's on glass and silicon substrates were measured as well as free standing Al/CuO MIC's. Separate burn rate measurement devices were created in order to handle the variety of substrates. In addition, the ignition energy of the Al/CuO MIC was studied to further characterize the samples. This was done using both voltage and current probes of a reacting sample. Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) was used for sample composition calibration. The pre- and post-reaction Al/CuO MIC's were also characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

No description available.

Nanotechnology offers a great potential do design fertilizers with unique properties capable to boost the plant productivity. However, the nanoparticles environmental fate and their toxic responses still need to be deeply investigated to their safe use. This study aims to investigate the effect of copper oxide (nCuO) and magnetite nanoparticles (nFe3O4) on the germination and seedling development of Phaseolus vulgaris L. Seeds were treated in nanoparticles dispersions in a wide range of concentrations (1, 10, 100 and 1 000 mg L-1) and incubated in a germination chamber during 5 days. Different sized nCuO (25, 40 and <80 nm) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) coated nFe3O4 were evaluated. Although both nCuO and nFe3O4 treatments did not affected the germination rate, seedling weight gain was promoted by 40 nm CuO at 100 mg Cu L-1 and inhibited by 1 000 mg Cu L-1 of 25 nm CuO and positive control (CuSO4). Among the tested nCuO, the higher chemical reactivity was found for the 25 nm CuO, and this may partially explain the observed deleterious effects. Seeds treated in nFe3O4-PEG at 1 000 mg Fe L-1 increased radicle elongation compared to the negative control (water), while Fe2+/Fe3+ (aq) (positive control) and bare nFe3O4 at 1 000 mg Fe L-1 treatments reduced the radicle of the seedlings. The growth promoted by the PEG-coated nanoparticles can be justified by the higher water uptake induced by the PEG, and also by its lower chemical reactivity compared to the bare nanoparticles. This was reinforced by enzymatic assays since nFe3O4-PEG treatment was also the least harmful to the alpha-amylase activity. X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) showed that most of the Cu and Fe incorporated by the seeds remained in the seed coat, specially in the hilum region, and X-ray tomography indicated that Fe3O4-PEG penetrated in this structure. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) unraveled that the Cu and Fe chemical environment of the nCuO and nFe3O4-PEG treated seeds persisted mostly in its primitive form. These results contribute to the understanding of how nCuO, nFe3O4 and nFe3O4-PEG interact with common bean seeds and seedlings and highlights its potential use in seed priming / A nanotecnologia oferece um grande potencial para o desenvolvimento de fertilizantes com propriedades únicas, capazes de impulsionar a produtividade das plantas. Contudo, o destino ambiental e os efeitos tóxicos das nanopartículas ainda necessitam ser profundamente investigados para o seu uso seguro. Este estudo visa investigar o efeito das nanopartículas de óxido de cobre (nCuO) e magnetita (nFe3O4) na germinação e desenvolvimento das plântulas de Phaseolus vulgaris L. As sementes foram tratadas em dispersões de nanopartículas em diversas concentrações (1, 10, 100 and 1 000 mg L-1) e incubadas em uma câmara de germinação durante 5 dias. Diferentes tamanhos de nCuO (25, 40 e <80 nm) e nFe3O4 recoberta com polietileno glicol (PEG) e foram avaliados. Embora ambos tratamentos de nCuO e nFe3O4 não afetaram a taxa de germinação, o ganho de massa das plântulas foi promovido pela nCuO de 40 nm à 100 mg Cu L-1 e inibido pelos tratamentos de nCuO de 25 nm e controle positivo (CuSO4) à 1 000 mg Cu L-1. Dentre as nCuO testadas, a maior reatividade química foi encontrada para a nCuO de 25 nm, e isso pode explicar parcialmente os efeitos deletérios desta nanopartícula. Sementes tratadas com nFe3O4-PEG à 1 000 mg Fe L-1 aumentaram o alongamento das radículas em comparação ao controle negativo (água), enquanto que os tratamentos Fe2+/Fe3+ (aq) (controle positivo) e nFe3O4 sem recobrimento à 1 000 mg Fe L-1 reduziram as radículas das plântulas. O crescimento promovido pelas nanopartículas recobertas com PEG pode ser justificado pela maior absorção de água induzido pelo PEG, e também pela sua baixa reatividade química comparada às nanopartículas sem recobrimento. Isso foi reforçado por ensaios enzimáticos uma vez que o tratamento de nFe3O4-PEG foi também o menos prejudicial à atividade da alfa-amilase. A espectroscopia de fluorescência de raios-X (XRF) mostrou que a maior parte do Cu e do Fe incorporados pelas sementes permaneceu no tegumento, especialmente na região do hilo, e a tomografia de raios-X indicou que nFe3O4-PEG penetrou nesta estrutura. A espectroscopia de absorção de raios-X (XAS) revelou que o ambiente químico do Cu e do Fe das sementes tratadas com nCuO e nFe3O4-PEG persistiram majoritariamente em sua forma primitiva. Estes resultados contribuem para o entendimento de como nCuO, nFe3O4 e nFe3O4-PEG interagem com sementes de feijão e destaca seu potencial uso no tratamento de sementes

La miniaturisation des appareils électroniques et la multiplication de leurs fonctionnalités conduisent à développer des microsources d’énergie adaptées, parmi lesquelles figurent les microbatteries au lithium. Malgré leurs excellentes performances, ces systèmes de stockage électrochimique tout solide restent toutefois limités en termes de capacité surfacique. Cette caractéristique étant intrinsèquement liée aux matériaux d’électrodes, nous avons choisi de nous intéresser à des couches minces de CuO, dont la capacité volumique théorique (426 µAh .cm-2.µm-1) est sensiblement plus élevée que celle des matériaux d’intercalation utilisés jusqu’à présent. Ce matériau réagit avec le lithium selon un mécanisme particulier, dit de conversion, qui induit la formation d’un système multiphasé et nanostructuré d’une grande complexité. Dans le cadre de ce travail, la compréhension des mécanismes électrochimiques et chimiques mis en jeu au cours du cyclage de couches minces d’oxyde de cuivre (CuO) a été l’objectif majeur. Celui-ci a nécessité une caractérisation fine du matériau actif d’électrode et des interfaces générées (interfaces solide/solide et interface solide/électrolyte). Ces études ont été principalement menées à partir de la Spectroscopie Photoélectronique à Rayonnement X (XPS), de la Microscopie à Force Atomique (AFM) et d’une modélisation théorique exploitant les méthodes de la chimie quantique. Les propriétés chimiques et morphologiques des couches minces de CuO cyclées ont été corrélées à leur comportement électrochimique. Une forte influence de leur structure et de leur morphologie initiales a pu être ainsi mise en évidence / The miniaturization of electronic components and the increasing number of their functionalities lead to the development of suitable energy microsources, among which lithium microbatteries appear. Despite the excellent performances of these all-solid-state electrochemical power sources, one main limitation that remains is their surface capacity. Its value being intrinsically connected to the nature of electrode materials, we chose to focus on CuO thin films which are characterized by a theoretical volumetric capacity (426 µAh .cm-2.µm-1) in far larger than the one of conventional intercalation materials used today. Indeed, this material reacts with lithium according to a particular mechanism, referred as conversion reaction, inducing the formation of a multiphase nanostructured system with a high complexity. In the framework of this study, understanding of electrochemical and chemical mechanisms which take place during the cycling of copper oxide thin films (CuO) was the main objective. This one has required a fine characterization of the electrode active material and the generated interfaces (solid/solid interfaces and solid/electrolyte interface). These studies have been mainly carried out with X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and theoretical approaches based on quantum chemistry methods. The chemical and morphological properties of the cycled CuO thin films have been linked to their electrochemical behavior. An important influence of their initial structure and morphology was then evidenced.

Nanotechnology offers a great potential do design fertilizers with unique properties capable to boost the plant productivity. However, the nanoparticles environmental fate and their toxic responses still need to be deeply investigated to their safe use. This study aims to investigate the effect of copper oxide (nCuO) and magnetite nanoparticles (nFe3O4) on the germination and seedling development of Phaseolus vulgaris L. Seeds were treated in nanoparticles dispersions in a wide range of concentrations (1, 10, 100 and 1 000 mg L-1) and incubated in a germination chamber during 5 days. Different sized nCuO (25, 40 and <80 nm) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) coated nFe3O4 were evaluated. Although both nCuO and nFe3O4 treatments did not affected the germination rate, seedling weight gain was promoted by 40 nm CuO at 100 mg Cu L-1 and inhibited by 1 000 mg Cu L-1 of 25 nm CuO and positive control (CuSO4). Among the tested nCuO, the higher chemical reactivity was found for the 25 nm CuO, and this may partially explain the observed deleterious effects. Seeds treated in nFe3O4-PEG at 1 000 mg Fe L-1 increased radicle elongation compared to the negative control (water), while Fe2+/Fe3+ (aq) (positive control) and bare nFe3O4 at 1 000 mg Fe L-1 treatments reduced the radicle of the seedlings. The growth promoted by the PEG-coated nanoparticles can be justified by the higher water uptake induced by the PEG, and also by its lower chemical reactivity compared to the bare nanoparticles. This was reinforced by enzymatic assays since nFe3O4-PEG treatment was also the least harmful to the alpha-amylase activity. X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) showed that most of the Cu and Fe incorporated by the seeds remained in the seed coat, specially in the hilum region, and X-ray tomography indicated that Fe3O4-PEG penetrated in this structure. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) unraveled that the Cu and Fe chemical environment of the nCuO and nFe3O4-PEG treated seeds persisted mostly in its primitive form. These results contribute to the understanding of how nCuO, nFe3O4 and nFe3O4-PEG interact with common bean seeds and seedlings and highlights its potential use in seed priming / A nanotecnologia oferece um grande potencial para o desenvolvimento de fertilizantes com propriedades únicas, capazes de impulsionar a produtividade das plantas. Contudo, o destino ambiental e os efeitos tóxicos das nanopartículas ainda necessitam ser profundamente investigados para o seu uso seguro. Este estudo visa investigar o efeito das nanopartículas de óxido de cobre (nCuO) e magnetita (nFe3O4) na germinação e desenvolvimento das plântulas de Phaseolus vulgaris L. As sementes foram tratadas em dispersões de nanopartículas em diversas concentrações (1, 10, 100 and 1 000 mg L-1) e incubadas em uma câmara de germinação durante 5 dias. Diferentes tamanhos de nCuO (25, 40 e <80 nm) e nFe3O4 recoberta com polietileno glicol (PEG) e foram avaliados. Embora ambos tratamentos de nCuO e nFe3O4 não afetaram a taxa de germinação, o ganho de massa das plântulas foi promovido pela nCuO de 40 nm à 100 mg Cu L-1 e inibido pelos tratamentos de nCuO de 25 nm e controle positivo (CuSO4) à 1 000 mg Cu L-1. Dentre as nCuO testadas, a maior reatividade química foi encontrada para a nCuO de 25 nm, e isso pode explicar parcialmente os efeitos deletérios desta nanopartícula. Sementes tratadas com nFe3O4-PEG à 1 000 mg Fe L-1 aumentaram o alongamento das radículas em comparação ao controle negativo (água), enquanto que os tratamentos Fe2+/Fe3+ (aq) (controle positivo) e nFe3O4 sem recobrimento à 1 000 mg Fe L-1 reduziram as radículas das plântulas. O crescimento promovido pelas nanopartículas recobertas com PEG pode ser justificado pela maior absorção de água induzido pelo PEG, e também pela sua baixa reatividade química comparada às nanopartículas sem recobrimento. Isso foi reforçado por ensaios enzimáticos uma vez que o tratamento de nFe3O4-PEG foi também o menos prejudicial à atividade da alfa-amilase. A espectroscopia de fluorescência de raios-X (XRF) mostrou que a maior parte do Cu e do Fe incorporados pelas sementes permaneceu no tegumento, especialmente na região do hilo, e a tomografia de raios-X indicou que nFe3O4-PEG penetrou nesta estrutura. A espectroscopia de absorção de raios-X (XAS) revelou que o ambiente químico do Cu e do Fe das sementes tratadas com nCuO e nFe3O4-PEG persistiram majoritariamente em sua forma primitiva. Estes resultados contribuem para o entendimento de como nCuO, nFe3O4 e nFe3O4-PEG interagem com sementes de feijão e destaca seu potencial uso no tratamento de sementes