Ce travail a porté sur l'étude des propriétés des monocouches de copolymères diblocs neutres-chargés de poly(tert-butylstyrène)/poly(styrène sulfonate) à l'interface eau/air. Conformément aux modèles théoriques, l'étude des isothermes de compression des monocouches a permis de montrer que les chaînes chargées ancrées à l'interface ont une conformation de type brosse osmotique aux aires moléculaires étudiées. Nous montrons aussi l'importance du solvant d'étalement sur les isothermes de pression de surface et une restructuration de l'interface à forte compression qui apparaît sous la forme d'une relaxation de la pression de surface. Les observations de la monocouche par microscopie à l'angle de Brewster et diffusion de rayons X ont révélé l'existence d'une instabilité de flambage de l'interface. Lors de sa compression, l'interface se déforme et laisse apparaître des structures de grandes dimensions (5 à 35 micromètres), aisément observables malgré leur faible amplitude (quelques nanomètres). Nous avons montré que l'apparition du flambage résulte d'un échange de molécules entre l'interface et la sous-phase. Nous avons proposé différents mécanismes de déformation de la monocouche qui permettent de rendre compte qualitativement des différentes caractéristiques du flambage comme la dépendance de la taille des structures avec l'épaisseur de la monocouche, la dépendance de la pression d'apparition des structures avec la concentration en copolymère dans la sous-phase et l'insensibilité au sel. L'impossibilité de mesurer directement l'amplitude des structures à l'interface nous a conduit à développer une nouvelle méthode d'observation des monocouches à l'interface eau/air au moyen d'un microscope à force atomique. Les résultats obtenus sur différentes couches à l'interface eau/air montrent ainsi toutes les potentialités de cette nouvelle technique dans l'observation de monocouches présentant des domaines de taille inférieure à 100 nm.

Transgenic plant systems have been proposed as bioreactors in the production of pharmaceutical and industrial proteins. The economic benefits of inexpensive plant production systems could be erased if the downstream processing ends up being expensive. To avoid monoclonal antibody (mAb) modification or fouling of chromatography resins, removal of phenolics from plant extracts is desirable. Removal of major phenolics in Lemna extracts was evaluated by adsorption to PVPP, XAD-4, IRA-402 and Q-Sepharose resins. Analysis of phenolics adsorption to XAD-4, IRA-402 and Q-Sepharose showed superior dynamic binding capacities at pH 4.5 than at 7.5. The economic analysis using SuperPro Designer 7.0 indicated that addition of a phenolics adsorption step would increase mAb production cost only 20% by using IRA-402 compared to 35% for XAD-4 resin. The overall mAb processing cost can be reduced by implementing a phenolics removal step. To understand phenolics-resin interactions, adsorption isotherms of phenolic compounds (chlorogenic acid, ferulic acid, rutin, syringic acid and vitexin-2-O-rhamnoside) from different phenolic classes on three resins (IRA-402, PVPP, XAD-4) at pH 4.5 and 7.5 were determined. Differences in adsorption with the type of phenolics were observed, and PVPP was not efficient for phenolics removal. Screening of sugarcane lines for bovine lysozyme (BvLz) accumulation indicated that expression levels are still inadequate for commercial development. To maximize BvLz extraction, pH and ionic strength were evaluated; five conditions resulted in equivalent BvLz/TSP ratio. Membrane filtration process using BvLz extracts attained partial removal of native proteins by the 100 kDa membrane step, but also BvLz loss (21-29%). Regardless of the extraction condition, at least 47% of the starting BvLz was lost during the membrane processing. None of the evaluated extraction conditions caused a substantial recovery of BvLz in the concentrate. Alternative purification options for the IEX+HIC process, which achieved 95% BvLz purity, were tested. Direct loading of sugarcane extract concentrate on HIC and XAD-4 pretreatment of juice did not recovered BvLz as effectively as the IEX chromatography. Pure BvLz was obtained by the XAD+HIC process, but higher purification fold and HIC yield were achieved by the IEX+HIC process, due to the complete separation of BvLz and 18-kDa protein.

The central concern of this thesis is the study of non-equilibrium behaviour in magnetic materials and its interpretation within the framework of the Preisach model of hysteresis. Comprehensive experimental characterizations of the field and temperature and time dependence of a suite of standard magnetic response functions have been performed on a variety of magnetic materials, including a naturally occurring mineral of nanodimensional titanomagnetite particles embedded in volcanic glass, a compressed powder of nanodimensional magnetite particles immobilized in an organic binder, a thin film of nanodimensional Fe particles embedded in alumina, and a series of sintered, bond-disordered CaxSr1-xRuO3 ferromagnets. The measurements were compared with numerical simulations based on a model Preisach ensemble of thermally activated two-level subsystems, characterized individually by a double well free energy profile in a two-dimensional configuration space, an elementary moment reversal, a dissipation field and a bias field, and characterized collectively by a distribution of these characteristic fields. Our efforts were concentrated on two principal spheres of investigation. (1) By performing detailed numerical simulations of the relaxation response of model Preisach collections of two-level subsystems under the same field and temperature protocols used to probe experimentally the relaxation dynamics of spin glasses, we have been able to show that aging, memory and rejuvenation effects are ubiquitous features of all materials which possess a broad distribution of free energy barriers which block the approach to thermal equilibrium. (2) We propose a general strategy for isolating and quantifying the two principal mechanisms, thermal fluctuations and barrier growth, which are jointly responsible for shaping the measured temperature dependence of the magnetic properties of all magnetic materials which exhibit a history dependent response to an external field excitation, and is based on the analysis of viscosity isotherms and, in particular, on a plot of T ln(tr/0) versus Ha , where tr is the time at which a viscosity isotherm measured in a field Ha at temperature T reverses sign. When thermal activation dominates barrier growth, this plot will yield a universal curve while, in the opposite limit the plot fractures into a family of isothermal curves. The strategy is applied to the analysis of each magnetic material listed above. / February 2009

A deposition - precipitation method was developed to produce magnesium hydroxide / zeolite 4A (Mg(OH)₂ - Z4A) nanocomposites at mild conditions and the effect of processing variables such as precursor concentration, type of base added, and synthesis time on the composition, size, and morphology of the nanocomposite were studied. It was determined that the precursor concentration, basicity, and synthesis time had a significant effect on the composition, size, and morphology of the deposited magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)₂) nanostructures. The properties of the Mg(OH)₂ - Z4A such as surface area, pore volume and composition were characterized. Mg(OH)₂ - Z4A samples and bare zeolite 4A were dispersed in Ultem® polymer to form a mixed matrix membrane. The thermal and mechanical properties of the resulting films were investigated. It was found that the addition of rigid bare zeolites into the polymer decreased the mechanical properties of the polymer composite. However, some of these adverse effects were mitigated in the polymer composite loaded with Mg(OH)₂ - Z4A samples. Isotherms for the adsorption of Mg(OH)₂ petals on zeolite 4A were measured in order to determine the optimum conditions for the formation of magnesium hydroxide / zeolite 4A nanocomposites at ambient conditions. The loading of the Mg(OH)₂ can be determined from the adsorption isotherms and it was also found that the adsorption of Mg(OH)₂ on zeolite A occurs via 3 mechanisms: ion exchange, surface adsorption of Mg²⁺ ions, and surface precipitation of Mg(OH)₂. Without the addition of ammonium hydroxide, the predominant processes are ion exchange and surface adsorption of Mg²⁺ ions. In the presence of ammonium hydroxide, Mg(OH)₂ crystals are precipitated on the surface of zeolite 4A at moderate Mg²⁺ ions concentration and the loading of Mg(OH)₂ was found to increase with increasing Mg²⁺ ions concentration. A detailed examination of the interactions between Mg(OH)₂ and functional groups on the zeolite surface was conducted. Solid-state 29Si, 27Al, and 1H NMR spectra were coupled with FTIR measurements, pH and adsorption studies, and thermogravimetric analyses to determine the interactions of Mg(OH)₂ with surface functional groups and to characterize structural changes in the resulting zeolite after Mg(OH)₂ deposition. It was discovered that acid - base interactions between the weakly basic Mg(OH)₂ and the acidic bridging hydroxyl protons on zeolite surface represent the dominant mechanism for the growth of Mg(OH)₂ nanostructures on the zeolite surface.

The central concern of this thesis is the study of non-equilibrium behaviour in magnetic materials and its interpretation within the framework of the Preisach model of hysteresis. Comprehensive experimental characterizations of the field and temperature and time dependence of a suite of standard magnetic response functions have been performed on a variety of magnetic materials, including a naturally occurring mineral of nanodimensional titanomagnetite particles embedded in volcanic glass, a compressed powder of nanodimensional magnetite particles immobilized in an organic binder, a thin film of nanodimensional Fe particles embedded in alumina, and a series of sintered, bond-disordered CaxSr1-xRuO3 ferromagnets. The measurements were compared with numerical simulations based on a model Preisach ensemble of thermally activated two-level subsystems, characterized individually by a double well free energy profile in a two-dimensional configuration space, an elementary moment reversal, a dissipation field and a bias field, and characterized collectively by a distribution of these characteristic fields. Our efforts were concentrated on two principal spheres of investigation. (1) By performing detailed numerical simulations of the relaxation response of model Preisach collections of two-level subsystems under the same field and temperature protocols used to probe experimentally the relaxation dynamics of spin glasses, we have been able to show that aging, memory and rejuvenation effects are ubiquitous features of all materials which possess a broad distribution of free energy barriers which block the approach to thermal equilibrium. (2) We propose a general strategy for isolating and quantifying the two principal mechanisms, thermal fluctuations and barrier growth, which are jointly responsible for shaping the measured temperature dependence of the magnetic properties of all magnetic materials which exhibit a history dependent response to an external field excitation, and is based on the analysis of viscosity isotherms and, in particular, on a plot of T ln(tr/0) versus Ha , where tr is the time at which a viscosity isotherm measured in a field Ha at temperature T reverses sign. When thermal activation dominates barrier growth, this plot will yield a universal curve while, in the opposite limit the plot fractures into a family of isothermal curves. The strategy is applied to the analysis of each magnetic material listed above.

The central concern of this thesis is the study of non-equilibrium behaviour in magnetic materials and its interpretation within the framework of the Preisach model of hysteresis. Comprehensive experimental characterizations of the field and temperature and time dependence of a suite of standard magnetic response functions have been performed on a variety of magnetic materials, including a naturally occurring mineral of nanodimensional titanomagnetite particles embedded in volcanic glass, a compressed powder of nanodimensional magnetite particles immobilized in an organic binder, a thin film of nanodimensional Fe particles embedded in alumina, and a series of sintered, bond-disordered CaxSr1-xRuO3 ferromagnets. The measurements were compared with numerical simulations based on a model Preisach ensemble of thermally activated two-level subsystems, characterized individually by a double well free energy profile in a two-dimensional configuration space, an elementary moment reversal, a dissipation field and a bias field, and characterized collectively by a distribution of these characteristic fields. Our efforts were concentrated on two principal spheres of investigation. (1) By performing detailed numerical simulations of the relaxation response of model Preisach collections of two-level subsystems under the same field and temperature protocols used to probe experimentally the relaxation dynamics of spin glasses, we have been able to show that aging, memory and rejuvenation effects are ubiquitous features of all materials which possess a broad distribution of free energy barriers which block the approach to thermal equilibrium. (2) We propose a general strategy for isolating and quantifying the two principal mechanisms, thermal fluctuations and barrier growth, which are jointly responsible for shaping the measured temperature dependence of the magnetic properties of all magnetic materials which exhibit a history dependent response to an external field excitation, and is based on the analysis of viscosity isotherms and, in particular, on a plot of T ln(tr/0) versus Ha , where tr is the time at which a viscosity isotherm measured in a field Ha at temperature T reverses sign. When thermal activation dominates barrier growth, this plot will yield a universal curve while, in the opposite limit the plot fractures into a family of isothermal curves. The strategy is applied to the analysis of each magnetic material listed above.

Choosing the right solvent is critical for many industrial applications. A useful property for selection of solvents is their solubility parameters. This concept of solubility parameters is central to this thesis and has been used in two different case studies of material treatment applications. Silicone rubber (crosslinked poly(dimethyl siloxane), PDMS) has many favorable material properties making it useful in biomedical devices. However, a limiting aspect of its material properties is a hydrophobic surface. The aim of this work was to prepare a hydrophilic PDMS material while retaining the transparency of the material. To do this, PDMS was combined with a hydrophilic polymer, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) in an interpenetrating polymer network (IPN). A two-step IPN synthesis method was developed and it was found that the solvent used for polymerization of PVP had a significant influence on the water-wettability and the transparency of the PVP/PDMS IPN. Several different analytical techniques were used for determining the degree of phase separation in the PVP/PDMS IPN. It was found, by using microscopy techniques, that the PVP phase domains varied between 200 nm up to a few micrometers, and the size of the phase domains was correlated to the solvent used for polymerization of the IPN. The second topic for which solvent effects were explored was for the use of mesoporous silica particles as potential drug delivery devices. In the present work a drug molecule, ibuprofen, was loaded into mesoporous silica particles using different solvents, and in addition adsorption isotherms were established in each solvent. The maximum loading of ibuprofen in the mesoporous material was achieved when using a nonpolar solvent, in particular liquid carbon dioxide was successfully used. One of the advantages of using liquid carbon dioxide is that no solvent residues are left in the final material, which is important for pharmaceutical applications. Furthermore, it was concluded that ibuprofen was stored in an X-ray amorphous form in the mesoporous particles. Release studies in water showed a rapid release of ibuprofen from the mesoporous silica particles, while the dissolution of samples with crystalline ibuprofen was slower. This was verified to be an effect of a larger exposed ibuprofen area in the ibuprofen-loaded mesoporous silica particles, and it was concluded that the intrinsic dissolution rate for the samples were identical.

The Onsager heat of transport for p-tert-butyltoluene was measured, as part of a series of preliminary experiments towards the determination of the importance of temperature gradients on the air-sea flux of carbon dioxide. The results presented in this thesis imply that the temperature gradient is a major contributor to the magnitude of the air-sea flux. The heat of transport has been measured for the p-tert-butyltoluene system by measuring stationary-state pressure changes for known temperature differences on the vapour side of the interface. At the pressure ranges used the number of mean free paths was always outside the Knudsen zone, but the values of Q* were approximately 100 % of the latent heat of vaporisation. Departures from linearity of plots of P against ΔT are attributed to temperature jumps at the surface of the dry upper plate. Both the results taken for p-tert-butyltoluene and the earlier results for water from this laboratory fit to a Type III BET isotherm, where the c parameter is not constant. They also reveal the importance of the temperature gradient in determining the value of the thermal accommodation coefficient, and provide a new method of measuring thermal accommodation coefficients for a variety of surfaces and vapours

O pinhão é a semente comestível da Araucaria angustifolia, sendo consumido no sul e sudeste do Brasil. Possui excelentes características nutritivas e energéticas. As sementes têm uma atividade de água muito elevada (>0,98), o que facilita o desenvolvimento de fungos durante a estocagem, dificultando a sua comercialização. A literatura sobre os seus aspectos nutricionais e tecnológicos é muito escassa. O objetivo principal deste trabalho foi determinar aspectos tecnológicos e de engenharia relacionados com o processamento e armazenamento do pinhão. Foi estudada a vida de prateleira do pinhão cru a 25°C (5 dias), 5°C (3 meses) e –18°C (mais de 8 meses) através de análises fisicoquímicas, microbiológicas e sensoriais. Foram propostas as seguintes operações preliminares para preservar a qualidade da semente comercializada: recepção, limpeza, seleção, classificação e armazenamento. Foram determinadas as isotermas de desorção do pinhão cru e cozido e de adsorção da farinha de pinhão cru em diferentes temperaturas (entre 10 e 40°C) sendo ajustados modelos da literatura e calculadas a entalpia e entropia diferenciais. Para os três casos o modelo que melhor se ajustou aos dados foi o de Chirife e a teoria compensatória foi aplicada. Foi avaliada também a cinética de secagem do pinhão cru e cozido em secador de bandeja a 55, 70 e 85°C. Os dados foram ajustados a modelos de secagem e calculadas as difusividades efetivas, sendo que a difusividade do pinhão cozido (1,18 a 3,17 x10-10 m2s-1) foi menor do que a do pinhão cru (1,64 a 4,52 x10-10 m2s-1), provavelmente devido à gelatinização do amido. Um dos processos empregados pela tecnologia de alimentos, com a finalidade de obter produtos estáveis a partir de sementes, é a produção de farinhas. Neste trabalho foi produzida farinha de pinhão variando as seguintes condições de processo: utilização de pinhão cru e cozido e diferentes temperaturas de secagem (55, 70 e 85°C). As farinhas produzidas com pinhão cozido apresentaram cor mais escura, com uma luminosidade menor (Lmédia= 75.8) e coordenada de cromaticidade maior (amédia= 6.9), quando comparadas com as farinhas de pinhão cru (Lmédia= 89.0, amédia= 2.1). A temperatura de secagem também influenciou a cor das farinhas produzidas com pinhão cru. Através de análise multivariada dos dados foi possível agrupar as amostras. A partir dos resultados da análise sensorial constatou-se que o suflê produzido com a farinha de pinhão cozido apresentou maior aceitação, obtendo-se um produto que une praticidade, inovação e apelo regional. Por último, como uma forma de aproveitamento da casca do pinhão, foi estudada a extração de compostos fenólicos da casca, como uma nova fonte de antioxidantes. Foram determinadas as melhores condições em termos de volume e concentração de solvente (etanol) e temperatura de extração, utilizando a metodologia de superfície de resposta. / The seeds of Araucaria angustifolia, named pinhão, are consumed in the South and Southeast of Brazil. Pinhão has good nutritious and energetic characteristics. Since the seeds have a high water activity (>0,98), they can be easily contaminated by mushrooms during the stockpiling, hindering its commercialisation. The literature about nutritional and technological aspects of pinhão is very scarce. The main objective of this work was to determine technological and engineering aspects of the processing and storage of pinhão. The Shelf life of raw pinhão was studied at 25°C (5 days), 5°C (3 months) and -18°C (more than 8 months) using physiochemical, microbiological and sensorial analyses. The following preliminary operations were proposed to preserve the quality of the seed for commercialisation: reception, cleaning, selection, classification and storage. Desorption of raw and cooked pinhão and adsorption isotherms of raw pinhão flour were determined at different temperatures (between 10 and 40°C), modelled using well know isotherm models and differential enthalpy and entropy were calculated. Results show that the Chirife model most appropriately represents the experimental data for the three cases and the enthalpy-entropy compensation theory was applied. Drying behavior of raw and cooked pinhão was studied at 55, 70 and 85°C. The data were adjusted to drying models and effective diffusivity were calculated. Values for cooked pinhão (1,18 to 3,17 x10-10 m2s-1) were smaller than values for raw pinhão (1,64 to 4,52 x10-10 m2s-1), probably due to starch gelatinisation. One of the processes used by food technology with the purpose of obtaining stable products from seeds, it is the production of flours. In this work pinhão flour was produced varying the following process conditions: use of raw or cooked pinhão and different drying temperatures (55, 70 and 85°C). Flours produced with cooked pinhão presented darker colour, with a smaller brightness (Lmean = 75.8) and larger coordinate of chromaticity (amean = 6.9), when compared with raw pinhão flours (Lmean = 89.0, amean = 2.1). Drying temperature also influenced the colour of flours produced with raw pinhão. Through multivariate analysis of the data it was possible to cluster the samples. Results of sensorial analysis show that soufflé produced with cooked pinhão flour presented larger acceptance, being obtained a new product with regional appeal. The extraction of phenolic compounds of pinhão coats was also studied as a new source of antioxidants. The best condition of solvent volume, ethanol concentration and temperature, using factorial design and response surface methodology, were obtained.

Nas etapas de processamento do couro, de limpeza da pele, de recortes e ajuste da espessura do couro, diferentes tipos de resíduos sólidos são gerados. Dentre esses resíduos, os pelos provenientes da etapa de depilação são descartados. Além disso, nas etapas finais do acabamento molhado do couro, em especial no tingimento, são adicionados corantes e outros produtos químicos com o objetivo de dar ao couro características superficiais, como cor e textura, gerando, consequentemente, efluentes de difícil tratamento devido ao potencial recalcitrante dos produtos químicos. O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar uma alternativa ao uso do pelo proveniente da etapa de depilação, possibilitando assim uma extensão no ciclo de vida deste resíduo como um adsorvente alternativo para remoção de corantes empregados na indústria do couro. O pelo (CHW) foi caracterizado através de microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV), espectroscopia de raios X dispersiva de energia (EDS), espectroscopia de infravermelho (FTIR), bem como sua área superficial específica e distribuição de tamanho de poro por análises de BET/BJH. A capacidade de remoção dos corantes Azul Ácido 161 (AB-161) e Preto Ácido 210 (AB-210) em soluções aquosas foi estudada emfaixas de pH de 1,0 a 10,0 e também a dosagem ótima de adsorvente. Nas isotermas de adsorção,o modelo de Liu foi o que melhor apresentou resultados para os dois corantes estudados em todas as temperaturas analisadas (30, 40 e 50ºC) No estudo cinético, o modelo de ordem-geral apresentou o melhor ajuste dos dados, com menor tempo de contato para remoção do corante AB-161 de 600 min com o pelo (CHW) e 90 min com o carvão ativado comercial (CAC), nos valores de pH 3,0 e pH 4,0, respectivamente. Para o corante AB-210 o menor tempo de contato para atingir o equilíbrio foi de 120 min e 90 min para CHW e o CAC, nos valores ótimos de pH de 2,0 e 4,0, respectivamente. O carvão produzido (AC-CHW) a partir do pelo residual foi ativado com H3PO4, caracterizado e testado em efluentes reais para remoção dos corantes Laranja Ácido 142 (AO-142) e Marrom Ácido 414 (AB-414). O carvão produzido apresentou um elevado diâmetro de poro (140,70 A), o que favoreceu a adsorção de moléculas maiores e mais complexas, como as presentes nos efluentes reais. Através do MEV e do FTIR observou-se a presença dos compostos estudados no AC-CHW após aadsorção, onde os resultados indicaram que os grupos funcionais de -CH=CH- participaram ativamente do processo de remoção. O pHzero obtido do AC-CHWfoi de 3,65, o que favoreceu a remoção desses compostos já que o efluente real apresenta um pH inferior a 4,0. Os percentuais de remoção obtidos de área sob as curvas de adsorção indicam uma remoção de 51,94% e 49,73% dos efluentes contendo AB-414 e AO-142, respectivamente. / In the stages of leather processing, skin cleansing, trimming and leather thickness adjustment, different types of solid waste are generated. Among these residues, hairs from the depilation stage are discarded. In addition, in the final stages of the wet finishing of leather, in particular in dyeing, dyes and other chemical products are added with the aim of giving the leather surface characteristics, such as color and texture, thus generating effluents that are difficult to treat due to the potential recalcitrant of chemicals. The objective of this work is to present an alternative to the use of hair from the depilation stage, thus allowing an extension in the life cycle of this residue as an alternative adsorbent for the removal of dyes used in the leather industry. The hair (CHW) was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), as well as its specific surface area and pore size distribution by analysis of BET/BJH. The ability to remove Acid Blue 161 (AB-161) and Acid Black 210 (AB-210) dyes in aqueous solutions was studied in pH ranges from 1 to 10 and also the optimum dosage of adsorbent. In the adsorption isotherms, Liu model presented the best results for the two dyes studied at all temperatures (30, 40 and 50ºC). In the kinetic study, the general-order model presented the best fit of the data, with a lowest contact time to remove the AB-161 dye of 600 min with the hair (CHW) and 90 min with the commercial activated charcoal (CAC) at pH 3.0 and pH 4.0, respectively For the dye AB-210, the lowest contact time to reach equilibrium was 120 min and 90 min for CHW and CAC, at the optimum pH values of 2.0 and 4.0, respectively. The charcoal produced (AC-CHW) from the residual was activated with H3PO4, characterized and tested in actual effluents to remove the Acid Orange 142 (AO-142) and Acid Brown 414 (AB-414) dyes. The carbon produced had a high pore diameter (140,70 A), which favored the adsorption of larger and more complex molecules, such as those present in the actual effluents. The presence of the compounds studied in the AC-CHW after adsorption was observed through the SEM and the FTIR, where the results indicated that the functional groups of -CH = CH- actively participated in the removal process. The obtained pHzero of AC-CHW was 3.65, which favored the removal of these compounds since the actual effluent had a pH lower than 4.0. The percentages of removal obtained from area under the adsorption curves indicate a 51.94% and 49.73% removal of the effluents containing AB-414 and AO-142, respectively.