Relatively few pre-treatment interventions to increase out-patient mental health (MH) service use have been created and experimentally tested. Therefore, not only is there limited availability of these interventions, it is uncertain whether existing interventions are effective. Moreover, it is unclear which components of the interventions are effective. To address these gaps in knowledge, a systematic review of pre-treatment interventions was conducted, using the Cochrane Review methodology. Three primary outcomes were evaluated: attendance at any type of out-patient MH visit; number of appointments of any type of out-patient MH visit; and/or initiation and adherence to psychotropic medication. PubMed and PsycINFO databases were thoroughly searched for studies that met the inclusion criteria. A data extraction form was designed and employed to systematically extract data from all included studies. In the 15 included studies, 18 different active interventions were evaluated. The interventions ranged in duration of interaction from one mailed flyer to ten 90-minute psychoeducation sessions. Most studies (n = 11) included one intervention group, compared with one control, or usual care, group. The interventions were categorized by the type of barriers they aimed to address, resulting in six broad categories: MH knowledge; MH knowledge/attitudes; MH knowledge/attitudes/ logistical barriers; MH knowledge/family involvement; care management; and home visits. All included studies received a quality assessment rating of "good" or "fair." The main finding of this thesis is that all categories of interventions increased at least two of the three primary outcomes. The care management interventions measured and increased all three outcomes; these interventions also had some of the highest quality ratings. Therefore, care management interventions appear most effective at increasing out-patient MH service use. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

The severe effects associated with global warming and the rapid increase in oil prices are the driving forces behind the demand for clean carbon–neutral and biofuels such as bioethanol. Research studies are now focusing on using lignocellulosic biomass for bioethanol production due to concerns about food security and inflation. The chosen feedstock for this study was maize stover, given that it is the most abundant agricultural residue in South Africa. Maize stover consists of structural carbohydrates that can be enzymatically converted into fermentable sugars. The major drawback in the production of bioethanol from lignocellulosic biomass has been its high equipment and operational costs due to the use of acids and high enzyme loadings. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of optimizing the enzyme hydrolysis of pre–treated maize stover without further increasing the amount of enzymes. The maximum glucose yield attained was 690 ± 35 mg of glucose per gram of substrate which is equivalent to a conversion efficiency of 119%. The preferred pre–treatment method used was 3% sulphuric acid for 60 minutes at 121oC and the enzymatic hydrolysis process was performed at a 5% substrate loading, 50oC and pH 5.0 using 30 FPU per gram of cellulose in the presence of 1.25 g.L–1 of Tween 80 for 48 hours. The addition of Tween 80 increased the glucose yields by 23 % and thus, it has the potential of lowering the overall process costs by increasing the glucose yield without further addition of enzymes. Keywords: Bioethanol, maize stover, lignocellulosic biomass, pre–treatment, enzymatic hydrolysis / Thesis (M.Sc. Engineering Sciences (Chemical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The severe effects associated with global warming and the rapid increase in oil prices are the driving forces behind the demand for clean carbon–neutral and biofuels such as bioethanol. Research studies are now focusing on using lignocellulosic biomass for bioethanol production due to concerns about food security and inflation. The chosen feedstock for this study was maize stover, given that it is the most abundant agricultural residue in South Africa. Maize stover consists of structural carbohydrates that can be enzymatically converted into fermentable sugars. The major drawback in the production of bioethanol from lignocellulosic biomass has been its high equipment and operational costs due to the use of acids and high enzyme loadings. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of optimizing the enzyme hydrolysis of pre–treated maize stover without further increasing the amount of enzymes. The maximum glucose yield attained was 690 ± 35 mg of glucose per gram of substrate which is equivalent to a conversion efficiency of 119%. The preferred pre–treatment method used was 3% sulphuric acid for 60 minutes at 121oC and the enzymatic hydrolysis process was performed at a 5% substrate loading, 50oC and pH 5.0 using 30 FPU per gram of cellulose in the presence of 1.25 g.L–1 of Tween 80 for 48 hours. The addition of Tween 80 increased the glucose yields by 23 % and thus, it has the potential of lowering the overall process costs by increasing the glucose yield without further addition of enzymes. Keywords: Bioethanol, maize stover, lignocellulosic biomass, pre–treatment, enzymatic hydrolysis / Thesis (M.Sc. Engineering Sciences (Chemical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The potential human health issues resulting from the continuous consumption of drinking water containing low concentration levels of persistent emerging pollutants has raised some concerns. The presence of emerging pollutants in surface water bodies and ground-water in Canada together with absence of proper drinking water treatment processes in remote places has created the need for an effective and simple process for removal of emerging pollutants from drinking water. Low seasonal temperatures in regions such as Saskatchewan demand a removal process that is effective at temperatures lower than room temperature. Adsorption with granular activated carbon is a well-established and effective method for removal of organic compounds from drinking water. There are a large number of reports on removal of organic compounds by activated carbon in literature however, the effectiveness of adsorption of emerging pollutants with granular activated carbon is not clear. Effectiveness of ozone treatment for oxidation of emerging pollutants is reported in literature however, effectiveness of regeneration of adsorbents saturated with emerging pollutants with ozone has not been investigated extensively. In the present work, effectiveness of adsorption with granular activated carbon for removal of emerging pollutants is investigated. Three model compounds of Ibuprofen, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, and Bisphenol A reported at considerable concentration levels in Saskatchewan water bodies were selected as model compounds. Bituminous coal based and coconut shell based granular activated carbons with basic point of zero charge were selected as adsorbents. Isotherm adsorption of model compounds on adsorbents was conducted at 280, 288, and 296 K. The Gibbs free energy, enthalpy, and entropy of adsorption were calculated using isotherm model parameters. Nitric acid pre-treatment was applied to reduce the point of zero charge of adsorbents. Adsorption isotherms were conducted with the acid treated adsorbents. Adsorption removal of model compounds in tap water was studied. Effectiveness of regeneration of saturated adsorbents with ozone was investigated. In terms of quality of fit to the isotherm adsorption data, Langmuir model was better than Freundlich model indicating monolayer adsorption of model compounds in all experiments. Higher Langmuir monolayer adsorption capacity (Qmax) of bituminous coal based adsorbent than coconut shell adsorbent for adsorption of model compounds was attributed to the higher porosity of bituminous coal based adsorbent. Adsorption of model compounds (i.e. IBP and BPA) present in molecular form in the pH condition of the experiments were more dependent on adsorbent surface functional groups e.g. carboxyl and carbonyl groups. The Qmax of adsorption of 2,4-D present in anionic form was proportional with the specific surface area of adsorbent. Adsorption at temperatures lower than room temperature was effective. Adsorbent with acidic point of zero charge was more effective in removal of model compounds than adsorbent with basic point of zero charge. Adsorption of BPA was higher in tap water in comparison to Millipore water due to the more neutral surface of adsorbent in tap water. Higher pH of tap water than Millipore water and the ionic interaction between the adsorbent and dissolved solids present in tap water caused the more neutral surface of adsorbent. Regeneration of adsorbents with ozone failed in restoration of adsorption capacity of adsorbents and excessive ozonation destroyed the pore structure of adsorbents.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:03:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 IvaniceBS_DISSERT_.pdf: 1465096 bytes, checksum: 4d6e3186d410a1d86bc5ff69ec8190c4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-12-19 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / The plants are often exposed to variations in environmental conditions that may trigger metabolic disturbances leading to a consequent loss in productivity of crops. These stressful conditions usually induce an accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the cell, a condition known how oxidative stress. Among these species, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is an important molecule involved in numerous signaling mechanisms. The present study aimed to understand the relationship between the different enzymatic mechanisms of elimination of H2O2 by catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) in leaf tissues of seedlings of the species Vigna unguiculata L. Walp, under conditions of oxidative stress induced by application of CAT inhibitor, 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole (3-AT), and H2O2 itself on the roots. Three experiments were conducted. The first experiment was performed applying the compound 3-AT (5 mM) during the time (hours). In the second experiment, seedlings were exposed to different concentrations of H2O2 (2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10 mM) for 48 h. The third strategy included the pre-treatment with H2O2 (2.5 mM) for 24 h, followed by subsequent treatment with the inhibitor 3-AT and recovery control condition. Treatment with 3-AT causes a strong inhibition of CAT activity in leaf tissues accompanied by an increase of activity of APX. However a decrease in oxidative damage to lipids is not observed as indicated by TBARS. It was observed that activity of APX is directly linked to the content of peroxide. Inductions in the activities of CAT and APX were observed mainly in the seedlings treated with 2.5 mM H2O2. This can be associated with a decrease in oxidative damage to lipids. In contrast, one same tendency was not observed in treatments with higher concentrations of this ROS. These results suggest that the concentration of 2.5 mM H2O2 can induce responses antioxidants later in seedling cowpea. This concentration when applied as pre-treatment for 24 h promoted an induction systems removers CAT and APX, both in activity and in terms of gene expression. However this increment was not observed in the recovered plants and the plants subsequently subjected to 3-AT. Additionally, the pretreatment was not sufficient to attenuate the inhibition of CAT activity and oxidative damage to lipids caused by the subsequent application of this inhibitor. The results showed that the application of 3-AT and H2O2 in the root systems of seedlings of cowpea promote changes in the parameters analyzed in leaf tissues that indicate a direct response to the presence of these factors or systemic signaling mecanisms. H2O2 appears to activate the responses of two antioxidant systems in this study thar does not promote greater protection in case of additional treatment with 3-AT. This demonstrates the importance of the CAT system. In this work, complete results indicate that there is a difference between the signaling and the effects caused by exposure to H2O2 and by treatment with 3-AT / As plantas s?o expostas frequentemente a varia??es nas condi??es ambientais, que podem desencadear dist?rbios metab?licos levando a uma consequente perda na produtividade das culturas. Estas condi??es estressoras normalmente induzem um ac?mulo de esp?cies reativas de oxig?nio (EROS) na c?lula, caracterizando uma condi??o de estresse oxidativo. Dentre estas esp?cies, est? o per?xido de hidrog?nio (H2O2), uma importante mol?cula envolvida em in?meros mecanismos de sinaliza??o. O presente estudo pr?pos compreender a rela??o entre os diferentes mecanismos enzim?ticos de elimina??o do H2O2 pelas enzimas catalase (CAT) e ascorbato peroxidase (APX) em tecidos foliares de pl?ntulas da esp?cie Vigna unguiculata L. Walp, sob condi??es de estresse oxidativo induzido por meio da aplica??o do inibidor de CAT, o 3-amino-1,2,4-triazol (3-AT), e do pr?prio H2O2 no sistema radicular. Tr?s experimentos foram realizados. No primeiro experimento foi realizada a aplica??o do composto 3-AT (5 mM) durante o tempo (horas). No segundo experimento, pl?ntulas foram expostas a diferentes concentra??es de H2O2 (2,5; 5,0; 7,5; 10 mM) por 48 h. A terceira estrat?gia compreendeu o pr?-tratamento com H2O2 (2,5 mM) por 24 h, seguido de tratamentos subsequentes com o inibidor 3-AT e a recupera??o a condi??o controle. O tratamento com o 3-AT ocasiona uma forte inibi??o na atividade da CAT nos tecidos foliares, acompanhado por uma tend?ncia de aumento na atividade da APX. Este, no entanto, n?o levou a uma diminui??o dos danos oxidativos aos lip?deos, como indicado pelo TBARS. Observou-se que a atividade da APX est? diretamente ligada aos conte?dos de per?xido. Indu??es nas atividades da CAT e da APX foram observadas, principalmente nas pl?ntulas tratadas com 2,5 mM de H2O2, o que est? associado a uma diminui??o dos danos oxidativos aos lip?deos. Em contraste, esta mesma tend?ncia n?o foi evidenciada nos tratamentos com maiores concentra??es desta ROS. Estes resultados sugerem que a concentra??o de 2,5 mM de H2O2 pode induzir respostas antioxidantes posteriores nas pl?ntulas de feij?o caupi. De fato, esta concentra??o, quando aplicada na forma de pr?-tratamento durante 24 h, promoveu uma indu??o dos sistemas removedores da CAT e da APX, tanto na atividade, como ao n?vel de express?o g?nica. No entanto, esta melhora n?o foi observada nas plantas recuperadas e nas plantas posteriormente submetidas ao 3- AT. Adicionalmente, o pr?-tratamento n?o foi suficiente para atenuar a inibi??o da atividade de CAT e os danos oxidativos aos lip?deos provocados pela subsequente aplica??o deste inibidor. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram que a aplica??o do composto 3-AT e do H2O2 nos sistemas radiculares de pl?ntulas de feij?o caupi promovem modifica??es nos par?metros analisados nos tecidos foliares, o que pode indicar tanto uma resposta direta ? presen?a destes fatores, quanto uma resposta de sinaliza??o sist?mica nestas plantas. O H2O2 parece ativar as respostas dos 2 sistemas antioxidantes testados, no entanto, n?o promove uma maior prote??o em caso de tratamento adicional com o 3-AT, demonstrando a import?ncia do sistema da CAT. Analisados em conjunto, os resultados deste estudo indicam que h? uma diferen?a entre a sinaliza??o e os efeitos provocados pela exposi??o ao H2O2 e por tratamento com 3-AT

Nas últimas décadas observou-se tanto o crescimento das preocupações ambientais e de sustentabilidade. Neste contexto, surgiu o conceito de biorrefinaria. No Brasil, uma das principais lavouras agroindustriais é a produção de cana-de-açúcar. A indústria sucroalcooleira já atua como um modelo de biorrefinaria tendo a possibilidade de produção de açúcar de etanol e ainda de energia elétrica. Contudo, existe grande potencialidade de produtos de originários de biomassa vegetal. Alguns exemplos das potencialidades são: (i) a utilização dos açúcares da fração polissacarídica para produção de etanol; (ii) produção de polpa e papel; (iii) produção de nanomateriais entre outras. Assim, este trabalho se propõe a buscar e aplicar tecnologias e processos voltados a utilização da cana-de-açúcar para a obtenção de produtos variados. O primeiro processo utilizado é a separação das frações casca e miolo da cana-de-açúcar: na casca existe uma baixa quantidade de células de armazenamento de açúcar e uma maior proporção de fibras estruturais ademais, da epiderme extrai-se a cera; na fração miolo concentra-se a maior parte do caldo rico em sacarose, pela elevada quantidade de células de parênquima. Visando elevar a concentração de sacarídeos para a produção de etanol estudou-se a realização de um processo hidrotérmico usando o próprio suco da cana-de-açúcar para a extração de açúcares da fração de hemiceluloses. Observou-se que para a reação hidrotérmica em meio neutro na faixa de temperaturas estudada (110 a 130°C) cerca de 95% dos sacarídeos são conservados. Contudo, nestas condições reacionais a preservação de massa de hemiceluloses também se mantém nesta faixa, assim verificou-se que o uso de um catalizador ácido permitiria uma conservação de sacarídeos similar e aceleraria a reação de remoção de hemiceluloses. Usando processos similares aos usados na indústria de papel e celulose obteve-se dois materiais celulósicos das frações casca e miolo de cana-de-açúcar com características físico-mecânicas diferenciadas. Apesar do maior teor de células de parênquima no miolo original, observou-se que o papel desta fração apresentou resultados promissores com propriedades similares ao de papeis comerciais. A partir destas polpas, obteve-se dois materiais celulósicos nanofibrilados distintos, sendo o material da casca dúctil e o de miolo mais rígido (maior módulo de Young) e ao mesmo tempo mais frágil (menor alongamento para a ruptura). Verificou-se ainda que a partir dessas polpas celulósicas pode-se produzir nanocristais de celulose II usando um processo de hidrólise e solubilização com ácido sulfúrico seguido de reprecipitação. Desenvolveu-se o processo de produção de nanocristais de celulose I usando água subcrítica associado ou não a CO2. Este processo tem o potencial de substituir a atual produção de nanocristais de celulose visto que neste utiliza-se somente água (com ou sem CO2) para promover a hidrólise em oposição ao método clássico que usa elevadas concentrações de ácido sulfúrico permitindo uma economia financeira e produzindo menor volume de resíduos. / In the last decades environmental concerns and sustainability have grown. In this context, the biorefinery concept arose. In Brazil, one of the leading agro-industrial crops is the production of sugarcane. The sugar industry is already a model of a biorefinery because of the possibility of producing ethanol, sugar and even electricity. However, plant biomass still has a great potential to produce new materials and chemicals. Some of the capabilities are: (i) the use of the sugars from the polysaccharide fraction aiming the ethanol production; (ii) the production of pulp and paper; (iii) production of nanomaterials, among others. This work aims to seek and apply technologies and processes to obtain different products from sugarcane. The first used is the separation of the rind and core fractions of sugarcane: in the rind there is a low amount of sugar storage cells and a higher proportion of structural fibers, and also wax from the epidermis; the core fraction concentrates the majority of the sucrose rich broth as consequence of the high quantity of parenchyma cells. In order to increase the concentration of saccharides a hydrothermal process was studied using the own juice of sugar cane to extract sugars from the hemicellulose fraction. It was observed that for the hydrothermal reaction in neutral medium in the temperature range studied (110 to 130 °C) of about 95% saccharides are conserved. However, in these reaction conditions the hemicellulose preservation is also kept in this range, so it was found that the use of an acid catalyst allow similar saccharides recovery and accelerate the hemicellulose removal. Using similar procedures to those of the pulp and paper industry two cellulosic materials with differentiated physical and mechanical characteristics were obtained from the rind and core fractions of sugarcane. Although most parenchyma content in the original core material, it was observed that this fraction showed promising results with properties similar to commercial papers. From these pulps, two different nanofibrillated cellulosic materials were obtained, being the rind material a ductile material and the core a rigid (higher Young\'s modulus) and brittle (lower elongation at break) one. It was also found that from these pulps cellulose II nanocrystals can be produced using a process of hydrolysis and solubilization with sulfuric acid followed by a reprecipitation process. The production of cellulose I nanocrystals through processes using subcritical water with or without CO2 were developed. These processes have the potential to replace the current nanocrystals production since only water is used (with or without CO2) to promote the hydrolysis, compared to the traditional method, which uses high concentrations of sulfuric acid, thus enabling economical saves and producing less amount of wastes.

A indústria de laticínios no Brasil gerou no 2014 em torno de 88,5 bilhões de litros de efluente, o resíduo gorduroso (RG) separado no tratamento deste efluente, atualmente carece de tratamento. A digestão anaeróbia (DA) é uma opção de tratamento a partir da qual é possível, entre outras coisas, obter biogás, fonte renovável de energia, que representa uma importante alternativa para compor a matriz energética do país. No entanto, resíduos lipídicos, além de gerar lodos de difícil manejo, descompõem-se em ácidos graxos de cadeia longa (AGCL) que inibem os microrganismos metanogênicos. Como estratégia para tratar efetivamente este resíduo, avaliou se um sistema de co-digestão anaeróbia empregando RG advindo da caixa de gordura de um laticínio, e, bagaço de cana de açúcar (BCA) pré-tratado em condições sub e supercríticas de CO2: (i) 40°C / 70 bar (ii) 60°C / 200 bar e (iii) 80°C / 200 bar, com e sem adição de NaOH, respectivamente. Dos pré-tratamentos avaliados, destaca-se o pré-tratamento com CO2 a 60°C e 200bar pelo qual foi possível remover 8,07% de lignina. A produção metanogênica advinda da digestão anaeróbia de bagaço de cana de açúcar foi aumentada em todos os casos nos quais o material foi pré-tratado com CO2 sub e supercrítico, com exceção do caso no qual se utilizou elevada temperatura e NaOH como modificador de polaridade. Os resíduos advindos da caixa de gordura apresentaram elevado potencial metanogênico na faixa de concentração de substrato estudada, sem que nenhuma inibição fosse verificada. A co-digestão de resíduos gordurosos e bagaço de cana, pré-tratados ou não, não apresentou vantagem com relação à mono-digestão dos materiais. / The dairy industry in Brazil generated in 2014 around 88.5 billion litters of effluent, the fatty residue, separated in the treatment of this effluent, currently lacks treatment. Anaerobic digestion is a treatment option from which it is possible, among other things, to obtain biogas, a renewable source of energy, which represents an important alternative to fix the country\'s energy matrix. However, lipid residues form sludges that are difficult to manage and decompose into long chain fatty acids (LCFAs) that are inhibitory to methanogenic microorganisms. As a strategy to effectively treat this residue, we evaluated an anaerobic co-digestion system employing fatty residues from a fat box of a dairy plant, and sugarcane bagasse pre-treated under sub and supercritical CO2 conditions: (i) 40°C / 70 bar (ii) 60°C / 200 bar and (iii) 80°C / 200 bar, with and without addition of NaOH respectively. Of this pre-treatments, stood out the one with CO2 at 60°C and 200 bar by which was achieved the removal of 8.07% of lignin. The methanogenic production from the anaerobic digestion of sugarcane bagasse was increased in all cases in which the material was pre-treated with sub and supercritical CO2, with the exception to the cases in which high temperatures and NaOH were combined. The residues from the dairy fat box showed high methanogenic potential in the concentration range evaluated and no inhibition was verified. The co-digestion of the greasy residues and the sugarcane bagasse with and without pre-treatment, did not present advantage in compare to the mono-digestion of the materials.

Orientadores: Rubens Maciel Filho, Aline Carvalho da Costa / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Química / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-16T07:08:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Gomez-Rueda_SandraMarcela_M.pdf: 7950373 bytes, checksum: c7f5e37417de9cac03256c3918348b65 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Resumo: Neste trabalho foi estudada a produção de açúcares fermentescíveis a partir de bagaço de cana-de-açúcar pré-tratado com os ácidos sulfúrico (H2SO4) e fosfórico (H3PO4) diluídos e deslignificado com hidróxido de sódio (NaOH). Planejamentos fatoriais 23 foram realizados para avaliar a influência do tempo de pré-tratamento (h), temperatura (°C) e concentração de H2SO4 ou H3PO4. Depois do pré-tratamento ácido, o bagaço foi deslignificado por 1h a 100°C com 1%p/v. Os resultados mostraram que ambos pré-tratamentos podem levar a altos rendimentos de glicose na hidrólise enzimática. Os melhores resultados para o ácido fosfórico foram obtidos quando o bagaço foi pré-tratado a 140°C, 120 min e 0,5%p/v H3PO4. Após deslignificação com NaOH e hidrólise enzimática com 15 FPU/g de bagaço pré-tratado e 7,5 CBU/g de bagaço pré-tratado houve liberação de 367 mg de glicose/g bagaço sem pré-tratar, que corresponde a um rendimento de 88%. Quando o ácido sulfúrico foi usado, os melhores resultados foram obtidos para pré-tratamentos a 100°C por 15 min e com 0,5%p/v de H2SO4. Após deslignificação e hidrólise enzimática nas mesmas condições usadas para o bagaço pré-tratado com ácido fosfórico, o bagaço apresentou liberação de 380,6 mg de glicose/g bagaço sem pré-tratar, que corresponde a rendimento de 92%. Devido aos bons resultados obtidos usando ácido fosfórico sendo este pré-tratamento menos estudado do que o pré-tratamento com ácido sulfúrico, o pré-tratamento com este ácido foi escolhido para a etapa posterior. Nesta etapa foram feitos ensaios para determinar a influência das concentrações das enzimas celulase e ?-glicosidase no rendimento de glicose. O bagaço foi pré-tratado com ácido fosfórico diluído nas melhores condições determinadas, deslignificado com NaOH e hidrolisado com concentrações de celulase e ?-glicosidase variando segundo um planejamento composto central. Trabalhando-se com concentrações de celulase de 30 FPU/g e de ?-glicosidade de 25 CBU/g foi possível obter rendimento de 97,1%. Rendimento de 95,10% apenas um pouco mais baixo, foi obtido com 25,85 FPU/g de celulase e 7,33 CBU/g de ?-glicosidade / Abstract: In this work the production of fermentable sugars from sugar cane bagasse pretreated with diluted sulfuric acid and phosphoric acid and delignified with NaOH was estudied. 23 Factorial designs were performed to evaluate the influence of pretreatment time (h), temperature (°C) and acid concentration (H2SO4 or H3PO4). After pretreatment bagasse was delignified for 1 hour at 100 ° C with 1% p/v NaOH. The results have shown that both pre-treatments can lead to high glucose yields at enzymatic hydrolysis. The best results for the pretreatment with phosphoric acid was when bagasse was pretreated at 140 ° C, 120 min and 0.5% p/v H3PO4. After delignification with NaOH and enzymatic hydrolysis with 15 FPU/g of cellulase and 7,5 CBU/g of ?-glicosidase, 367 mg glucose/g untreated bagasse were released, corresponding to a 88% yield. When sulfuric acid was used, the best results were obtained for pretreatment at 100°C, for 15 min and with 0,5%p/v of H2SO4. After delignification and hydrolysis at the same conditions used in the phosporic acid pretreatment, glucose release was of 380,6 mg glucose/g non pretreated bagasse, corresponding to a 92% yield. Due to the good results obtained using phosphoric acid and because pretreatment with this acid is less studied than with sulfuric acid, it was chosen for the posterior stages of the study. In this stage experimental assays were performed to determine the influence of cellulase and ?-glucosidase loads on glucose yield at hydrolysis. Bagasse was pretreated with diluted phosphoric acid at the best conditions, delignified with NaOH and hydrolysed with cellulase and ?-glucosidase loads varying according to a central composite factorial design. Yield of 97.17% was obtained with 30 FPU/g of cellulase and 25 CBU/g of ?- glucosidase. Yield of 95.10%, only a little lower, was obtained with 25.85 FPU/g of cellulase and 7.33 CBU/g of ?-glucosidase / Mestrado / Desenvolvimento de Processos Químicos / Mestre em Engenharia Química

Abstract Nanocellulose is envisioned as one of the key product innovations of future biorefineries, since it can potentially function in numerous high-end applications and replace many current petroleum-based products due to its superior properties, abundance and renewable nature. The main difficulty hindering the industrial upscaling of nanocellulose is the lack of feasible techniques for processing cellulose fibres on a nanoscale. At the same time, ongoing research efforts have concentrated on charting the suitability of nanocellulose for various novel applications. The chemical functionalization of cellulose is currently regarded as a significant step for both enhancing nanocellulose fabrication and increasing its value as a product by virtue of its adjustable surface properties. This thesis reports on the surface functionalization of cellulosic fibres by means of two new chemical pre-treatments based on periodate oxidation and sequential chlorite oxidation or reductive amination for use in the fabrication of nanocelluloses. The properties of the resulting nanocelluloses were characterized and their applicability to novel film structures was investigated. Both nanoporous thin films for composite membranes and self-standing barrier films were manufactured and studied for their suitability in water purification and packaging applications, respectively. The oxidation of cellulose to 2,3-dicarboxylic acid cellulose (DCC) significantly enhanced the nanofibril production as only 1-4 passes through the homogenizer were required for disintegration of the fibres down to nano-scale. The fabricated DCC-nanofibrils had both high optical transmittance and viscosity comparable to that of TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibrils. DCC-nanofibrils with a carboxyl content of 1.75 mmol/g showed a potential for functioning as a nanoporous thin-film membrane layer in ultrafiltration tests. The second pre-treatment introduced an acid-free fabrication of amphiphilic cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) with uniform width and length into nanocellulose production for the first time. Reaction conditions of periodate oxidation were presumed to be one of the key factors to impact the formation of either CNCs or cellulose nanofibrils. The butylamino-functionalized CNCs were used to fabricate barrier films that showed good mechanical strength and high resistance to permeation by oxygen even at elevated relative humidity. / Tiivistelmä Yksi metsäteollisuuden viimeisimmistä tuoteinnovaatiosta on nanoselluloosa, jolle on esitetty lukuisia uusia sovellusmahdollisuuksia sekä potentiaalia toimia korvaavana raaka-aineena öljypohjaisille tuotteille sen erinomaisten materiaaliominaisuuksien sekä globaalin saatavuuden ja uusiutuvuuden takia. Nanoselluloosan teollista hyödyntämistä on kuitenkin hidastanut kustannustehokkaiden valmistusmenetelmien puuttuminen. Samanaikaisesti on tehty laaja-alaista tutkimustyötä nanoselluloosan soveltuvuudesta uusiin käyttökohteisiin. Selluloosan kemiallista funktionalisointia pidetään tällä hetkellä yhtenä lupaavimpana menetelmänä tehostamaan sekä nanoselluloosan valmistusta että tuomaan lisäarvoa nanokuiduille, joiden pintaominaisuuksia voidaan muokata. Tässä työssä tutkittiin selluloosakuitujen funktionalisointia perjodaattihapetukseen sekä kloriittihapetukseen tai pelkistävään aminointiin perustuen ja nanoselluloosan valmistusta esikäsitellystä selluloosasta. Työssä tutkittiin erityisesti valmistettujen nanoselluloosien ominaisuuksia ja selvitettiin niiden soveltuvuutta uudentyyppisiin filmirakenteisiin. Filmirakenteita muokkaamalla tehtiin nanohuokoisia komposiittimembraaneita vedenpuhdistukseen sekä barrier-filmejä pakkausmateriaaleihin. Selluloosan hapetus 2,3-dikarboksyylihapposelluloosaksi tehosti nanoselluloosan valmistusta huomattavasti ja kuidut saatiin hajotettua 1-4 läpäisyllä homogenisaattorissa. Valmistetut DCC-nanofibrillit olivat optisesti läpinäkyviä sekä niiden viskositeetti oli yhtä korkea kuin aiemmin raportoiduilla TEMPO-hapetettuilla nanofibrilleillä. Ultrasuodatuskokeissa DCC-nanofibrilleistä pystyttiin muodostamaan nanohuokoinen kerros membraaninpinnalle, jota on mahdollista käyttää vedenpuhdistuksessa. Pelkistävällä aminointiesikäsittelyllä selluloosakuiduista onnistuttiin ensimmäistä kertaa valmistamaan kooltaan yhdenmukaisia amfifiilisiä selluloosananokiteitä ilman yleisesti käytettyä happohydrolyysiä. Siten työssä nanoselluloosien valmistukseen käytetyn perjodaattihapetuksen havaittiin soveltuvan sekä selluloosananokiteiden että selluloosananofibrillien valmistukseen. Butyyliamino-funktionalisoiduista selluloosananokiteistä valmistetut barrier-filmit olivat mekaanisesti vahvoja ja ne ehkäisivät hapenläpäisyä jopa korkeassa ilmankosteudessa.

This thesis deals with pre-treatment of surface of aluminium alloys. The theoretical part focuses on the properties of aluminium and its alloys, on methods of surface treatment and the possibilities of quality assessment of pre-treated surface. The experimental part deals with finding of a proper method of pre-treatment. The quality of surface pre-treatment is assessed by observation by SEM with EDS and by single lap shear tests of adhesive joints. According to evaluated results, the optimalised methods are qualitatively and financially compared with the commercial method.