Kinetics of the precipitation reaction between aluminium and contaminant orthophosphate ions.

The removal of phosphorous from wastewater in metal-orthophosphate systems typically occurs by simultaneous adsorption on poorly soluble metal hydroxides and by precipitation reactions between metal ions and orthophosphates in solution. To understand the individual contribution of these mechanisms to the removal of phosphorus, the main aim of this study was to determine the kinetics of consumption of contaminant orthophosphates by the precipitation reaction with aluminium ions in a solution free of insoluble aluminium hydroxide. To define the amount of aluminium and phosphorous compounds to be dissolved in water to have this desired reacting condition at a given pH, the solubilities of KH2PO4(s), Al(OH)3(s) and AlPO4(s) were examined at 25 °C in the pH range ∼2.6 to 7.9. pH-solubility diagrams for these ionic solids were made by solving a system of nonlinear algebraic equations involving dissolution, dissociation and hydrolysis reactions at equilibrium. The kinetics of the reaction between aluminium and orthophosphate ions at a reacting condition free of solids except for the product AlPO4(s) was investigated in a well-stirred batch reactor at pH ∼3.1 and 3.5 at 25 °C. A detailed kinetic model involving ten species, seven reversible reactions of hydrolysis of soluble aluminium and orthophosphate species and one reversible precipitation reaction between aluminium and phosphate ions revealed a rate constant for the latter reaction of 5.968 × 1010 L mol-1 s-1 (p = 0.191). XRD, TGA/DTGA and EDX analyses of the filtered and dried reacting mixture confirmed that the only solid product of the precipitation reaction was hydrated AlPO4(s).

Kinetics and Equilibrium of Mercury Sorption by Three Different Types of Live Algae

Abstract The kinetics and equilibrium of experimental data of mercury (II) sorption using three different macrophytes E. crassipes, E. azurea and S. ariculata were analyzed. From the kinetic models used, the model 1, which considers the surface area of constant sorption, presents the coefficient of determination, R2, closer to the unit (0.97). Already, in the liquid phase, the best fit of the experimental data was obtained for model 2 (R2=0.96), which considers the variable surface area. The calculated values for the determination coefficients indicate that the Redlich-Peterson isotherm best describes the equilibrium (R2=0.79). The results show that the macrophyte S. ariculata surface area, which presented the highest adsorption potential (15.77x10-4m2.g-1), was far below those found in the best adsorbents. However, considering the large volume of adsorbent material required in an industrial plant and the low cost of the analyzed adsorbents, it is considered that the macrophytes investigated have a considerable potential for the removal of mercury from wastewater.

Chemical kinetics of 5-o-caffeoylquinic acid in superheated steam: effect of isomerization on mate (Ilex paraguariensis) manufacturing.

A set of experiments was carried out to investigate the chemical stability of 5-o-caffeoylquinic acid (5-CQA) in the presence of superheated steam. A batch cylindrical reactor made of glass and isothermally operated between 398 and 499 K was used in the experiments. A high-performance liquid chromatograph equipped with a diode array detector was applied to monitor the 5-CQA concentrations. The conversions of 5-CQA were correctly reproduced with a simplified kinetic model represented by a reversible pseudofirst-order reaction of isomerization. The effect of temperature on the forward rate constant was represented by the Arrhenius equation with parameters tuned on experimental data. The heat of isomerization of 5-CQA and the equilibrium constant at 298 K were calculated by involving the integrated form of the van't Hoff equation. The observed reaction was revealed to not be detrimental for the quality of manufactured leaves and branches of mate because the content of total chlorogenic acids was not changed.

Selective liquid CO2 extraction of purine alkaloids in different Ilex paraguariensis progenies grown under environmental influences.

In this investigation, liquid carbon dioxide at 20 degrees C and 150 bar was used for the selective extraction of caffeine and theobromine from dry leaves of mate. A comparison between the chromatograms from CO2 extraction and traditional solvent extraction supports the selectivity of carbon dioxide for these purine alkaloids. The advantages of selective liquid CO2 extraction in terms of speed and resolution of UV/HPLC is also evidenced. A randomized block design of experiments was proposed to investigate the influence of 16 progenies of Ilex paraguariensis grown in 3 diverse sites on the contents of caffeine and theobromine in liquors of mate leaves obtained by extraction with compressed CO2. A significant effect of both these factors on the parameters investigated was observed by involving the F distribution in the statistical analysis. A cluster analysis based on the experimental uncertainties in the contents of these two methylxanthines has identified from four to six different groups of mate progenies.

Avaliação da qualidade de carcaças suínas no período de resfriamento / Quality evaluation of swine carcasses in the period of cooling

Estudos buscaram acompanhar o processo de resfriamento de carcaças suínas, durante o período anterior ao espostejamento, em uma planta processadora de carnes frigorificadas. Foram relacionadas as principais variáveis envolvidas durante três diferentes processos de resfriamento (padrão e propostos) no que se refere à qualidade microbiológica, pH e aw da carne suína, além da visualização do comportamento da temperatura com o tempo na carcaça e no ambiente. Foi observado que a utilização de um sistema de choque térmico brando (duas horas em túnel estático a -5ºC) antes do envio das carcaças à câmara de equalização não alterou as características como pH, aw e contagem das bactérias mesófilas, e ainda apresentou um ganho no tempo de resfriamento das mesmas, podendo este ser convertido em um aumento no volume de abate da planta frigorífica.