Resumo Shewanella xiamenensis G5-03 foi capaz de descolorir o corante azo vermelho Congo em água residuária sintética. A influência de alguns fatores na eficiência da descoloração do corante foi avaliada. As condições ótimas de descoloração foram temperatura de 30-35 °C, pH 10,0 e condições estáticas. A cinética de descoloração do vermelho Congo se ajustou ao modelo de Michaelis–Menten (Vmax = 111,11 mg L-1 h-1 and Km = 448,3 mg L-1). A bactéria também foi capaz de degradar a benzidina, um produto da quebra da ligação azo do vermelho Congo, o que contribuiu para a redução da fitotoxicidade. A habilidade da S. xiamenensis G5-03 em simultaneamente descolorir e degradar o vermelho Congo demostra seu potencial de aplicação no tratamento de águas residuárias contendo corantes azo.

Abstract Shewanella xiamenensis G5-03 was observed to decolorize the azo dye Congo red in synthetic wastewater. The influence of some factors on the dye decolorization efficiency was evaluated. The optimal decolorization conditions were temperature 30-35 °C, pH 10.0, incubation time 10 h, and static condition. The kinetic of Congo red decolorization fitted to the Michaelis–Menten model (Vmax = 111.11 mg L-1 h-1 and Km = 448.3 mg L-1). The bacterium was also able to degrade benzidine, a product of azo bond breakage of the Congo red, which contributed to reduce the phytotoxicity. The ability of S. xiamenensis G5-03 for simultaneous decolorization and degradation of Congo red shows its potential application for the biological treatment of wastewaters containing azo dyes.

ABSTRACT The startup operation of distillation columns is one of the most complex steps performed in the industry. This complexity becomes even greater for thermally coupled extractive distillation systems. Thermally coupled configurations are commonly used in order to minimize the excessive amount of energy required to perform distillation. In view of this, this study aimed to develop a startup procedure for the thermally coupled extractive distillation system to obtain anhydrous ethanol by simulation using the computational package Aspen Plus Dynamics. From the startup procedure developed, the complex dynamic behavior of the system under study was analyzed (strong interaction between variables). Large variations in the stripping section of the extractive column were observed, resulting from the variation of the molar density of the liquid mixture in addition to the delay in the startup operation when the amount of ethanol in the recovery column increases.

Abstract Many industries are complex when it comes to operation mode. In order to reduce the problems related to strong coupling in these processes, the search for the incorporation of artificial intelligence devices has shown an increasing trend in recent years. Due to this complexity and control in multivariable processes, diagnosis and fault monitoring in the processes have become increasingly difficult. Therefore, the application of these devices has achieved satisfactory results regarding the procedures performed with human operators. Independent Component Analysis (ICA) is a signal separation technique that is based on the use of higher order statistics to estimate each of the unknown sources, through observation of various mixtures generated from these sources. Although there are recent works on using the ICA in industrial processes, few studies have been made in cases involving distillation columns. This paper proposes a control strategy based on the ICA technique, which makes the control loops decoupled and hence the performance easier. Compared to the conventional method, the technique provided a great improvement in control performance. Control structures were implemented in Simulink/Matlab® in communication with a 1,2-dichloroethane (1,2-EDC) plant simulated in Aspen Plus DynamicsTM.

In this work, applications of exergy and economic concepts to compression, heat exchange, and separation processes were used for calculation of the irreversibility rate, thermodynamic efficiency, and internal rate of return (IRR) of the profitability. A case study based on a real process, the purification of 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) in a high-purity distillation column, is presented. This column has the highest steam flow rate in any vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) plant. A configuration using a vapor compression heat pump is proposed for improvement of the energy efficiency without having to make important process modifications. Existing and proposed configurations were implemented using the Aspen Plus™ commercial simulator; the results of the existing configuration were validated with data extracted from the plant. The objective of this work was to compare the existing configuration with the proposed one, using a thermodynamic and an economic approach.