Rising anthropogenic CO2 emissions are considered a major contributor to the greenhouse effect. There are several options for reducing atmospheric CO2 levels, and among these alternatives, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) has been identified as an effective and promising approach. This work investigated the feasibility of using serpentinite as a vehicle for carbon storage presenting a source-sink match. The main results of the work confirmed that serpentinite is appropriate for the carbonation process due to the high concentration of Mg in its composition.

Nas últimas décadas têm sido desenvolvidos novos materiais sintéticos que possuam biofuncionalidade e biocompatibilidade para que se tornem um biomaterial. Polímeros bioestáveis têm uso generalizado no campo biomédico, sendo que muitos avanços em biomateriais poliméricos têm ocorrido na busca de melhorias aos implantes cardiovasculares. Atualmente, os materiais sintéticos mais utilizados para a fabricação de próteses vasculares são o PET e o PTFE devido a sua estabilidade química após o implante. Neste trabalho é apresentado um estudo das propriedades térmicas e mecânicas de dispositivos comerciais à base de PET e PTFE, bem como sua citotoxicidade em células de fibroblastos de camundongos, 3T3-NIH, através de testes para a avaliação da viabilidade celular (teste VN e MTT). Estes materiais apresentaram grande estabilidade térmica (acima de 300 ºC), mesmo após 270 dias de degradação in vitro e um comportamento elástico (deformação máxima de 186±22% para o PET e de 65±19% para o PTFE). A viabilidade celular por VN e MTT do dispositivo de PTFE foi superior a 80%, permitindo classificar o mesmo como não citotóxico. No teste de VN, o dispositivo de PET não apresentou efeito citotóxico, contudo os resultados por MTT indicaram que o mesmo causa alteração da funcionalidade mitocondrial, independente da dose e tempo avaliados.

In recent decades new synthetic materials have been developed with adequate biofunctionality and biocompatibility to become a biomaterial. Biostable polymers have widespread use in the biomedical field, and many advances in polymeric biomaterials have been made in the search for improvements to cardiovascular implants. Currently, the most commonly used synthetic materials for the production of vascular grafts are PTFE and PET, due to their chemical stability after implant. In this work, a study of the thermal and mechanical properties of the commercial devices based on PET and PTFE is reported, as well as their cytotoxicity in mouse fibroblast cells, 3T3- NIH, through tests for the evaluation of cell viability (MTT test and VN). These materials showed high thermal stability (over 300 ° C), even after 270 days in vitro degradation and elastic behavior (maximal strain value of 186±22% by PET and 65±19% by PTFE). Cell viability by VN and MTT of PTFE device was more than 80%, thus, classified as non-cytotoxic. For PET device, VN test showed no cytotoxic effect, however the results obtained by MTT indicated that it causes alteration of mitochondrial function, independent of dose and time measured.

Due to their versatility, polyurethane (PU) foams have many different applications, such as sponges, filling materials in furniture, automotive seats and clothes, among others. It is also one of the main refrigerator components serving as a heat insulating material. As PUs find different application niches, they must be largely produced and, consequently, lots of waste are generated. In this work we intend to contribute to the recycle of this waste. The recovery of polyol from flexible polyurethane foams was carried out using the glycolysis process and testing different catalysts. Grounded polyurethane and a solvent, diethyleneglycol (DEG), were kept at 200 ºC and under nitrogen atmosphere during three hours in the presence of a catalyst. All catalysts tested promoted the polyol mixture formation, with Zinc acetate producing the best depolymerization rate. The catalysts efficiency for the depolymerization reaction follows the order: DBTDL< BTO< HBTO< DEA ≈ Ba(Ac)2< MEA ≈ KAc< Zn(Ac)2.

Um sistema catalítico simples e eficiente, baseado em RuCl3 imobilizado em líquidos iônicos, foi desenvolvido para oxidar álcoois a aldeídos e cetonas sob condições brandas. Um novo líquido iônico fluorado, pentadecafluorooctanoato de 1-n-butil-3-metilimidazólio, foi sintetizado e demonstrou melhor desempenho que os demais líquidos iônicos empregados. Além disso, este sistema catalítico utiliza oxigênio molecular como agente oxidante, produzindo somente água como subproduto.

An efficient and simple catalytic system based on RuCl3 dissolved in ionic liquids has been developed for the oxidation of alcohols into aldehydes and ketones under mild conditions. A new fluorinated ionic liquid, 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium pentadecafluorooctanoate, was synthesized and demonstrated better performance that the other ionic liquids employed. Moreover this catalytic system utilizes molecular oxygen as an oxidizing agent, producing water as the only by-product.