Process Engineering in Plants of Oil, Natural Gas and Renewable Energies

• Grant number: 25/03844-2
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: September 01, 2025
• End date: August 31, 2030
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Principal Investigator: Osvaldo Chiavone Filho
• Grantee: Osvaldo Chiavone Filho
• Host Institution: Centro de Tecnologia. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN). Natal , SP, Brazil
• Pesquisadores principais: Alessandro Alisson de Lemos Araújo ; Amilcar Machulek Junior ; Anderson Alles de Jesus ; Anderson Clayton Alves de Melo ; Camila Gambini Pereira ; Camila Pacelly Brandão de Araújo ; CARLOS EDUARDO DE ARAUJO PADILHA ; Douglas do Nascimento Silva ; Edson Luiz Foletto ; Elisama Vieira dos Santos ; EVERALDO SILVINO DOS SANTOS ; Francisco de Assis da Silva Mota ; Igor Lopes de Andrade ; Italla Medeiros Bezerra ; JOSE HERIBERTO OLIVEIRA DO NASCIMENTO ; Katherine Carrilho de Oliveira Deus ; LINDEMBERG DE JESUS NOGUEIRA DUARTE ; Maria Carlenise Paiva de Alencar Moura ; Renata Martins Braga ; Sandi Itamar Schafer de Souza ; VANJA MARIA DE FRANÇA BEZERRA
• Associated researchers: Adilson José de Oliveira ; Domingos Fabiano de Santana Souza ; Humberto Neves Maia de Oliveira ; Liana Franco Padilha ; NATHALIA SARAIVA RIOS ; SALETE MARTINS ALVES ; Tereza Neuma de Castro Dantas

Abstract

This proposal consists of the Human Resources Program (HRP) of the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), entitled "Process Engineering in Plants of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Renewable Energy". It is also an interdisciplinary research project, encompassing several areas related to the theme of Process Engineering, within the scope of Chemical Engineering (CE) and Mechanical Engineering (ME) at UFRN. Students at the undergraduate (GRA) and graduate levels are assisted. The Program began in October 1999 (Public Call No. 01/1999/PRH-ANP) with undergraduate, master's and doctoral courses in EQ, the former PRH14. In 2005, the Program was expanded and the GRA course in ME was implemented. We had an interruption in the grant of ANP scholarships between approximately 2015 and 2019, however, the Program's activities were maintained with training HRs, development of applied research in the area, interaction with the industry, holding of Workshops and insertion of graduates in the labour market. Then, we were also classified in the second phase of the HRPs (Public Call No. 01/2018/PRH-ANP), starting activities in April 2020. In this second phase, the Program was named PRH44.1 and is currently on. PRH44.1 focuses on: biofuels; biomass; environment; metrology and automation; production, refining and petrochemistry; and digital transformation. Research topics with work plans for the students are under development involving wind energy, carbon dioxide capture; biodiesel; biomass conversion and processing; advanced oxidation processes for wastewater treatment; separation processes; hydrogen generation via electrolysis; process modeling and simulation; computational fluid dynamics; automation; etc. The themes of the research plans aim to present visibility of application in the sector and meet current technical and scientific demands. Contacts with Petrobras (CENPES), Shell, Galp, Syensko, Brava Energia, PetroReconcavo, ISI-ER-CTGas/RN, etc., have expanded and guided the research demands and also specific training of HRs. Other methodologies adopted in the Program are the delivery of lectures by professionals from the Oil, Natural Gas and Renewable Energy sector; extension practices, such as a fluid dynamics computation and hybrid vehicle; research projects in partnership with the industry and in the development of processes, such as biodegradation and carbon dioxide capture; and student mobility through events and study missions in partner laboratories. Over the past 25 years, the ANP Process Engineering HRP has trained 160 engineers, 88 masters and 39 doctors, and opened up a new horizon of internship and employment opportunities for UFRN scholarship and non-scholarship students. During the period of validity of PRH44.1 (2020-25), 39 GRA, 15 master and 5 doctorate scholarship holders were implemented, with 1 doctorate, 9 masters and 20 engineers with the emphasis being formed. Along with the training of researchers, methodologies have been developed with infrastructure for applied research. In the last five years, the research production of PRH44.1 at UFRN has proven to be area-oriented and significant, with 507 published articles, 69 full papers in PDPetro (X, XI and XII) and another 168 with expanded abstracts in the PRH44.1 Workshops (7 editions from XXIV to XXX). Keslei Rosendo's doctoral thesis entitled "Modifications in post-marketed polyurethane foams for sorption of oil spills in seawater" was classified among the three best in the ANP Technological Innovation Award 2024. Strategies for approaching the industry are required to achieve the goal of inserting PRH44.1 graduates into the labour market. The research topics developed and under development can be seen in the books of abstracts of the program's Workshops as well as in the final documents of the researchers, i.e., monographs, master dissertations and doctoral theses at http://www.nupeg.ufrn.br/. (AU)