Thermal study of organic waste for assessment of sorption of toxic substances

• Grant number: 11/18748-6
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: December 01, 2011
• End date: November 30, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Sanitary Engineering - Environmental Sanitation
• Principal Investigator: Leandro Cardoso de Morais
• Grantee: Leandro Cardoso de Morais
• Host Institution: Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus Experimental de Sorocaba. Sorocaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Jo Dweck ; Valquiria de Campos

Abstract

Waste from the production industries of orange juice come meet 25,000 ton/day causing a significant impact on the environment and be harmful to public health. Brazil is now the largest producer of orange juice in the world, most of this cultivation is in the State of São Paulo. The objective of this project will conduct a thermal study of dry orange peel, which has effects of pyrolysis and burning, noting its potential energy. Also checked the possibility of sorption of organic contaminants such as phenol, benzene and toluene by thermal analysis. The dry sample and pyrolysis will be characterized in terms of porosity and specific surface area by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and analysis (BET), the analysis of trace elements will be made by X-ray fluorescence (XRF). Validation of methodology for sorption studies using thermal analysis will be done by comparing the results obtained by these techniques in relation to the quantification by spectrophotometry in the UV-Visible region. (AU)