DEVELOPMENT OF MATERIALS IN THE CONCEPT OF DESIGN FOR SUSTAINABILITY FROM AGRICULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE USING MICROWAVE PYROLYSIS

• Grant number: 24/05202-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: September 01, 2024
• End date: August 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Materials and Metallurgical Engineering - Nonmetallic Materials
• Principal Investigator: Edson Cocchieri Botelho
• Grantee: Tayra Rodrigues Brazil
• Supervisor: Vania Maria Amaro Calisto
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia (FEG). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Guaratinguetá. Guaratinguetá , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidade de Aveiro (UA), Portugal
• Associated to the scholarship: 23/07964-7 - DEVELOPMENT OF MATERIALS IN THE CONCEPT OF DESIGN FOR SUSTAINABILITY FROM AGRICULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE USING MICROWAVE PYROLYSIS, BP.PD

Abstract

Pollution and the scarcity of non-renewable resources have directly impacted society, causing damage to public health and the environment, as well as destabilizing the economy. With this worrying scenario, it is of great importance to implement effective processes to produce sustainable materials from agricultural waste, posing a challenge both from an academic and industrial standpoint. In this sense, there is a growing interest in utilizing waste for the production of activated carbon (AC). Activated carbons (ACs) are carbonaceous materials, highly porous and non-graphitic, widely used as adsorbents due to their extensive surface areas. Their physical and chemical characteristics depend on the production methods, activation, and the nature of the precursor. However, there is a limitation in the use of AC related to its high production cost. Microwave pyrolysis stands out as a process due to its short thermal treatment times, making it energetically more sustainable compared to conventional conduction and convection methods due to its speed. Additionally, the use of agricultural waste for obtaining new materials contributes to a sustainable economy as it adds value to the waste. In this context, this proposal aims to produce AC in an industrial microwave oven, from agricultural waste in the presence of different activating chemical agents. Subsequently, the obtained ACs will be characterized and tested as adsorbents in water purification. Furthermore, the ACs will be regenerated to evaluate the number of usage cycles without significant loss of their characteristics. The AC with the best performance will be used to produce magnetic AC, which will also be tested as an adsorbent, with the advantage of easier recovery after use. Additionally, AC and magnetic AC will be produced on a larger scale by microwave methods to be used as a charge in composite production upon return to Brazil. The results obtained during this stage will allow for a comparative analysis of the ACs produced using an industrial microwave oven with strict control of experimental conditions with ACs produced using a domestically adapted microwave oven, which the researcher has been using in Brazil.