| Grant number: | 10/12240-8 |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral |
| Start date: | October 01, 2010 |
| End date: | September 30, 2011 |
| Field of knowledge: | Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Physics of Fluids, Plasma Physics and Electrical Discharge |
| Principal Investigator: | Elidiane Cipriano Rangel da Cruz |
| Grantee: | Nazir Monteiro dos Santos |
| Host Institution: | Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus Experimental de Sorocaba. Sorocaba , SP, Brazil |
Abstract The use of bioethanol from sugar cane as fuel is growing both in the national andinternational market increasing the demand for the product. To meet these needs,without increasing the acreage of cane sugar, is essential to develop new technologies toturn fuel production more effective. Various studies have been developed seeking tosimplify the extraction of the ethanol from bagasse and cane straw since this wouldproduce a significant increment in production without increasing the planted area .Although promising results have been achieved, the corrosion promoted in theconversion reactors still hinders the application of the developed processes on anindustrial scale. In this sense, the purpose of this study is to develop films by plasmaprocesses that can effectively act as protective layers against corrosion on metalsurfaces used in the processing of biomass and storage of bioethanol. It is proposed thedeposition of multilayered films to increase the chemical inertness of the stainless steel,material used in the construction of the reactors. Initially it will be applied a siliconcontainingorganic film and afterwards a hydrogenated amorphous carbon layer. Whilethe first aims to increase the chemical inertness of the surface, the second will act asmechanical protection for the first layer. Mixtures of the organic compoundshexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) or acetylene, with reactive and noble gases will beused to generate the deposition plasmas. Besides the chemical composition of theplasma, the effect of discharge power and pressure on the properties of the films will beevaluated. Flat substrates will be employed in the initial stage of work, to fasten theresults acquisition. Subsequently, films will be applied to stainless steel cylindricalshaped pieces, and their performances upon accelerated corrosion tests will be analyzed.The chemical composition and the microstructure of the films will be determined byInfrared, Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies. The thickness of the layerswill be measured by profilometry, while the wettability and surface energy will beevaluated by Contact Angle technique. Nanoindentation method will provide thehardness of the layers.. The corrosion resistance of the samples will be tested in saltspray chamber, by etching rate in reactive plasmas, by Electrochemical ImpedanceSpectroscopy, by potentiodynamic polarization tests and in reactors for hydrolysis andfermentation of the biomass. The topography of the samples will be accessed throughatomic force microscopy and their morphologies, before and after the corrosion tests,will be analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. Through these results, it should bepossible to establish correlations between material properties and structure and to obtaininformation on the mechanisms of the plasma deposition mechanisms. | |
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