Antonio Carlos Luz Lisbôa

Evaluation of the diffusion coefficient for controlled release of oxytetracycline from alginate/chitosan/poly(ethylene glycol) microbeads in simulated gastrointestinal environments

Diffusion studies of OTC (oxytetracycline) entrapped in microbeads of calcium alginate, calcium alginate coacervated with chitosan (of high, medium and low viscosity) and calcium alginate coacervated with chitosan of low viscosity, covered with PEG [poly(ethylene glycol) of molecular mass 2, 4.6 and 10 kDa, were carried out at 37±0.5 °C, in pH 7.4 and pH 1.2 buffer solutions – conditions similar to those found in the gastrointestinal system. The diffusion coefficient, or diffusivity (D), of OTC was calculated by equations provided by Crank [(1975) Mathematics in Diffusion, p. 85, Clarendon Press, Oxford] for diffusion, which follows Ficks [(1855) Ann. Physik (Leipzig) 170, 59] second law, considering the diffusion from the inner parts to the surface of the microbeads. The least‐squares and the Newton–Raphson [Carnahan, Luther and Wilkes (1969) Applied Numerical Methods, p. 319, John Wiley & Sons, New York] methods were used to obtain the diffusion coefficients. The microbead swelling at pH 7.4 and OTC diffusion is classically Fickian, suggesting that the OTC transport, in this case, is controlled by the exchange rates of free water and relaxation of calcium alginate chains. In case of acid media, it was observed that the phenomenon did not follow Ficks law, owing, probably, to the high solubility of the OTC in this environment. It was possible to modulate the release rate of OTC in several types of microbeads. The presence of cracks formed during the process of drying the microbeads was observed by scanning electron microscopy.

Effect of operating conditions on scrap tire pyrolysis

The ever growing focus on environmental issues has raised concerns about scrap tires, whose major component - vulcanized rubber - does not degrade easily. When burned, tires release toxic gases containing substantial amounts of sulfur and ammonia in addition to other pollutants. Dumped on empty city lots, tires are also a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Many proposals have been put forward to handle the disposal of scrap tires, but none of them have proved to offer a definitive solution. The study reported here investigated the production of fuel oil and activated carbon from the pyrolysis of scrap tires. The initial mass of rubber yielded approximately 46% of oil, 40% of activated carbon and 14% of gases. The resulting activated carbon displayed a specific surface area of 200 m2.g-1.

Activated petroleum coke for natural gas storage

Activated Carbons (AC) are characterized by high specific surface area and high pore volume. They are mostly produced by activation of high carbon content precursors, for example petroleum coke (PC). In the present work samples of PC were chemically activated with potassium hydroxide (KOH). The activated PC presented high capacities of N2 adsorption at 77 K, with pore volumes up to 1.5 cm3 g-1 and specific surface area up to 2500 m2 g-1. The pore size distributions obtained indicate that the activated PC has pore sizes concentrated in the supermicroporous range (diameters between 0.7 nm and 2 nm). The temperature and the impregnation ratio used in the activation process were the variables that mostly affected the porosity of the activated PC. The storage capacity of the activated PC, obtained by methane adsorption at high pressure, was 91 v/v (methane volume stored by bed volume).

Brazilian natural fiber (jute) as raw material for activated carbon production

Jute fiber is the second most common natural cellulose fiber worldwide, especially in recent years, due to its excellent physical, chemical and structural properties. The objective of this paper was to investigate: the thermal degradation of in natura jute fiber, and the production and characterization of the generated activated carbon. The production consisted of carbonization of the jute fiber and activation with steam. During the activation step the amorphous carbon produced in the initial carbonization step reacted with oxidizing gas, forming new pores and opening closed pores, which enhanced the adsorptive capacity of the activated carbon. N2 gas adsorption at 77K was used in order to evaluate the effect of the carbonization and activation steps. The results of the adsorption indicate the possibility of producing a porous material with a combination of microporous and mesoporous structure, depending on the parameters used in the processes, with resulting specific surface area around 470 m2.g–1. The thermal analysis indicates that above 600°C there is no significant mass loss.