Virgínia Aparecida da Silva Moris

A study on the environmental aspects of WEEE plastic recycling in a Brazilian company

PurposeThe high consumption of electrical and electronic equipment motivated by the rapid technological advances seen over the years has lead to an increase in the generation of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). Such residues contain various dangerous substances and therefore deserve special attention. To that end, the Brazilian Policy on Solid Waste has provided guidelines on integrated and solid waste management, such as consumer electronics, aiming at their appropriate disposal and treatment through reverse logistics. In this context, the present work focuses on studying the recycling of some WEEE plastics.MethodsThis study was conducted using the methodological framework presented in the International Standard ISO 14040:2006 and aimed to determine the life cycle inventory (LCI) of a WEEE plastic recycling process in a company in Brazil. Having collected the data, it was possible to identify and quantify the environmental aspects caused by the recycling process of major plastics (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and high impact polystyrene (HIPS). The study was conducted in the only company in Brazil that operates WEEE plastic recycling in large scale.Results and discussionSome of the environmental aspects caused during the recycling process of the plastics under study were identified and quantified. As a result, besides presenting the inventory, it was also possible to determine a reduction in the consumption of energy and in CO2 emissions. When compared to the production of virgin ABS and HIPS, the recycling processes for such plastics showed a reduction in energy consumption by approximately 90% for both plastics and a reduction in CO2 emissions by approximately 84% for HIPS and 87% for ABS. The plastics recycled by the company retain over 90% of their virgin mechanical properties.ConclusionsThe study shows that recycling is highly relevant and that components present in WEEE received appropriate destination and treatment. Recycling avoids environmental impacts as it prevents WEEE from being disposed of in landfills and as the pellets of recycled plastics can re-enter the supply chain as raw materials. Considering the legislation in Brazil, the stage of collection/transport/treatment of WEEE conducted by the company under study presents strong indications of contributions to the environment, society, and economy of the country.

Filmes poliméricos baseados em amido e lignossulfonatos: preparação, propriedades e avaliação da biodegradação

We obtained polymer films from corn starch with lignin incorporation as lignosulfonate. The motivation is the use of starch in obtaining films, due to their potential for biodegradation, and the use of lignosulfonate waste from the pulp and paper industry. To obtain films of lignosulfonates various powders of lignosulfonate were used, varying type and proportion (1% to 4%). Analyses were performed on polymer films to compare thermal properties by Differential Scanning Calorimetry, and tensile properties in Dynamic Mechanical Thermal Analysis, DMTA. We emphasize analyses of biodegradation and gas emission using gas chromatography. According to the results of DMTA, most polymeric films containing lignosulfonates showed lower tensile strength when compared to polymer films without lignosulfonates (1.024 MPa). However, the films containing lignosulfonate modified with sodium (Vixil S) showed higher tensile strength when compared to other films containing lignosulfonates (Vixil I and Vixil Tan). With some displacement of the main maximum peak temperatures for the films containing lignosulfonate (4% Vixil S), thermal analysis similarities between the two main types of polymer films (starch and starch with lignosulfonate) were observed. All materials are biodegradable, but higher CO2 and N2O emissions were observed for samples of the films containing 4% lignosulfonate type, Vixil S, compared to the samples without lignosulfonate.

DESENVOLVIMENTO DE PONTO DE COLETA DE RESÍDUOS ELETROELETRÔNICOS

One of the biggest environmental problems faced by the society is related to the lack of suitable sites for the disposal of solid electronics waste in which there are in their composition hazardous and toxic substances to the environment and to the human health. The lack of awareness of a large part of the population regarding the need to conduct an environmentally friendly disposal of these residues is also part of the current reality. These facts which have been intensified by population growth, increased globalization and development of technological sectors, provide a greater focus on the creation of new sustainable policies. The National Policy of Solid Waste (PNRS) stimulated the development of projects related to solid waste management. According to the PNRS, the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) have the requirement of establishing the reverse logistics by the return of the product after the use of the consumer, for instance, by recycling processes. Yet, there are not enough points of collections and information available to begin the process of collection and proper disposal of WEEE, or agreements among governments, companies, cooperatives and consumers related to this compromise. Hence, this paper has involved the development of a prototype of WEEE collection point in partnership with the sustainable innovation center, Sinctronics. The concern for the prototype design, as well as the evaluation of the best location in the university environment and the media were essential to the collection point to become attractive and useful. The results obtained through observation and questionnaires showed that there has already been an environmental awareness at the university referring to the disposal of waste, however, until that moment, there were not na appropriate collection point and public awareness campaigns for the importance related to the proper disposal of WEEE and information regarding to the rehabilitation process of such waste in the production cycle.

Utilização de Resíduos de Borra de Café e Serragem na Moldagem de Briquetes e Avaliação de Propriedades

This work involved the molding briquettes with use of powder of coffee and eucalyptus wood sawdust residues. The briquettes produced from biomass can be applied as replacements for other fuels used in boilers for industrial processes or even for heating home in cold regions, using simple equipment. In Brazil and in many countries a large amount of waste coffee grounds is produced and wasted in daily life and in soluble coffee industry. The wood sawdust is also a fairly common residue in Brazil, especially in some cities that concentrate large number of companies that process wood. Then the molding of briquettes with these solid wastes is an opportunity to reuse the waste to produce a type of fuel from renewable sources, also including aspects related to bioenergy and Cleaner Production. Thus, in the present study were molded briquettes using the powder of coffee grounds and wood sawdust in different proportions of these materials to evaluate mechanical properties of diametrical compression. Also analyzes were performed to determine the moisture, volatile matter and ash contents, besides the determination of the calorific value content (PCS). All compositions containing sawdust briquettes caused increases in mean values of maximum resistance properties diametrical compression and elastic modulus when compared to the values of these properties of briquettes molded only with the coffee grounds. The different composition of briquettes containing sawdust presented similar value of resistance to diametrical compression. Considering the calorific values (PCS), all samples showed similar results compared to the literature. The briquettes containing only coffee grounds in the composition presents results of ash, volatile contents and PCS similar to the samples containing sawdust. However, the briquettes containing only coffee grounds showed lower maximum compressive strength compared to all other also molded with sawdust briquettes.

UMA REVISÃO DE LITERATURA SOBRE SOFTWARES UTILIZADOS EM ESTUDOS DE AVALIAÇÃO DO CICLO DE VIDA

The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an environmental management tool used to determine the environmental impact of a product, process or service throughout its lifecycle from data collection, especially in the phase of the Life Cycle Inventory (ICV). There is a wide variety of software available in the market to assist in these studies, and considering the ease that it and provide the database for LCA, this study conducts a review of literature on the subject. By analyzing the literature, it was found that the software has several methods of analysis impacts and database processes, enabling the comparison of scenarios. The results obtained with the software are impact analysis and interpretation of the results of the system, presenting them through graphs, flowcharts and tables. The software offer database that have information on the lifecycle of products generating a reduction in the time of data collection, but it should be remembered that the database have regional character and your data should be analyzed, since the set of data from a database may not cover exactly the studied system, affecting the results.

LOGÍSTICA REVERSA: ESTUDO DE CASO EM UMA EMPRESA DE REMANUFATURA DE EXTINTORES DE INCÊNDIO.

Concerns about the environment have led the society to develop new procedures to properly allocate the products that have reached the end of its useful life. From the point of view of companies operating channels of reverse logistics it is important to ensure both business viability and environmental compliance. This article presents a single case study and exploratory with the purpose of comparing motivations and difficulties for the operation of the reverse channel remanufacturing with the literature, in the case of fire extinguishers. For this reason, technical visits and interviews were conducted in a company that recharges fire extinguishers in Sorocaba region. The results showed that, in accordance with the literature, the extinguishers remanufacturing process provides economic and strategic advantage due to the opportunity to carry out other services such as installation of fire preventing and fighting systems, works maintenance, monitoring of Firefighters Survey and fire brigades training. On the other hand, the researched company does not present the typical problems reported in the literature about the uncertainties regarding the collection of extinguishers, their quality and acquisition of carcasses.Therefore concludes that the company has a well-established reverse logistics operation.

ANALYSIS OF THE PRODUCTION PROCESS OF POLYMER FILMS USING THE METHODOLOGY OF CLEANER PRODUCTION

The current technological advance guides the actions that have contributed to the study and implementation of a structured environmental management within companies. Thereby, this article discusses the application of Cleaner Production Methodology in a company engaged in the business of flexible films in the region of Sorocaba, Sao Paulo, Brazil. The study aims to identify opportunities of improvements that might reduce the environmental impact. There were visits in the enterprise during the execution of the project in order to get quantitative and qualitative data, which supported the mapping and understanding of the productive process. The application of Cleaner Production has allowed the identification of improvements in the process, better use of raw material, reduction of water use and minimization of waste generation. In this case, it has been used an adapted transformation model to map the system. Opportunities for future improvements have been identified and classified into the strategic levels of the Cleaner Production; some of them are related to the progress in the use of raw materials, reduction of water leaks through the process in the pipes, change of raw material from nonrenewable to renewable source, performance of preventive maintenance, minimization of waste generation, use of regranulated material generated in the process, etc. Therefore, for futures studies, it may be accomplished the analysis of economic and technical feasibility of each proposal identified in this report