Sugarcane bagasse is an abundant supply, coming from the sugar and alcohol industry, and is mostly used as fuel in plants. However, the conversion of this biomass into products with high added value has become very promising, such as the synthesis of carbon quantum dots (CDs). These can be synthesized by a green process, using hydrothermal carbonization. CDs are nanoparticles that have distinct properties, such as conductivity, large surface area, biocompatibility, low toxicity and fluorescence, properties that are responsible for numerous applications. Due to these characteristics, CDs are good candidates as photocatalysts, which can be used in the manipulation of organic contaminants in aqueous systems for wastewater treatment. Among these contaminants, dyes present complex molecules that are resistant to conventional treatment methods. Such as products from the textile, leather and paper industries, which have high demands. In this context, a synthesis of CDs was carried out from sugarcane bagasse biomass via hydrothermal carbonization. Multivariate optimization was the statistical tool used to improve description conditions; therefore two 23-1 fractional factorial designs were constructed to screen variables and the response surface methodology for refinement. The experimental design allows the study of the interaction of the influencing variables on the response variable, and thus verify the potential of using CDs in the photodegradation of the dye, methyl orange, used as a model molecule. The CD production configurations were optimized with the aim of obtaining the ideal conditions for photodegradation of the azo dye, with less use of experiments. The characteristics of the nanoparticles were initially evaluated by analyzing pH, conductivity, Zeta potential, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and molecular absorption spectroscopy (UV-Vis), in addition to quantum yield characterizations, fluorescence spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TG). The percussion biomass was also characterized using FTIR and TG.

Brazil is one of the largest producers of charcoal in the world, but the installation of units with high productivity wood carbonization ovens has limitations and many producers continue to use masonry ovens, which have low gravimetric yields and high atmospheric emissions. Carbonization reaction by-products have high commercial potentials when directed to other chemical industries and can be recovered by condensation. The objective of this work was to evaluate the concentrations of particulate matter, volatile organic compounds and gas composition emissions during a carbonization cycle in a masonry oven with the recovery of tar and pyrolenic extract, to estimate the efficiency of reducing emissions of air pollutants. In addition, the objective was to make a diagnosis of circularity in the production process of evaluated charcoal. The object of study was the oven-reclaimer system located in a Charcoal Producing Unit (UPC) where charcoal is obtained as the main product and pyrolenic liqueur as a secondary product. The samplings were carried out at two different points, at the entrance and exit of the retriever. The samples were collected according to the procedures of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (ABNT) and the gas flow was submitted to control subsystems and measurements. The analyses of Volatile Organic Compounds (COVs), gas composition (O₂, CO₂, O₂, N₂) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) were performed by online analyzers at the gas flow output of the Isokinetic Collector of Atmospheric Pollutants (CIPA). In addition, in CIPA it was possible to perform the measurements of gas flow and velocity. The particulate matter collected in the subsystem was taken to the laboratory and the mass content obtained by gravimetric method. In addition, sustainable practices were raised in the charcoal production process that indicate the practices of the Circular Economy by the RESOLVE Structure and its scopes. The results showed the relevance of the recovery of carbonization by-products as an alternative for the reduction of atmospheric emissions, as well as the opportunity to add value to the charcoal production process. The mp and COVs levels showed a significant reduction in the carbonization phase of the production process, which has the release of more intense polluting gases, while the CO and NOx contents were reduced in the carbon fixation phase. It was observed that the concentrations are influenced by the temperature of the gas and the oven, as well as by the carbonization phase that the wood is in, and it is necessary to improve the process that involves temperature control and the use of more efficient containment equipment during the smoke recovery process. It is concluded that the recovery of by-products is a sustainable route with viable practices for applicability in the steel sector to reduce negative impacts on social, economic and environmental spheres.

The growing concern with issues involving, especially, the disposal of waste, whether urban
or industrial, has led researchers to seek sustainable, innovative, and economically viable
solutions. The conversion of this waste into high value-added products represents an
important alternative in solving the problem. In this work, the malt-rich residue from the
brewing industry was used as a biomass source for hydrochar production through
hydrothermal carbonization performed only with water at different temperatures, 160 ºC, 180
ºC, and 200 ºC. Both the hydrochar and the biomass were characterized by several techniques
in order to enable the determination of their main properties and their potential applications.
Results of thermogravimetric analysis reveal that there was the formation of hydrochar and its
mass loss events occur at higher temperatures as the carbonization temperature increases. In
the infrared absorption spectroscopy (FTIR) region, the presence of characteristic bands of
carboxylic groups (-C=O) and vibrations of -C=C that correspond to the aromatic
carbonaceous structure of the hydrochar and the decrease of hydroxyl groups (-OH) shows the
loss of water as the synthesis temperature increases. The hydrochar presented low surface
area, from 2.439 m2 g-1 to 8.739 m2 g-1, which does not rule out its use as contaminant
adsorbent. To enhance their adsorptive capacity, modifications were made to their surface,
which consists of acid activation and magnetization to facilitate its removal from the medium.
The modified hydrochar were applied in the adsorption of a solution of enrofloxacin, a type of
fluoroquinolone used as an antibiotic, at 10 ppm and showed adsorption capacity of 7.2 mg g-
1 for the magnetic hydrochar and 5.4 mg g-1 for the acid one, being the adsorptive capacity of
the magnetic hydrochar 20 times higher when compared to the hydrochar synthesized at 160
ºC that showed the lowest adsorptive performance, 0.35 mg g-1. The addition of functional
groups on the surface of the hydrochar supports its application as a drug adsorbent, opening
several possibilities in the study of other drugs or emerging contaminants.

The large amount of information available about environmental and health issues leads consumers to increasingly question the composition of the cosmetics they use and look for natural products with high performance. Hair cosmetics are among the most popular and the most widely used are shampoos and conditioners. A shampoo formulation is usually composed of a combination of surfactants that promote cleaning, foam and ingredients that bring softness and shine to the hair. Conditioners are generally composed of cationic surfactants, silicones, cationic polymers and/or lipids that makes the hair easier to comb. In this work the stability of emulsions using jojoba oil was evaluated focusing on the production of alternative hair care products. Jojoba oil is rich in antioxidants and has a composition close to the skin’s natural sebum, providing interesting properties to the formulation and reducing the irritating potential. The use of pea protein isolate (PPI) was also evaluated. This protein widely used in the food industry to stabilize emulsions. Base emulsions for shampoos and conditioners containing natural surfactants and semi-natural co-surfactant was formulated. The most stable formulations were selected by performing central composite design. Tensiometry analyses showed that PPI is capable of reducing the surface tension of water from 72.4mN/m to 45.9mN/m and 43.2mN/m in the proportion used for shampoo and conditioner respectively. The shampoo emulsion, which contained 5% oil and 1% PPI, showed creaming phenomenon in the stability teste at 5, 25, 45 and 65ºC (Turbsican®) and, watching the stability in the bench test at 25°C, there was a 4% separation in 4hs. The viscosity value obtained was 34.25cP, suggesting the need of a viscosity agent in the formula to obtain a commercial product. The presence of the co-surfactant cocoamidopropil betaine provided better foamability to the shampoo base. The emulsion for conditioners in the same concentration of oil and PPI proved to be quite stable in the stability tests using Turbsican® and, watching the stability in the bench test, there was no detectable separation for more than 24 hours. The viscosity value obtained was 13527cP, considered suitable for the product.

The identification of the biodiversity of microorganism communities has advanced significantly thanks to the use of next generation sequencing techniques, which represent a powerful approach to investigating soil microbial diversity. The objective of this study was to analyze the taxonomic diversity of prokaryotes in soil samples from Campo Rupestre Ferruginoso in a canga ecosystem area of Serra da Piedade. For this, the metabarcoding sequencing technique associated with the 16S rRNA marker was used. The DNA from the samples was extracted and sequenced using the Illumina platform. Furthermore, the samples were subjected to chemical analysis at the Soil Analysis Laboratory - Instituto Mineiro de Agropecuária (LASO-IMA) with the aim of associating the chemical characteristics of the soil with the local microbiota. The bacterial phylum that predominated in the samples were Actinobacteriota (40,7%), Proteobacteria (21,79%), Acidobacteriota (12,5%) and Chloroflexi (11,73%). Furthermore, the most abundant genus was Conexibacter (17,28%), Acidothermus (15,39%) and Bryobacter (12,04%). The genus Conexibacter has a remarkable ability to degrade complex organic compounds, including lignocellulose. This makes it a valuable source of enzymes involved in the degradation of plant biomass, an essential resource for the production of biofuels and green chemicals. Furthermore, its ability to adapt to challenging soils expands its biotechnological potential in bioremediation and pollutant degradation processes. The genus Acidothermus and Bryobacter are resistant to extreme conditions, such as high temperature and low nutrient availability, in addition to the deposition of complex organic matter. Chemical analysis of the soil revealed that pH values in water indicate high acidity, which may be related to high levels of Al3+. In acidic soils, the release of aluminum ions from minerals present in the soil is common, making these soils profoundly dystrophic. In summary, this research has highlighted the importance of metataxonomic approaches for understanding soil microbial diversity, as it represents a significant advance in the ability to identify and analyze diversity in soil microorganism communities and has provided valuable insight into the composition and structure of microorganism communities in this unique ecosystem in Serra da Piedade/MG, demonstrating the biotechnological potential of these microorganisms especially in the context of biomass degradation, enzyme production and bioremediation. These results lay a solid foundation for future investigations into microbial ecology, nutrient cycling, and ecosystem functioning in this challenging environment.

The iron ore extraction industry is one of the important sectors for the Brazilian economy, especially in the Quadrilátero Ferrífero region, Minas Gerais. This activity generates a significant environmental impact on the Campo Rupestre ecosystem and the disposal of the generated tailings is a recurring socio-environmental problem, especially after the failure of two tailings dams in the state. The use of Constructed Niche (CN) is a recently presented technique, which has as its constituent iron ore tailings, topsoil, and binder. The application of the NC technique aims to mimic pre-existing ecological niches in areas degraded by mining activities, by bringing biotic components from the place of interest. This study aimed to characterize the topsoil of a non-degraded area of CR in terms of chemical and mineralogical composition and fertility; to evaluate the effects of new CN constituents (such as bentonite clay and fungal mycelium biocomposite) on its mechanical property and on its biological attributes, such as: microbial biomass carbon (MBC), basal respiration (BR) and metabolic quotient (qCO₂ ) and observe the presence of photobiont organisms during the incubation period from 7 and 180 days. The CNs were made by adding different proportions of topsoil from CR of the Serra da Piedade, iron ore tailings (30%), cement (5%), clay (10%) and biocomposite (10%). XRD and XRF analyzes of topsoil identified minerals such as hematite, quartz and goethite and high proportions of Fe oxide and silicon dioxide. Fertility analyzes showed low concentration of nutrients, including Ca, K, P, and CEC (cation exchange capacity), as well as low content of organic matter, C, N and acidic pH. These observed features are typical of ferruginous CR topsoil. The new binders used in the manufacture of CNs did not provide strength to the material, making it necessary to test new proportions in future studies. Only the cement conferred resistance to the CN, as it is a good binder, promoting the cohesion of the constituent particles of the module (topsoil + tailings). The MBC between the controls and the treatments showed no significant difference when compared between the two incubation times, except for the NC containing the biocomposite. The BR results were low for the controls and topsoil + tailings, but in the treatments containing clay and biocomposite the results were significant. The growth of photobionts such as bryophyte gametophytes, pteridophyte prothallus, angiosperm seedlings and algae were observed in topsoil and topsoil+tailings. For CNs containing cement and clay there was the appearance of fungi during the incubation period and, in the time of 180 days, in addition to fungi, the development of angiosperm was observed on the surface of the CN containing the biocomposite. The analyzes of the present study indicate that the CN made with biocomposite has greater potential to act as life development stimulators.

In recent years, it has been recognized that vehicular emissions have perfomed a fundamental role in climate change, air pollution and the causes of human diseases linked to the emissions of pollutants such as: nitrogen oxides (NO_x), carbon dioxide (CO₂), volatile organic compounds (VOC), carbon monoxide (CO), and black carbon (BC). These emissions come mainly from heavy vehicles, powered by diesel oil. Due to the rapid growth of the vehicle fleet in the world and the strong dependence on the road modal for the transport of cargo and passengers, gas emissions in developing countries have been growing strongly, which is negatively affecting many populations. The control and inspection of emissions in this segment is ineffective, since there is not enough manpower or the use of analytical methods capable of identifying and quantifying all pollutants emitted via vehicle exhaust during the evaluation of vehicle conditions. In view of this, this work proposed the development of a portable sampler to capture exhaust emissions from diesel cycle vehicles, both for sampling the gaseous fraction and the particulate fraction, in order to allow the identification and quantification of the compounds present in both phases. As a model analyte for the development and optimization of sampling conditions, carbon dioxide gas was selected, as it is a greenhouse gas and is in high concentration in this emission. From research in the literature and different vehicle evaluation standards, models for the sampler were designed until reaching a model to be prototyped according to the precepts of agile prototyping. Real application tests were carried out with bus transport to optimize the application procedure. The portable sampler is a sustainable product, with low noise, easy cost or that does not require electrical energy for maintenance, calibrations for its operation. A method for CO₂ determination by gas chromatography with a dielectric barrier discharge ionization detector (GC/BID) was developed. A scan of compounds was performed by means of two-dimensional gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GCxGC/FID) to indicate other pollutants that can be studied in sequence to this study, bringing versatility to the application of this sustainable product.

The sugar and alcohol industries in Brazil have great economic, social and environmental importance, being responsible for most of the occupation in rural areas and renewable and clean energy production. Despite the contribution to socioeconomic growth with the generation of jobs and wealth, this sector also stands out for its high polluting potential. The vinasse, liquid tailings generated in large quantity in the distillation process of fermented sugarcane juice to obtain ethanol, can trigger a number of impacts on the environment when managed incorrectly, as this effluent has high organic load, low pH, high corrosivity and high potassium contents. One of the alternatives that has been most used by the plants, as a way of final disposal of the effluent, is fertigation, which the vinasse is pumped or transported by channels and sprinkled over the sugarcane fields. However, the application of vinasse in agricultural soil was limited by means of standards, because this effluent contained high concentrations of potassium, which may favor the formation of neutrally charged chemical complexes that are easily leached. The complex formed between K⁺ and NO^3- is environmental worrying because nitrate is a major pollutant of water. Therefore, the present study aims to benefit the vinasse in such a way as to extract its potential, contributing to the eco-efficiency of the ethanol production chain. With the idea of reusing resources in a closed-loop concept that is driven by the principle of “circular economy”, where applications of new techniques and best practices help reduce waste generation, boost recycling and reduce the use of inputs virgins, bringing even more sustainability. With this will be used in the proposed processing, the electrodialysis for the dilution of potassium present in the vinasse, adhering the effluent for fertigation. The cathode concentrate of the electrodialysis will be submitted to nanofiltration, while allowing, ate the same time, to recondition the electrolyte solution and generate a solution rich in potassium, can serve as an input for the fertilizer industry. In order to achieve greater efficiency in the processing of the vinasse, the optimal operational conditions of the processes involved will be determined through of the design technique of experiments. The optimization of operating conditions will be carried out in two stages: through an exploratory phase employing factorial planning to investigate the effects of process factors in order to identify its significance; and then by comparative analysis, where the critical values of the conditions of the factors involved will be determined according to the variable response of interest. It is expected that the results of this research provide support for a better understanding of the phenomena that occur throughout the studied processes and serve as a technical subsidy for applications for the processing of vinasse.

The high demand in the delivery of domestic and industrial supplies has caused a significant increase in the amount of cargo vehicles in transit in Brazil, with the road modal as the main one in the transportation of goods and supplies in the national territory. These vehicles, for using mostly diesel oil as fuel, are responsible for a significant emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the atmosphere, especially a class called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), known for their high carcinogenicity. In order to detect and quantify the PAHs from vehicle emissions of this class, we used a standard reference chemical mixture (SQR) of 15 PAHs (from one to six aromatic rings) and developed an analytical method for gas chromatography instrumentation coupled to a dielectric barrier discharge ionization detector (GC/BID), using the IT-FEx polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer-phase-coated in-tube extraction device. The fabricated devices were subjected to physicochemical characterizations using Thermogravimetric Analysis (TG) and Absorption Spectroscopy in the Infrared (IR) region. The thickness of the polymeric film was evaluated by electronic miscroscopy with a digital camera (10x magnification), resulting in approximately 29 μm. The interaction of the PAHs with the IT-FEx polymeric phase was evaluated, both in aqueous medium (equilibrium kinetics) and in gaseous medium (dynamic phase), being the equilibrium time (aqueous) equal to 25 min and the dynamic analysis (gaseous) equal to 30 s. A better interaction was observed between medium-sized PAHs with PDMS (four aromatic rings) compared to smaller (one to three rings) and larger ones (five to six rings), in both phases (aqueous and gaseous). Emissions from two diesel-powered heavy-duty vehicles (2006 - P5 and 2012 - P7) were evaluated using the IT-FEx coupled to a vehicular sampler (trapping of VOCs by the PDMS film) and analyzing them by GC/BID and GCxGC/FID, which made it possible to observe the difference in the pollutant profile from each emission (mainly through the 3D visualization of the chromatograms referring to the analysis in the GCxGC/FID), with the 2006 vehicle having a greater amount of VOCs detected compared to the 2012. The presence of PAHs was also detected for both (according to their respective retention times compared to those obtained by the standard PAHs solution), being phenanthrene, fluoranthene, benzo[a]anthracene and chrysene for the 2006, and benzo[a]anthracene, chrysene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, and benzo[k]fluoranthene for the 2012.

Materials derived from petroleum are used for the most diverse applications, however the process of deterioration or decomposition of most of these materials is slow which results in a major environmental problem A promising alternative to replace petroleum derivatives are biomaterials produced from fungal mycelia grown on plant residues (biocomposites) that are completely biodegradable and have the potential to generate materials with diverse mechanical properties. This project aims to evaluate the mechanical properties of mycocomposites produced with sugarcane bagasse residues and the cultivation of fungi of the species Trametes villosa and Ganoderma lucidum. Specifically, density, compressive strength, water absorption and thermogravimetric analysis are analyzed. In addition, we analyzed the influence of adding mining tailings to culture media. The results obtained for density ranged from 74.5 kg/m³ to 220.62 kg/m³. The thermogravimetric analysis showed an initial degradation temperature of ± 250 ° C, in relation to water absorption the analysis showed a non-linear behavior of the water absorption curve, explained by the hydrophobic nature of the mycelium and the hydrophilic nature of the fibers.