Optimisation of solvent replacement procedures according to economic and environmental criteria in pharmaceutical industry

During pharmaceutical syntheses, the reaction solvent has often to be switched off from one reaction step to the following one. Because of the standard industrial practices, solvent replacement generally constitutes a slow and high solvent-consuming operation. In this paper, a specific methodology, based on a batch processes optimisation framework, is proposed for the optimisation of solvent replacement procedures. Optimisation may be performed at different levels according to economic and environmental criteria and satisfying safety and waste treatment constraints. In fact, the proposed methodology allows both to design new procedures of solvent replacement and to improve existing industrial processes. Two industrial applications are detailed to emphasize the benefits related to this methodology. In each case, the proposed methodology leads to the suitable recipe from comparison of traditional and empirical replacement procedures generally used in the pharmaceutical industry

James Joyce’s Ulysses in Ricardo Piglia’s Respiración artificial

The aim of this article is to analyse the presence of James Joyce’s Ulysses (1922) in Respiración artificial, the first novel by the Argentinean writer Ricardo Piglia (1941- ). Published in 1980, Respiración is a fictional representation of a near and tragic past, the last Military Dictatorship in Argentina, but it is also a literary re-assessment of earlier stages in the history of the nation, as well as a metatextual comment on western culture and on Argentine literature. James Joyce’s Ulysses is present in Piglia’s novel mainly through its main character, Emilio Renzi, who belongs to a literary genealogy that can be traced back to Stephen Dedalus and even Stephen Daedalus, the protagonist of Stephen Hero. The analysis will focus on the many allusions andquotations of Ulysses in Piglia’s novel with the purpose of showing how they are resignified by Piglia in a different sociocultural context.Keywords: Ulysses; Respiración artificial; Stephen Dedalus; Emilio Renzi; historiographic metafiction

Lucía Miranda, mito de la cautiva blanca en el Río de la Plata, desde el siglo XVI hasta el siglo XX

La història de Lucía Miranda, la dona que la literatura argentina transformaria en el model de la captiva blanca en mans indígenes, apareix per primera vegada a Argentina. Historia del Descubrimiento y Conquista del Río de la Plata, escrit cap a 1612 per Ruy Díaz de Guzmán. Serà després tema de novel·les històriques, com les de Eduarda Mansilla i Rosa Guerra al segle XIX. El relat original hauria d'incloure's en els documents referits a l'expedició de Sebastián Gaboto al Riu de la Plata (1526-1529) i, específicament, a la destrucció del fort Sancti Spíritus; no obstant això, en els documents consultats del segle XVI, referits a aquests fets, el mite no apareix. Proposo analitzar aquests documents inicials, ignorats per la crítica literària, per indagar les operacions retòric-ideològiques que es troben en la gènesi textual del mite de Lucía Miranda i constatar la persistència d'una matriu de sentit associada a la dona i la colonialitat que perdura en el temps, en les successives reescriptures de la història.Lucía Miranda’s story, the woman who Argentine literature would transform into the stereotype of the white captive into indigenous hands, appears for the first time in Argentina. Historia del Descubrimiento y Conquista del Río de la Plata, written around 1612 by Ruy Díaz de Guzmán. It would later be the subject of historical novels, as the Eduarda Mansilla’s and Rosa Guerra’s in the 19th century. The original story must be included in the documents referring the Sebastián Gaboto expedition to Río de la Plata (1526-1529) and, specifically, the destruction of Sancti Spíritus fort; however the myth does not appear in consulted documents from the 16th century that talk about those facts. I propose to analyze these initial documents, ignored by literary studies, to analyze the rhetorical-ideological operations in the textual genesis of Lucía Miranda’s myth and to verify the persistence of a sense associated with femininity and coloniality that lasts in time, in the successive rewritings of history.La historia de Lucía Miranda, la mujer que la literatura argentina transformaría en el modelo de la cautiva blanca en manos indígenas, aparece por primera vez en Argentina. Historia del Descubrimiento y Conquista del Río de la Plata, escrito hacia 1612 por Ruy Díaz de Guzmán. Será luego tema de novelas históricas, como las de Eduarda Mansilla y Rosa Guerra en el siglo XIX. El relato original debería incluirse en los documentos referidos a la expedición de Sebastián Gaboto al Río de la Plata (1526-1529) y, específicamente, a la destrucción del fuerte Sancti Spíritus; sin embargo, en los documentos consultados del siglo XVI, referidos a esos hechos, el mito no aparece. Propongo analizar estos documentos iniciales, ignorados por la crítica literaria, para indagar las operaciones retórico-ideológicas que se encuentran en la génesis textual del mito de Lucía Miranda y constatar la persistencia de una matriz de sentido asociada a la mujer y la colonialidad que perdura en el tiempo, en las sucesivas reescrituras de la historia

Finnegans Wake in Ricardo Piglia’s La ciudad ausente

Ricardo Piglia writes his fiction as an answer to the “fiction” of the monologic official discourse of the State, and from this definitively historical and ideological position, faces the issue of Argentine cultural and literary identity with a self reflexive narrative whose meaning is built mainly through an intertextual poetics.In this context, Finnegans Wake is assimilated and transformed in La ciudad ausente (1992) as a homage to James Joyce. This article aims at showing how this work is achieved through a montage based on a metaphorical isotopy whose main analogy is the syntax used in both novels. It also proposes an approach to Piglia’s novel as an interpretation and explanation of Finnegans Wake through fictional discourse, as a commentary on Finnegans Wake, to show how the bitextual structure opens the possibility of reading Piglia’s novel from the narrative premises of the Irish novelist

Optimisation of operating conditions in batch for more sustainable continuous process transposition

Implementation of exothermic and fast reactions requires a perfect temperature control to avoid thermal runaway and in most cases to limit by-products production. In order to fit with the heat removal capacity of common devices, expensive strategies are currently used to slow down this kind of reactions in order to avoid a strong temperature increase such as reactants dilution. Within the concept of process intensification, industries could move towards more sustainable process by reducing technology constraints to the benefit of chemistry. For that purpose, a two-step methodology is implemented. The first step consists in the optimisation of the operating conditions only based on stoichio-chemical scheme and kinetic laws. This is carried out by adjusting temperature profile and feeding rate strategy in a batch operation. Then a design for a continuous process is proposed, trying to approach the optimal batch operating conditions. This methodology is applied to the linear alkylbenzene sulfonation

Las TIC en la enseñanza: Un estudio de casos desde el enfoque biográfico-narrativo

Aquesta recerca posa el focus en l'ús educatiu i apropiació de les TIC a partir de la distribució gratuïta d'un ordinador a cada nen uruguaià (Pla CEIBAL), proposant una indagació des d'una mirada crítica sobre com els docents, en tant subjectes-autors en les seves pràctiques d'ensenyament, les han resistit, articulat, o inclòs apropiat. Es procura explicitar la riquesa de l'experiència docent actualment desaprofitada, no visible, ignorada, que es produeix en la intimitat de les aules.Com enfocament específic de recerca educativa es desenvoluparà des d’un enfocament biogràfic narratiu Bolívar (2001) a partir d'entrevistes narratives. La identitat narrativa que defineix als mestres es va formant en la mesura que es construeix i reconstrueix el relat.This research focuses on the educational use and acquisition of ICT, started by the free distribution of one computer to each Uruguayan child (CEIBAL Plan), which showed the need for a critical study of how teachers, subjects-authors of teaching practices, have acquired, articulated and included or rejected them. It is our aim, to show clearly how rich teaching experience is being ignored and wasted inside the classroom.The narrative biographic approach will be used as a research method to take into consideration the narrative interviews. The narrative identity that defines the teachers, is being formed along the construction and re- construction of the narration.Esta investigación pone el foco en el uso educativo y apropiación de las TIC a partir de la distribución gratuita de una computadora a cada niño uruguayo (Plan CEIBAL) proponiendo una indagación desde una mirada crítica acerca de cómo los docentes, en tanto sujetos-autores en sus prácticas de enseñanza, las han resistido, articulado, incluido o apropiado. Se procura explicitar la riqueza de la experiencia docente actualmente desperdiciada, no visible, ignorada, que se produce en la intimidad de las aulas.Como enfoque específico de investigación educacional se desarrollará desde el un enfoque biográfico narrativo Bolívar (2001) a partir de entrevistas narrativas. La identidad narrativa que define a los maestros, se va formando en la medida que se construye y reconstruye el relato

The maison europeenne des procedes innovants (MEPI),an example of piloting and industrial demonstration facility for the green process engineering

Abstract. Economical, energy savings and environmental challenges require an actual technological breakthrough in process engineering, aiming with productivity, product quality, safety and reliability objectives. This explains the present growth of interest in innovative technologies (intensified devices for reaction, mixing and separation) and methods (multifunctionality, hybrid separation, batch to continuous methodology, new media …), the whole being recognized as Process Intensification. Up to now, a few of innovations has been successfully industrialized, probably due to the lack of experience and retrofitting in front of a breakthrough that always represents a technical and financial risk. There is now clearly a need for industrial demonstrations of successful PI experiments avoiding the questions of confidentiality. Consequently, a piloting and demonstration facility has been created in Toulouse in order to accelerate the implementation of PI technology in industry and the development of the Green Process Engineering. The idea is to build a data bank of success stories. The principle of this industrial technical platform lies on the association of 3 types of partners: university, equipment providers and industrial end-users

Reproductive biology in a uruguayan population of Elachistocleis bicolor (Guérin-Meneville, 1838) (Anura, Microhylidae)

This paper describes ecological features of the reproductive biology of a population of Elachistocleis bicolor from Uruguay. From a monthly sample obtained throughout a year, we measured mass of the fat bodies and the ovaries, testicular volume, and estimate fecundity. We found evidence of a relationship between reproductive activity and air temperature, although we cannot rule out photoperiod as a regulator mechanism of the reproductive cycle. The dynamics of fat bodies are independent of the reproductive cycle, since their mass does not vary significantly along the year. We found evidence of sexual dimorphism and dichromatism, expressed by females being largest than males and by dark colored vocal sacs of males, although only present in some of them. Fecundity in females increases with body size, however larger females do not invested most of resources in reproduction.Este trabajo describe aspectos de la biología reproductiva de una población uruguaya de Elachistocleis bicolor. En una muestra mensual obtenida durante un año, se midió la masa de los cuerpos grasos y ovarios, el volumen testicular y se estimó la fecundidad. Se encontró evidencia que la actividad reproductiva se encuentra correlacionada con la temperatura, sin embargo no podemos descartar al fotoperiodo como regulador del ciclo reproductivo. La dinámica de los cuerpos grasos es independiente del ciclo reproductivo, ya que su masa no varió significativamente durante el año. Se encontró evidencia de dimorfismo y dicromatismo sexual, expresado por el mayor tamaño de las hembras y en la coloración oscura del saco vocal de los machos, aunque sólo presente en algunos de ellos. La fecundidad de las hembras se incrementó con el tamaño corporal; sin embargo, las hembras más grandes no invierten una mayor proporción de sus recursos en la reproducción

Silicon carbide equipments for process intensification of silicon reactions.

Bluestar Silicones, one of the worldwide leaders in silicones chemistry, proposes a R&D project, aiming to design new equipment for the transposition of batch to continuous processes. The safety and environmental issues linked to this type of chemicals, and the productivity targets as well require innovative technologies characterized by a fair corrosion resistance and high heat and mass transfer performances. A preliminary prototype of heat exchanger reactor made of silicon carbide plates has been developed by the LGC in collaboration with a SME specialist of SiC, Boostec. It has allowed the pilot feasibility with some reactions of industrial interest for a Bluestar Silicones to be highlighted. Now, it is necessary to pursue this effort and beyond the feasibility step to go on up to the design of an industrial reactor. This project corresponds to a programme of innovative process development in order to design cleaner, safer and less consuming devices

Evaluation of an intensified continuous heat-exchanger reactor for inherently safer characteristics

The present paper deals with the establishment of a new methodology in order to evaluate the inherently safer characteristics of a continuous intensified reactor in the case of an exothermic reaction. The transposition of the propionic anhydride esterification by 2-butanol into a new prototype of ‘‘heatexchanger/ reactor’’, called open plate reactor (OPR), designed by Alfa Laval Vicarb has been chosen as a case study. Previous studies have shown that this exothermic reaction is relatively simple to carry out in a homogeneous liquid phase, and a kinetic model is available. A dedicated software model is then used not only to assess the feasibility of the reaction in the ‘‘heat-exchanger/reactor’’ but also to estimate the temperature and concentration profiles during synthesis and to determine optimal operating conditions for safe control. Afterwards the reaction was performed in the reactor. Good agreement between experimental results and the simulation validates the model to describe the behavior of the process during standard runs. A hazard and operability study (HAZOP) was then applied to the intensified process in order to identify the potential hazards and to provide a number of runaway scenarios. Three of them are highlighted as the most dangerous: no utility flow, no reactant flows, both stop at the same time. The behavior of the process is simulated following the stoppage of both the process and utility fluid. The consequence on the evolution of temperature profiles is then estimated for a different hypothesis taking into account the thermal inertia of the OPR. This approach reveals an intrinsically safer behavior of the OPR