BECCS potential in Brazil: Achieving negative emissions in ethanol and electricity production based on sugar cane bagasse and other residues

Stabilization at concentrations consistent with keeping global warming below 2 °C above the pre-industrial level will require drastic cuts in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions during the first half of the century; net negative emissions approaching 2100 are required in the vast majority of current emission scenarios. For negative emissions, the focus has been on bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), where carbon-neutral bioenergy would be combined with additional carbon capture thus yielding emissions lower than zero. Different BECCS technologies are considered around the world and one option that deserves special attention applies CCS to ethanol production. It is currently possible to eliminate 27.7 million tonnes (Mt) of CO2 emissions per year through capture and storage of CO2 released during fermentation, which is part of sugar cane-based ethanol production in Brazil. Thus, BECCS could reduce the country’s emissions from energy production by roughly 5%. Such emissions are additional to those due to the substitution of biomass-based electricity for fossil-fueled power plants. This paper assesses the potential and cost effectiveness of negative emissions in the joint production system of ethanol and electricity based on sugar cane, bagasse, and other residues in Brazil. An important benefit is that CO2 can be captured twice along the proposed BECCS supply chain (once during fermentation and once during electricity generation). This study only considers BECCS from fermentation because capturing such CO2 is straightforward, thus potentially representing a cost-effective mitigation option for Brazil compared to other alternatives. The assessment shows that fuel prices would increase by less than 3.5% due to the adoption of BECCS from fermentation, while increasing investors’ revenues are sufficient to compensate for the investment required. With appropriate government subsidies, or by sharing BECCS costs between all car fuels and all electricity supplied by hydro and bioelectricity, the increment in ethanol and electricity prices could be less than 1% for the final consumer. Meanwhile it would supply 77.3% of all cars’ fuel (private cars) and 17.9% of all electricity in Brazil

4-[(Dimethyl­amino)methyl­idene]-2-(4-nitro­phen­yl)-1,3-oxazol-5(4H)-one

The title mol­ecule, C12H11N3O4, is essentially planar, the r.m.s. deviation for all non-H atoms being 0.068 Å. An intra­molecular C—H⋯N hydrogen bond occurs. The crystal packing is dominated by π–π inter­actions [shortest centroid–centroid distance = 3.6312 (16) Å], which lead to supra­molecular chains that are linked into a three-dimensional network via C—H⋯O contacts. The crystal was found to be a non-merohedral twin (twin law −1 0 0/0 −1 0/ 0.784 0 1), the fractional contribution of the minor component being approx­imately 22%

Bioassays for detecting residues of fungitoxic compounds through bioautography, bioelectrophoresis and thin-laver diffusion

Comparou-se a técnica de bioautografia em camada fina com bioeletroforese e difusão em camada fina na detecção de resíduos de fungicidas, tendo como fungo-teste, o Thielaviopsis paradoxa. O método de bioeletroforese e a técnica de difusão em camada fina modificada são descritos e utilizados pela primeira vez. Os métodos foram comparados em bioensaios empregando-se os fungicidas mancozeb, captafol, benomil e triadimefon em diferentes concentrações. As concentrações mínimas detectadas não variaram com as técnicas utilizadas, mas sim com os fungicidas. Obtiveram-se concentrações mínimas de 0,04, 0,06, 1,25 e 1,90 ppm para benomil, captafol, triadimefon e mancozeb, respectivamente. A técnica de bioeletroforese proporcionou maior zona de inibição do fungo-teste quando se empregou alta concentração de fungicidas. A técnica de difusão em camada fina, por não demandar aparelhagem sofisticada, foi tão eficiente como a bioautografia, constituindo-se em método simples e rápido para a detecção e avaliação de resíduos de compostos fungitóxicos.The bioautographic technique on thin-layer chromatograms was compared to bioelectrophoresis and thin-layer diffusion for detecting fungitoxic compound by using Thielaviopsis paradoxa as test fungus. The bioelectrophoresis and thin-layer diffusion methods were described and employed for the first time. The methods were illustrated by bioassaying the fungicides mancozeb, captafol, benomyl and triadimefon in different concentrations. The minimum concentration of fungitoxic compounds detected was the same for three techniques employed, but it did vary with the fungicides. The minimum concentrations detected of benomyl, captafol, triadimefon and mancozeb were 0.04, 0.06, 1.25 and 1.90 ppm, respectively. The bioelectrophoresis technique gave the highest inhibition zone of the test fungus by using higher concentrations of the fungicides. The thin-layer diffusion technique may be of great value, because it is a simple, rapid, sensitive as the bioautographic technique on the detection of fungitoxic compounds

Subnational climate entrepreneurship: innovative climate action in California and São Paulo

The distinct role of subnational governments such as states and provinces in addressing climate change has been increasingly acknowledged. But while most studies investigate the causes and consequences of particular governments’ actions and networking activities, this article argues that subnational governments can develop climate action as a collective entrepreneurial activity. Addressing many elements explored in this special issue, it focuses on the second question and identifies climate entrepreneurship in two subnational governments—the states of California (USA) and São Paulo (Brazil). Examining internal action, as well as interaction with local authorities, national governments and the international regime, entrepreneurial activities are identified in the invention, diffusion and evaluation of subnational climate policy in each case. The article draws from the recent scholarship on policy innovation, entrepreneurship and climate governance. It contributes to the literature by exploring entrepreneurial subnational government activity in addressing climate change and expanding the understanding of the effects of policy innovation at the subnational level