A review of cleaner production in electroplating industries using electrodialysis

[EN] Cleaner production is an industrial preventive strategy created to promote benefits for the environment and for human beings. Its basic principle lies in using natural energy resources in an efficient way and yet in reducing risks and impacts on the environment and on human beings throughout the life cycle of a product. Electrodialysis is a membrane separation process which uses an electrical potential difference as a driving force to promote ionic separation in aqueous solutions. The technique was initially developed for the production of drinking water from brackish water. However, the use of electrodialysis in the treatment of industrial wastewaters is becoming more attractive, due to its characteristics. The technique is considered a clean process, since it allows the reuse of water and the recovery of substances. In this work, the advancement of electrodialysis applied to cleaner production in electroplating industry will be discussed. The aim of this work is to present electrodialysis as a technology which can fulfill the requirements of cleaner production concepts in the electroplating industry. The research was performed starting from a predefined question: "how is electrodialysis becoming a cleaner production strategy in the electroplating industry?". The research was divided in two main themes. The first search was related to the most important cleaner production practices applied for the plating industry. The second search was associated with the electrodialysis application in the electroplating industry. The results obtained from the collected publications were compared in order to propose an answer to the research question. The results showed that almost a half of the published articles evaluated the improvement of the wastewater treatment as a cleaner production strategy to be applied in plating industries. In addition, the wastewater treatment was the most cited application of electrodialysis in the plating industry, especially for copper, nickel and zinc recovery and for chromium VI removal. Results shows that electrodialysis is becoming an important and solid strategy to promote cleaner production in the plating industry. The two most important issues to be improved for this application are the system efficiency for macromolecules and the energy waste when dilute solutions are used. For the latter, the use of hybrid techniques such as electrodeionization was the most evaluated alternative. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Authors would like to thank the Institute for Technological Research (IPT), the Institute for Technological Research Foundation (FIPT) and to The Sao Paulo Research Foundation (Fapesp - grants 2012/51871-9; 2014/13351-9 and 2014/21943-3).Scarazzato, T.; Panossian, Z.; Tenório, J.; Pérez-Herranz, V.; Espinosa, D. (2017). A review of cleaner production in electroplating industries using electrodialysis. Journal of Cleaner Production. 168:1590-1602. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.03.152S1590160216

Evaluation of the transport properties of copper ions through a heterogeneous ion-exchange membrane in etidronic acid solutions by chronopotentiometry

[EN] The transport properties of copper chelates across an anion-exchange membrane were investigated by means of chronopotentiometry. Several solutions containing etidronic acid, copper sulfate and potassium chloride were evaluated. Tests were accomplished in a three-compartment reactor using a heterogeneous membrane containing quaternary ammonium functional groups. Results showed a strong relation between the amount of chelated anions and the limiting current density, the electrical resistance and the concentration polarization. An increase in the anionic equivalent charge of the solutions modified the three regions of the current-voltage curves. The acid medium was found to be less favorable because of the possibility of the formation of non-charged species in overlimiting regions. The presence of chloride anions increased the limiting current density, especially when the chloride concentration exceeded the etidronic acid concentration.Authors would like to thank the Institute for Technological Research (IPT), the Institute for Technological Research Foundation (FIPT), to the São Paulo Research Foundation (Fapesp - processes 2012/51871-9, 2014/21943-3 and 2014/13351-9) and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development.Scarazzato, T.; Panossian, Z.; García Gabaldón, M.; Ortega Navarro, EM.; Tenório, J.; Pérez-Herranz, V.; Espinosa, D. (2017). Evaluation of the transport properties of copper ions through a heterogeneous ion-exchange membrane in etidronic acid solutions by chronopotentiometry. Journal of Membrane Science. 535:268-278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2017.04.048S26827853

Data-Driven Analysis of Engagement in Gamified Learning Environments: A Methodology for Real-Time Measurement of MOOCs

Welfare and economic development is directly dependent on the availability of highly skilled and educated individuals in society. In the UK, higher education is accessed by a large percentage of high school graduates (50% in 2017). Still, in Brazil, a limited number of pupils leaving high schools continue their education (up to 20%). Initial pioneering efforts of universities and companies to support pupils from underprivileged backgrounds, to be able to succeed in being accepted by universities include personalised learning solutions. However, initial findings show that typical distance learning problems occur with the pupil population: isolation, demotivation, and lack of engagement. Thus, researchers and companies proposed gamification. However, gamification design is traditionally exclusively based on theory-driven approaches and usually ignore the data itself. This paper takes a different approach, presenting a large-scale study that analysed, statistically and via machine learning (deep and shallow), the first batch of students trained with a Brazilian gamified intelligent learning software (called CamaleOn), to establish, via a grassroots method based on learning analytics, how gamification elements impact on student engagement. The exercise results in a novel proposal for real-time measurement on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), potentially leading to iterative improvements of student support. It also specifically analyses the engagement patterns of an underserved community

Efeito do sódio na produção de matéria seca em mudas de duas cultivares de algodoeiro mocó (Gossypium hirsutum L., var. Maria Galante Hucth.): cv. '9193' e 'c-71'

A green-house experiment was conducted for 90 days according to a completely randomized block design. The treatments used were as follows: five levels of sodium, 0.0; 4.0; 40.0; 400.0; 4,000 (all in ppm) added as NaCl and Na2SO4, respectively, to a HOAGLAND & ARNON complete nutrient solution. These were used individually as nutrient media for two cotton plant cultivars, namely '9193' and 'c-71', thus comprising a total of 20 treatments wich were replicated four times each. The results showed an increase in dry matter production of the plants as a result of the addition of 4.0 ppm of sodium whereas 400.0 ppm and 4,000 ppm had a decreasing effect. The drymatter production of the cultivar '9193' interacted negatively with the chloride íon.Durante um período de noventa dias, foi conduzido em casa de vegetação, um experimento inteiramente casualizado, com quatro repetições. Foram testados cinco níveis de sódio (0; 4; 40; 400; 4.000 ppm de sódio) utilizando-se duas fontes, cloreto e sulfato de sódio e duas cultivares de algodoeiro mocó (G. hirsutum, var. Maria Galante, Hucth.) !9193' e 'c-71', cultivadas em solução nutritiva. Os resultados mostraram que a dose 4 ppm de sódio provocou aumento na produção de matéria seca do algodoeiro, enquanto as doses 400 e 4.000 ppm de sódio, provocaram diminuição. Ocorreu efeito negativo na produção de materia seca da cultivar '9193' provocado pelo cloreto

Estado e agricultores familiares: uma análise interpretativa sobre o desenvolvimento rural no Sul de Minas Gerais.

Este trabalho procurou identificar como os atores sociais vinculados à agricultura familiar (lideranças de produtores familiares, profissionais de ciências agrárias, autoridades municipais, pesquisadores e professores universitários) interpretam o papel do Estado para o desenvolvimento dessa categoria na região sul de Minas Gerais. Com relação à coleta de dados, utilizou-se a técnica "focused interview". Os entrevistados foram seledonados pelo método não-probabilístico de amostragem por julgamento. Os resultados revelaram que a interpretação feita pelos entrevistados aproxima-se mais da perspectiva do Estado patrimonialistaburocrático autoritário, tendo em vista que os depoimentos dos entrevistados corroboram com a reprodução das relações de dependência dos agricultores familiares em relação ao Estado. Por outro lado, alguns atores reconhecem a necessidade de mecanismos que incentivem a participação social, no entanto, salientaram que a mobilização dos produtores familiares na região ainda é incipiente e desarticulada