Due to the decentralized nature of biomass and agricultural and industrial waste, we propose the implementation of small, highly automated and autonomous units to be remotely monitored by specialists in a support center, which is one of our main differentials. Decentralized biorefineries – a business model that can be applied to various biomasses and waste. For the economic success of this decentralized production model, there is a need to integrate innovative and efficient processes, with differentiated logistics and remote monitoring, with an ecological footprint of circular economy adding value to all members of the production chain. In this presentation, three main processes that are being studied by GIMSCOP will be presented: a) production of ethanol, alcohol in gel and distilled drink from sweet potatoes; b) thermochemical platform (rapid pyrolysis and roasting) and c) microalgae for bioremediation. In addition to the processes, the various digital transformation technologies fundamental to transform this proposal into reality and an appropriate model of circular economy will be presented, effectively transforming itself into a great solution for the environment, for people and for the economy.
Andressa Apio received her PhD degree in Chemical Engineering at GIMSCOP/UFRGS with the work REAL TIME PARAMETER AND STATE ESTIMATION THROUGH KALMAN FILTERS WITH SOFT ROBUST WINDOW AND NON-LINEAR STATE ESTIMATORS.
Andressa Apio, from GIMSCOP, was granted with an entrepreneurial postdoctoral scholarship with the project “System for virtual sensor development applied to industrial data based on modules” (read more here). The virtual sensor techniques were developed during her PhD research at GIMSCOP, and now they will be applied industrially at the startup Latos (born from GIMSCOP). See UFRGS’s article about the project here.
PhD student Caroline Trevisan Weber is participating in the Rede Sapiens cultural contest. For the contest the student presents the main aspects of an alcoholic sweet potato drink production and its economic evaluation, which was her master’s project in Chemical Engineering at UFRGS.
ABSTRACT
Brazil is the 16th largest sweet potato producer in the world, especially RS, which holds 24% of this production. We generate 350 thousand tons of sweet potato waste per year in Brazil! Food waste is responsible for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions. Following the concepts of the circular economy, we propose the implementation of a sweet potato biorefinery, generating value-added products from these residues. One of these products is a 25% alcoholic distilled beverage called Tchêchu. More information in the video!
Jônathan, who received his Ph.D. degree and is a post-doc researcher at GIMSCOP, is participating in the cultural contest “Rede Sapiens” explaining part of his doctoral thesis.
In the video, Jônathan explains how the problem of oscillation detection was solved using Artificial Intelligence with a practical example applied to industry.
Olívia Paniz Fleig received her Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering at GIMSCOP/UFRGS with the work “STUDY OF CONTINUOUS TOASTING OF RICE HUSK AS PRE-TREATMENT FOR RAPID PYROLYSIS”
PhD qualifying exam of Lucas Manique Raymundo in Chemical Engineering at GIMSCOP/UFRGS with the work “DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROCESSING BY RAPID PYROLYSIS OF RICE HUSK AND LIGNO-CELLULOSIC WASTE”.
PhD qualifying exam of Caroline Trevisan Weber in Chemical Engineering at GIMSCOP/UFRGS with the work “SWEET POTATO BIORREFINARIES: A CIRCULAR ECONOMY MODEL”.
Watch Carol’s presentation:
Abstract:
In 2030 it is estimated that the world population will have reached the level of nine billion people. Among the consequences of global population growth is the high amount of food waste generated. It is estimated that around 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted per year, representing approximately one-third of the edible parts of food produced for human consumption. These residues are traditionally used for animal feed, fertilizers or landfilled with other residues. However, the growing demand for environmental protection coupled with the desire to conserve resources is encouraging a more efficient recovery of these residues for the production of higher added-value food ingredients, chemicals and biofuels. The Brazilian production of sweet potatoes is the 16th in the world ranking, with a production of 776,285 tons in 2017, with Rio Grande do Sul standing out, responsible for approximately 24% of the country’s production. The global amount of sweet potato waste in 2011 represented about 7% of the entire harvest, which in Brazil would represent about 55,000 tons of sweet potatoes wasted annually. In this context emerges the concept of sweet potato waste biorefineries, aiming at economic viability and sustainability within the concept of circular economy. Previous studies at GIMSCOP have shown the technical and economic feasibility of producing ethanol and distilled beverages from sweet potatoes. The objective of this work is to expand the range of marketable products made from sweet potato waste, allowing the entire use of this food residue. The tuber unsuitable for human consumption, when going through the processes of hydrolysis, fermentation and distillation, generates the products ethanol, distilled beverage and residual fermentation cake. Another aspect that has so far been little explored is the use of the sweet potato above-ground part, which through drying generates the product sweet potato leaf tea, rich in phenolic compounds (19.62±0.42 mg EAG.g-1, on a dry basis) such as chlorogenic acid and caffeine, that bring benefits to human health. Sweet potato leaves tea was approved in sensory analysis with an overall acceptance score of 7.05. The fermentation of this tea by the association of acetic bacteria and yeasts called SCOBY allows the production of kombucha, which is the fastest growing product in the functional drinks market. Sweet potato leaves tea and green tea were mixed in different blends (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100%) for the production of kombucha. Preliminary results show formation of acetic acid in all blends, showing the potential of using sweet potato leaves tea for the production of kombucha. Sweet potato leaves can also be used to produce bio-oil, biochar (coal) and biogas through the rapid pyrolysis process. Initial tests showed the production of bio-oil with basic pH (9-10), indicating the possible presence of compounds of interest with high added value, in addition to causing less corrosion in equipment than conventional bio-oils that have acid pH. The last product to be evaluated is the quantum carbon dots, which can be used in the construction of customized sensors, necessary for the control of the aforementioned processes.
PhD qualifying exam of Patrícia Rodrigues da Silva in Chemical Engineering at GIMSCOP/UFRGS with the work “MILP FORMULATION FOR MASS INTEGRATION AND PRODUCTION SCHEDULE APPLIED TO THE SYNTHESIS OF HYDROGEN NETWORKS”.
PhD qualifying exam of Andressa Apio in Chemical Engineering at GIMSCOP/UFRGS with the work “DEVELOPMENT OF KALMAN FILTERS WITH ROBUST WINDOW WITH SMOOTHING AND ITS APPLICATIONS”.
