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.

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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!

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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.

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Prof. Jorge and Luciane Trierweiler were interviewed by the PhD Candidate, Katie Ulrich, from the Department of Anthropology of the Rice University.

The subject of the interview was: Sweet Potato Biorefineries: A True Circular Economy Concept (Biorrefinarias de Batata-Doce: um verdadeiro conceito de economia circular)

Professors Jorge Otávio Trierweiler and Marcelo Farenzena talk about one of the research lines of the Intensification, Modeling, Simulation, Control and Process Optimization Group (GIMSCOP) of the Engineering School. Through a partnership with Petrobras, the group’s researchers have already developed a series of digital solutions that increase productivity and safety at the state-owned refineries and platforms.

Listen to the interview:

Read the original source (UFRGS)