Characterization of biochar of pine pellet

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Recently, biochar was introduced as a bioadsorbent material to remove various contaminants in effluents, such as pigments, dyes, heavy metals, naphthalene, 1-naphthol, atrazine, phosphorus and some macro- and micronutrients. Therefore, biochar of biomass residue pellet obtained for slow pyrolysis was evaluated as an alternative process for the potential utilization as chemical contaminant remover with low cost. Thus, the main objective of this work was to produce biochar from pine residue pellet for subsequent use of the same as a potential adsorbent for effluent treatment. In order to perform the characterization, samples of biochar from pine pellet were produced using several heating rates (5-30 A degrees C min(-1)), residence temperatures (200, 280 and 570 A degrees C) and residence times (1 h and half an hour). The process adopted led to a rapid degradation of the raw material (pine pellet) associated with an intense generation of volatile compounds, conditions that led to a reduction in density and establishment of porous structure. Biochars had basic character (pH 8.47), predominance of aromatic structures, low moisture content (0.9-1.8 %), low ash content (1.25-1.80 %) and high thermal stability. Low humidity favors the adsorption and an improvement in the conservation during transport and storage

Queering Virtual Reality: A Prolegomenon

In this chapter, we investigate how innovations in STEM, such as Virtual Reality (VR) and 3D Sculpting, can support the development of critical literacies about gender and sexuality. Our work arises from the concern that the assumed \naturalness" of male/female binary categories in biol- ogy is often at the center of the queer, trans, and intersex panics in public education. Echoing sociologists and critical scholars of gender and sexu- ality, we posit that transgender and queer identities should be positioned as realms of playful, active inquiry. Further, we investigate how new forms of computational representational infrastructures can be leveraged to support productive and playful experiences of inquiry about gender and sexuality. We present a retrospective analysis of a design group meeting of a small group of friends in their early thirties with gender nonconforming and queer identities and life histories. The group interacted in VR-based environments, where they engaged in two di erent forms of construction- ist learning experiences: creating 3D sculptures of personally meaningful objects, and re-creating their VR avatars in VR social media. Our analysis illustrates how such experiences can be productively analyzed using so- cial constructivist perspectives that situate knowing as boundary play and gured worlds, and the roles that play and friendship have in supporting deep and critical engagement with complex narratives and marginalize