Abstract The focus of this study is to evaluate the efficiency of oxidation processes in the treatment of a solution containing Rhodamine-B (RhB) used in various industrial applications. The advanced oxidation processes of electrooxidation (EO) and photoelectrooxidation (PEO) were used. At the same time, direct photolysis (DP) was also applied. Total organic carbon (TOC) reduction and color removal were evaluated. There was an efficient color removal when DP was performed, and the color removal efficiency was the highest when NaCl was used as supporting electrolyte for PEO and EO. However, the TOC reduction was low, indicating that the degradation of the color does not correspond to the pollutant mineralization.

RESUMO O nitrogênio é um dos contaminantes mais importantes presentes nas águas residuais. As alternativas tecnológicas mais usuais para o tratamento de águas contendo esse composto lançam mão do ciclo bioquímico do nitrogênio, o qual se sustenta em dois processos, a nitrificação e a desnitrificação. Dentre os parâmetros que influenciam na remoção de nitrogênio, podemos citar a concentração de oxigênio dissolvido, relação carbono/nitrogênio, temperatura, pH entre outros. Este trabalho apresenta uma revisão sobre a remoção biológica de nitrogênio das águas e os principais parâmetros que influenciam na sua remoção, dando ênfase ao processo de nitrificação e desnitrificação simultânea.

ABSTRACT Nitrogen is one of the most important contaminants present in wastewater. The most common alternative technologies for the treatment of waters containing this compound lay hold of the biochemical cycle of nitrogen, which is based on two processes, nitrification and denitrification. Among the parameters that influence the removal of nitrogen, we can mention the concentration of dissolved oxygen, carbon/nitrogen ratio, temperature, pH, and other relationships. This paper presents an overview of the biological nitrogen removal of water and the main parameters that influence the removal, emphasizing the simultaneous nitrification and denitrification process.

The study of conducting polymeric membranes is decisive in some areas, as in fuel cells and electrodialysis. This work aims the study of membranes using conventional and conductive polymers blends. Two types of polyurethane were used as conventional polymers, commercial thermoplastic polyurethane and polyurethane synthesized from castor oil and 4-4-dicyclohexylmethane isocyanate. Two kinds of conducting polymers were used, polyaniline doped with organic acid and a self doped polyaniline. The polymers and the membranes were characterized by electrical conductivity, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The synthesis of the membranes produced was proper, featuring a complete reaction, analyzed by FTIR. The membranes also showed good mechanical properties and thermal stability (≈ 220 °C). Among the membranes studied, the polyaniline doped with p-toluenesulphonic acid obtained higher thermal and viscoelastic properties. Thus they can be used in separation techniques using membranes.

Os polímeros intrinsecamente condutores (PIC), como a polianilina (PAni), têm sido estudados com alternativa em filmes protetores de metais oxidáveis contra a corrosão. Dada a dificuldade de fusão ou dissolução da PAni para a produção de filmes, investigou-se a possibilidade de obter filmes pela mistura de PAni no estado oxidado e desdopado, conhecida como base esmeraldina, com plastificante não dopante 4-cloro-3-metilfenol (CMF) e solvente conveniente. Filmes produzidos desta forma foram caracterizados por espectroscopia FTIR e RAMAN, por TGA e ensaio de voltametria cíclica. A caracterização mostrou filmes termicamente estáveis até a temperatura de 200 ºC com indícios de interação da PAni com o CMF, com a PAni se mantendo no estado oxidado no filme produzido, condição necessária para futura aplicação como filme anticorrosivo de proteção anódica.

The intrinsically conductive polymers (PCI), such as polyaniline (PAni), have been studied as an alternative in the development of protective films of oxidizable metals against corrosion. Given the difficulty of mixing and dissolving PAni for the production of films, here we investigated the possibility of obtaining a mixture of PAni films in the oxidized, undoped state, referred to as emeraldine base, with the non-doping plasticizer 4-chloro-3-methylphenol (CMF) and a convenient solvent. Films produced in this way were characterized by FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, TGA and cyclic voltammetry. The characterization showed films thermally stable up to 200 ºC with evidence of interaction between PAni and CMF, with PAni remaining in the oxidized state in the film produced, which a necessary condition for application as anodic protection in anticorrosion films.

Os poliaromáticos são um grupo de polímeros condutores composto por poliaminonaftalenos, poliaminoantracenos, poliaminonaftóis e polinaftoquinonas com a presença de dois ou três anéis aromáticos. Neste trabalho, filmes de poliaminoantraceno (PAA) e 1,5 polidiaminonaftaleno (1,5-PDAN) foram obtidos por eletropolimerização sobre eletrodos de platina, utilizando uma célula de três eletrodos e um único compartimento. Espectroscopia de infravermelho com transformada de Fourier (FTIR) e espectroscopia RAMAN foram usadas para investigar a estrutura do PAA e foi determinada que ela é similar àquela encontrada na polianilina (PAni) e nos poliaminonaftalenos. Estudos do comportamento eletroquímico por voltametria cíclica mostraram que tanto o PAA como o 1,5-PDAN apresentam somente um par redox e que o PAA não tem boa estabilidade à ciclagem repetitiva, ao contrário do 1,5-PDAN. Micrografias obtidas por Microscopia Eletrônica de Varredura mostraram filmes compactos e homogêneos, com estrutura globular para ambos os polímeros.

The polyaromatics are a group of polymers composed by polyaminonaphthalenes, polyaminoanthracenes and polynaphthoquinones that have aromatic systems with two or three rings. In this work, films of polyaminoanthracene (PAA) and 1,5 polydiaminonaphthalene (PDAN-1,5) have been electropolymerized on Pt electrodes in a single compartment cell with three electrodes. Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopies have been used to confirm that the PAA structure is similar to that of polyaniline (PAni). Electrochemical studies have shown that the PAA and the PDAN-1,5 present only one redox pair. However, the PAA did not show a good electrochemical stability, in contrast to PDAN-1,5. The micrographs showed homogeneous and compact films, with globular structure and for both polymers, although PAA showed cracks produced during drying with cold air flow.