Abstract In this work, banana fiber was used as reinforcement for the preparation of a thermoplastic elastomer composite (TPE). Few studies are exploring the natural fiber incorporation on TPEs, with no one using banana fiber. The fiber was extracted from banana pseudostem and modified with an alkaline solution. The untreated and treated banana fibers were incorporated in 2%, 5%, and 10% in SEBS. The mixture was performed in a thermokinetic mixer (K-Mixer) and plates prepared by compression molding. The composites were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM), tensile testing, mechanical dynamical analysis (DMA). It can be observed that the samples with untreated fibers presented a higher tensile strength, except for the incorporation of 5% of BF. Young's modulus increase as the fiber's incorporation grows, indicating greater rigidity of the composite. It was found that the chemically treated banana fiber composites, e.g., TPE/TBF5 and TPE/TBF10, shows a 15.4% and 22.2% higher elongation.

Pouco se sabe sobre as necessidades de potência do ventilador, com o tempo, na na compostagem do material em leiras estáticas aeradas. Objetivou-se, com a realização deste trabalho, ajustar curvas de variação na pressão estática do ar, quando forçado em pilhas de material orgânico em diferentes estádios de degradação bioquímica. Para a condução do mesmo, montou-se uma pilha de compostagem com bagaço de cana-de-açúcar (BC) e cama de frango (CF), preparando-se a mistura de forma a se obter uma relação C/N inicial de 30/1. O material foi revolvido a cada três dias, durante o primeiro mês e a cada cinco dias, nos dois meses posteriores. No BC, nas condições tal como foi utilizado na mistura, e no material da mistura BC + CF, nas condições em que se encontravam após 30, 60 e 90 dias de compostagem, foi medida a perda de carga, em 1 m de altura de coluna. Quanto maior a vazão específica de ar e o tempo de degradação bioquímica do material, maior foi o decréscimo na pressão estática do ar nele insuflado. O modelo de Shedd se ajustou bem aos dados experimentais, na faixa de vazão específica de ar investigada, podendo ser usado para predizer os gradientes de pressão estática no composto orgânico.

Little is known about the power requirements of the exhaust fan throughout the composting period of a forced aeration systems. This study was conducted in order to adjust the variation curves for static air pressure, when forced into piles of organic material at different biochemical degradation stages. To that end, a composting pile with both sugarcane bagasse (BC) and poultry litter (CF) was stacked, by preparing the mixture in such a way as to obtain an initial C/N ratio of 30/1. The material was revolved every three days during the first month, followed by revolutions at regular 5-day intervals for two more months. Load loss was measured at 1m column height for the BC under the same conditions used in the mixture, as well as in the BC + CF mixture under the conditions at 30, 60 and 90 days of composting. The higher the specific air flow and the biochemical degradation time of the material under composting, the higher the decrease in the static pressure of the air insufflated in it. The Shedd model was well adjusted to the experimental data in the air specific flow range under investigation, and can be used to predict the static pressure gradients in organic compost.