GERIPA A NEW CONCEPT FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY AND FOOD PRODUCTION WITH ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL CONCERNS

OMETTO, A.R.¹; RAMOS, P.²; LOMBARDI, G.³

Embrapa Satellite Monitoring, Brazil¹

Instituto Politecnico de Hanava, Cuba²

USP Escola de Engenharia de Sao Carlos, NETF, Brazil³

Abstract

This article introduces a proposal concerning a new social and ecological agro-industry structure. This framework was planned to produce energy and food in a sustainable way, it is called GERIPA Project. It was developed with the purpose of integrating production of alcohol, food and electricity, with a working period of twelve months; eight with sugar cane and four with sorghum. The transport of materials runs on engines with vaporized alcohol. It considers thermodynamics optimization, with social and environmental quality, based on the Kyoto Protocol and the premises of Sustained Development. It occupies 4310 ha, integrating the whole productive process like a live organism. With 40.000 liters of alcohol produced daily, as well as 5.2 MW of electricity, 4760 tons per year of food. Once under economically stable operation, it can generate up to 5600 permanent jobs. With these characteristics, the project could provide the basic needs of a city of 17300 inhabitants, becoming a strategic setting for autonomous regional development.

In Ortega, E. & Ulgiati, S. (editors): Proceedings of IV Biennial International Workshop “Advances in Energy Studies”. Unicamp, Campinas, SP, Brazil. June 16-19, 2004. Pages 323-328

Utilization of Fungi for Biotreatment of Raw Wastewaters


COULIBALLY Lacina1, GOURENE Germain1, AGATHOS N Spiros2
1Laboratoire d’Environnement et de Biologie Aquatique (LEBA), UFR-Sciences et Gestion de I’environnement, Universite d’Abobo-Adjame, 02 BP 801 Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire
2Unit of Bioengineering, Catholic University of Louvain, Place Croix du Sud 2 Bte 19, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium


ABSTRACT

Fungal biomasses are capable of treating metal-contaminated effluents with efficiencies several orders of magnitude superior to activated carbon (F-400) or the industrial resin Dowex-50. additionally, fungal biomasses are susceptible to engineering improvements and regeneration of their capabilities. With regard to organic pollutants, excessive nutrients and dyes, fungi can remove them from wastewaters, leading to decrease in their toxicities. However, the detoxification rates seem to be dependent on media and culture conditions. The postreatment by anaerobic bioprocesses of effluents that have been pretreated with fungi can lead to higher biogas than the original effluents. In addition to the degradation of organic pollutants, fungi produce added-value products such as enzymes (Lip, MnP, Lacc, amylase, etc.) and single-cell protein (SCP). Most research on fungal capacities to purify polluted effluents has been performed on a laboratory scale, hence there is a need to extend such research to pilot scale and to apply it to industrial processes.

Key words: wastewaters, effluents, fungi, biodegradation, biosorption, decolourisation, value-added treatment.

African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 2 (12), pp. 620-630, December 2003
Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJB
ISSN 1684-5315 ©2004 Academic Journals