Forest harvest byproducts: Use of waste as energy.

Forest harvest waste is an attractive biomass feedstock for biofuel production. However, for better use it is necessary to understand the physical-energetic characteristics of the biomass which composes the waste. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the bark, wood and tree top characteristics from Eucalyptus urophylla × Eucalyptus grandis (called urograndis) and Acacia mangium harvest wastes.

Kraft lignin fractionation by organic solvents: Correlation between molar mass and higher heating value.

The new concept of integrated biorefineries has significantly changed pulp and paper industries. Lignin, which until then was only burned to generate energy, is now an important raw material for new products production. Kraft lignin (KL) fractions obtained by sequential fractionation with five organic solvents.

Thermal degradation of calcium and sodium alginate: A greener synthesis towards calcium oxide micro/nanoparticles.

Processes for nanoparticle synthesis often use toxic solvents under aggressive conditions. A greener alternative is the burning of self-organized alginate systems. We followed the influence of the CaCl concentrations during gelation of sodium alginate and the heating rate on the synthesis of nanoparticles by the combustion method using TGA as a reactor vessel.

Nanobiosensors exploiting specific interactions between an enzyme and herbicides in atomic force spectroscopy.

The development of sensitive methodologies for detecting agrochemicals has become important in recent years due to the increasingly indiscriminate use of these substances. In this context, nanosensors based on atomic force microscopy (AFM) tips are useful because they provide higher sensitivity with operation at the nanometer scale. In this paper we exploit specific interactions between AFM tips functionalized with the enzyme acetolactate synthase (ALS) to detect the ALS-inhibitor herbicides metsulfuron-methyl and imazaquin.