Wood-based panel applications recently have expanded and become increasingly competitive, especially within the furniture and civil construction industries. To remain competitive, such products must present physical properties that meet consumer needs. In this context, the incorporation of nanomaterials is gaining momentum, mainly as a means to improve the physical characteristics of panels, thereby expanding their applications. The aim of this study was to evaluate the physical properties of medium density particleboard (MDP) panels after adding various proportions of nanocellulose in place of water to the urea-formaldehyde (UF) adhesive in MDP panel production. The results showed that the addition of nanocellulose resulted in no significant statistical difference in the density and moisture content of the panels. When tested for thickness swelling, only the panel with 100% nanocellulose solution exhibited a significantly higher value. The panels were subjected to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis, which showed that the addition of nanocellulose led to a more polished, less irregular surface. Such physical effects of nanocellulose can potentially make panels more suitable for coating applications. The feasibility of coatings on nanocellulose MDP panels can be verified through future tests to determine the surface roughness of the panels.

Phytoremediation is a technique that uses plants to recover contaminated soils. This method has advantages because of its permanent nature, combined with low maintenance costs, protection against wind and water erosion and greater soil structure. Currently, most of the researches related to species capable of phytoremediation of soil contaminated with metals work with annual cycle plant species. However, due to limitations found in these species, the possibility of using forest species in phytoremediation programs is increasingly projected. Be suitable for revegetation of contaminated areas and also provide economic return. The purpose of this review was to present the main techniques of phytoremediation used and to analyze the perspectives of the use of forest species in phytoremediation programs. The reports in the literature point out several of these species with real capacity of use, in addition they have been pointed as tolerant to soils in stages of great contamination, and their capacity of fixation of contaminant in their structures for a longer time in relation to vegetal species of annual cycle. The limiting factor in the full use of these species is still the small number of researches, which consequently causes many effective species to no longer be identified for phytoremediation.

RESUMOA biomassa é todo o material orgânico que, quando queimado, libera alguma forma de energia. Para utilização da biomassa é necessário conhecer o seu poder calorífico que está diretamente relacionada com o teor de umidade no combustível. O objetivo deste estudo é determinar o poder calorifico superior das espécies de Eucalyptus grandis e Hevea brasiliensis, visando conhecer seu potencial energético. Foi determinado o teor de umidade pelo método gravimétrico e poder calorifico superior através de uma bomba calorimétrica Ika. Os resultados do teor de umidade foram satisfatórios em comparação com os recomendados pela NBR 14929 (2003), DIN 51731 e ÖNORM M7135. O poder calorífico superior foi considerado adequado comparando com os encontrados na literatura, por conseguinte, estes materiais mostraram ter um bom potencial energético, podendo ser utilizados para queima, como biomassa ou na produção de pellets.Palavras-chave: Biomassa, Potencial energético, Poder calorifico Superior. WOOD CALORIFIC POWER FROM Eucalyptus grandis AND Hevea brasiliensis SPECIES ABSTRACTBiomass is all organic material, which when burned, releases some form of energy. In order to characterize biomass burning is becomes necessary to know its calorific value that is directly related to the moisture content on the fuel. The objective of this study is to determine the high heating value from particles of the species Eucalyptus grandis and Hevea brasiliensis, aiming to know its energy potential. To accomplish this it was determined the moisture content by gravimetric method, and the high heating value was determined by an isothermal calorimeter Ika bomb. The results for moisture content were satisfactory compared with those recommended by the NBR 14929 (2003), DIN 51731 and ÖNORM M7135, and as the high heating calorific value was considered appropriate and for what it is worth greater than the usual values found in literature, therefore this material has proved to have a good power potential and can be used for burning, and also on power generation.

Ashes constitute a waste produced in the heat generation process from bioenergy. This study aimed to improve the biomass energy efficiency used in an industrial boiler. The physicochemical analysis was used to perform improvement in the quality of the biomass for solid fuel. Four biomass types (eucalyptus bark, wood chips, sawdust, and recycled wood waste) were analyzed. The material (ash) was collected every two months over one year. All samples were characterized regarding proximate analysis, chemical composition (macro and micronutrients), morphological characterization (via scanning electron microscopy [SEM] coupled with dispersive energy spectroscopy [EDS]), and particle size distribution. The four biomass types presented significant differences in moisture content and proximate analysis. The bark showed a high percentage of impurities with an ash content of 26.99%. It was possible to reduce the ash content of the biomass inserted into the boiler in half, by separating the bark in the granulometric strata and excluding the smallest particle size (<0.84 mm). The results regarding the ashes showed that chemical composition and physical attributes were similar in all samples over the year. The chemical components were the same, although they varied in quantity. It is possible to improve the biomass energetic performance by excluding the smallest particles prior to the boiler insertion.

With an increase in climate and environmental issues awareness, the use of waste of various types has gained increased visibility, acknowledging that wastes are any and all kinds of unused materials from the production process or after using the final product for its intended purpose. The use of wastes to produce alternative cement materials is an alternative to reduce the use of natural resources. Forestry residues, ash, plastic residues, LDPE/Al composites, and geopolymer materials are some of the possible residues used for the partial replacement of cement materials. The objective of this research is to establish how these materials relate to each other, based on a topic review and how they can contribute towards sustainability. The study was performed on several scientific article search engines, in which the keywords ‘Carton Packages’, ‘Wood Waste’ and ‘Geopolymers’ were inserted, and then a refinement was carried out using the term ‘Cement Materials’. Such analysis allowed the generation of information related to publication numbers, countries, research areas, as well as publication types. Co-authorship networks of organization, co-citation of references, co-occurrence of keywords, among others, were also plotted. Through this bibliometric analysis, it was possible to reveal the structure of the research, analyse the developments and predict the future directions for the research regarding the use of residues in the production of sustainable Portland cement composites.