In this study, the biosurfactant produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa was evaluated in view of its ability to be used in Microbial-Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR). This microorganism was isolated from a soil artificially contaminated with crude oil and used to produce rhamnolipid using glycerol as the carbon source. The biosurfactant efficiently reduced water surface tension from 72 to 35.26 mN/m at its critical micelle concentration of 127 mg/L and emulsification rate (E 24) of 69% for the crude oil. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that the rhamnolipid can recover oil, even 2 months after its production, which shows that its biodegradability is not a disadvantage to the application in MEOR. The best result, for a biosurfactant concentration of 100% above the Critical Micelle Concentration (CMC) and petroleum with API gravity of 21.90, showed that the total recovery factor was 50.45 ± 0.79%, of which 11.91 ± 0.39% corresponds to MEOR.

The present work aims to develop a methodology for the preparation of synthetic sandstone to be used in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) studies. It also analyzes synthetic sandstone's properties. A 2³ factorial planning with central point in triplicate was performed, evaluating parameters such as concentration of ceramic clay, compaction pressure and sintering temperature through porosity, permeability, and uniaxial compression strength. The sandstone produced presented porosity and permeability similar to those found in natural rocks, which make them suitable for use in EOR research.

Biosurfactants are employed in several industrial applications which require a high purity level. However, the downstream purification processes are responsible for a large portion of the expenses incurred by biosurfactant production plants. The high costs associated with these processes turn their application on a large scale a challenge for companies. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of the purification step on the capacity of the rhamnolipid produced by a Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain to recover oil. Both purified and non-purified biosurfactants were efficient in their ability to recover oil. The best result, for the API gravity oil of 27.67, presented a total Recovery Factor of 47.45±1.78%, in which 10.2±0.85% corresponds to the MEOR. However, the results show that non-purified biosurfactant was more efficient in terms of amount of oil recovered during the MEOR stage. This demonstrates that the purification step may not be necessary, reducing the production costs of the rhamnolipid.

possui um sistema de aquecimento, ventilação e ar condicionado (em inglês -HVAC) equipado com um sensor de gás carbônico, cujo intuito é regular diretamente a qualidade do ar e assegurar que a sala esteja em condições aceitáveis. Este procedimento, porém, pode colocar uma carga extra no sistema HVAC e aumentar o consumo de energia. Desta forma, o objetivo principal do trabalho foi o desenvolvimento e a aplicação de uma estratégia de controle de temperatura e concentração de CO 2 para o sistema em questão, utilizando um controlador Proporcional-Integral (PI). Dados coletados em testes realizados na sala foram utilizados para a estimação dos parâmetros das funções de transferência e dos controladores. Inicialmente, os controladores foram testados separadamente e, em seguida, em conjunto. Pode-se observar que o controlador PI obteve bons resultados, apesar do overshoot e oscilações do sistema já observados pela literatura, conseguindo atingir o set point desejado de temperatura de 70°F e de concentração de CO 2 de 150 ppm.