Hydro and UFPA Establish Partnership to Turn Açaí Seeds into Fuel

Written by Valdemar Medeiros

Published on 16/02/2022 at 14:37

Updated on 16/02/2022 at 19:22

Caroços de açaí – foto: Ilustração/Freepik

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The Study Conducted by Hydro, in Partnership with UFPA, Aims to Transform Acai Seed Waste into Fuel to Be Used on an Industrial Scale in the Alunorte Refinery Boilers

Hydro, in partnership with the Mechanical Engineering degree program at the Federal University of Pará (UFPA), is working on evaluating the technical and economic feasibility of using acai seeds as fuel, which could be used in the boilers of Alunorte, an aluminum refinery located in Barcarena/PA. The state of Pará is a leader in the production and global export of acai pulp, reaching a production milestone of approximately 1.1 million tons of acai in 2019, according to the State Secretariat of Agriculture and Supply of Pará – Sedap. The research will last for one year and will involve an investment of around R$ 500 thousand, which will be well utilized in analyzing all technical and logistical requirements so that the acai seed can then be used on an industrial scale, as well as conducting a thorough study of the social and environmental aspects of using this seed as a source of renewable fuel.

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Reusing Acai Seeds

Hydro’s initiative with UFPA could contribute to the sustainable development of Pará’s industry. During acai pulp production, the seeds are discarded, so the research consists of positively reusing this waste and applying it on an industrial scale.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

New Economic Activity Ahead

According to the full professor at UFPA-FEM, Manoel Nogueira, the acai seed makes up 90% by mass of the total acai fruit, meaning that in 2019, about one million tons of seeds were discarded, which could generate approximately 160 MW over a year.

The professor also stated that currently the acai seed waste is an environmental liability that can be converted into renewable biofuel, with significant added value, capable of promoting a new economic activity: the production of bioelectricity.

There are also three other innovation projects underway to combat Covid-19: production of low-cost ventilators, studies on psychological effects during the pandemic, and the use of data science to create epidemiological models. As part of the agreement, the company also donated 890 tablets to assist remote learning during the pandemic.

Development in Pará Is a Priority

All investment being applied in research and development for innovation across various operations is part of Hydro’s sustainability strategy plan.

All projects are part of the technical and scientific cooperation agreement between Hydro and UFPA, which began in 2019, to develop various research lines that could enable and consolidate the development of the entire State of Pará.

Hydro and UFPA Establish Partnership to Turn Açaí Seeds into Fuel

The Study Conducted by Hydro, in Partnership with UFPA, Aims to Transform Acai Seed Waste into Fuel to Be Used on an Industrial Scale in the Alunorte Refinery Boilers

Read Other Related News

Reusing Acai Seeds

New Economic Activity Ahead

Development in Pará Is a Priority

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Hydro and UFPA Establish Partnership to Turn Açaí Seeds into Fuel

The Study Conducted by Hydro, in Partnership with UFPA, Aims to Transform Acai Seed Waste into Fuel to Be Used on an Industrial Scale in the Alunorte Refinery Boilers

Read Other Related News

Reusing Acai Seeds

New Economic Activity Ahead

Development in Pará Is a Priority

A giant printer called the “Ferrari” of concrete has landed in Latin America and can already build a 120-square-meter house in just 48 hours, making the traditional construction site look like something from the last century.

Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt has ceased to be a climatic phenomenon and has become a biological system that feeds on itself, with 8,000 kilometers in length, 37 million tons of algae, and scientists confirm that it is now permanent.

A British company has installed in the middle of the ocean the world’s first floating platform that generates electricity 24 hours a day from the temperature difference between the surface and the depths of the Atlantic, without relying on wind or sun.

Brazil will harvest a record crop of up to 357 million tons of grains, but it does not have the capacity to store a large part of it. The storage deficit has reached the highest level in history and is equivalent to almost the entire production of Argentina.

Engineers had to pour concrete mixed with tons of ice throughout entire nights in the Dubai desert to erect the Burj Khalifa; any carelessness could clog the pipes half a mile high.

The James Webb telescope spotted a planet 700 light-years from Earth with mornings full of sand clouds and nights with clear skies, the temperature difference between the two hemispheres reaches an impressive 170 degrees.

While Saudi Arabia and Qatar are already closing a 300-kilometer-per-hour bullet train to connect the capitals in two years, Brazil is still at the stage of auctioning the first freight railway that should actually come to fruition.

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Archaeologists discovered in Pompeii the remains of a man who faced the eruption of Vesuvius holding a bowl on his head as a shield, a lamp to light the way, and ten bronze coins to restart life, in a find that confirms the account written by Pliny the Younger almost 2,000 years ago.

At 16 years old and without money to buy equipment, a student from the Sertão of Paraíba built his first telescope with two margarine buckets and a wall mirror, and today he brings space observations to schools and squares in the region with increasingly powerful devices.