Browsing by Author "Cortez L., A. B."

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Energy sector in Ecuador: Current status
(2007-08) Peláez Samaniego, Manuel Raúl; García Pérez, Manuel; Cortez L., A. B.; Oscullo, J.; Olmedo, G.
Fossil deposits in the petroleum-rich sediments of the Santa Elena Peninsula in southwestern Ecuador contain some of the largest and best-preserved assemblages of Pleistocene megafaunal remains known from the neotropics, and thus represent an opportunity to greatly expand our knowledge of Pleistocene paleoecology and the extinction of Quaternary megafauna in this region. This paper reports data from excavations at Tanque Loma, a late-Pleistocene locality on the Santa Elena Peninsula that preserves a dense assemblage of megafaunal remains in hydrocarbon-saturated sediments along with microfaunal and paleobotanical material. The megafauna bones are concentrated in and just above a ∼0.5 m thick asphaltic layer, but occur sparsely and with poorer preservation up to 1 m above this deposit. Several meters of presumed-Holocene sediments overlying the megafauna-bearing strata are rich in bones of microvertebrates including birds, squamates, and rodents. These are interpreted as raptor assemblages. While over 1000 megafaunal bones have been identified from the Pleistocene strata at Tanque Loma, more than 85% of these remains pertain to a single species, the giant ground sloth Eremotherium laurillardi. Only five other megafauna taxa have been identified from this site, including Glossotherium cf. tropicorum, Holmesina occidentalis, cf. Notiomastodon platensis, Equus (Amerhippus) c.f. santaeelenae, and a cervid tentatively assigned to cf. Odocoileus salinae based on body size and geography. No carnivores have yet been identified from Tanque Loma, and microvertebrate remains are extremely rare in the Pleistocene deposits, although terrestrial snail shells and fragmented remains of marine invertebrates are occasionally encountered. Accelerator Mass Spectrometry radiocarbon dates on Eremotherium and cf. Notiomaston bones from within and just above the asphaltic layer yielded dates of ∼17,000 - 23,500 radiocarbon years BP. Energy sector in Ecuador
Improvements of Brazilian carbonization industry as part of the creation of a global biomass economy
(2008-05-04) Peláez Samaniego, Manuel Raúl; García Pérez, Tsai; Cortez L., A. B.; Rosillo Calle, F.; Mesa, J.
Brazil is the largest world charcoal producer. Surface kilns with semi-spherical form built with bricks with or without recovery of by-products called “Tail Quente” are the most important systems used for charcoal production. The un-recovered pyrolysis products released to environment by this technology are major pollutants. Some alternatives integrating existing or improved carbonization units within a global biomass economy are presented. In these alternatives the carbonization reactors can be used for primary biomass conversion, for densification, for power and heat production or as core technology in new bio-refineries. Some of the technical and economical limitations to implement these concepts are discussed.
Use of blends of gasoline with biomass pyrolysis-oil derived fractions as fuels in an Otto engine
(2011-12) Peláez Samaniego, Manuel Raúl; Mesa Pérez, J.; Cortez L., A. B.; Rocha, J. D.; Sánchez, C. G.; Marín, H.
The aim of this paper is to report the results on the behavior of an Otto engine working with mixed gasoline with a fraction rich in carboxylic acid esters derived from biomass pyrolysis bio-oil, for the present it is called as "Bioflex". Sugarcane trash undergoes a fast pyrolysis process in PPR-200 pilot plant to produce Unicamp (Brazil) bio-oil. The process of separation of carboxylic acids from bio-oil, the production of esters of these acids, the process of mixing these esters with gasoline as well as the results of using this mixture in an Otto engine capacity 4 kW - component of a 2kW and generator - are described. Test tests determined that it is possible to mix up to 14 vol.% In Bioflex with type C gasoline used in Brazil. Engine performance with this mixture as compared to engine performance working with pure gasoline resulted in identical output power and fuel consumption. The results showed that it is technically feasible to use mixtures of carboxylic acid esters derived from biomass pyrolysis bio-oil with gasoline in conventional Otto engines.