Standards of Chilean cellulous plants adjust to but the high standards

Valdivia plants: Company wants that Corema certifies its fulfillments to retake its production of 550 thousand tons annual. Operating according to the parameters and stricter standards at world-wide level, between industries of characteristic similars, it is the plant of cellulose of Celco, in Valdivia, said to the secretary of Environment the Regional Commission of the Lakes and director of Conama, Nelson Bustos. The personero needed that the technical information as much as the monitoreos in line and the certifications, international nationals and, made to the operation of the plant confirm that in the last two years “it has had a positive evolution of his industrial processes from the environmental point of view”. In Valdivia, where the greater protests against Celco were concentrated, this improvement in the environmental commitments is perceived by the citizenship, confirms the mayor of that commune, Bernardo Berger. To it it would have to the smaller pressure respect to the subject that has been in evidence in the last manifestations, “in relation to other processes of citizen participation”, says to Bernardo mayor Berger, “that he is proportional to the improvement of the environmental commitments of the plant”, stresses the edile. It says that in the last manifestation it had less than one hundred people and who these were in favor rather of the subject of the Hydroelectric Power station in the river San Pedro. Berger explains who “people are kind to the process of Celco, but understands that it is a company that settled to remain, that generates ten thousand uses. And by the data that I have, they are looking for to improve its pending subjects”, emphasizes. Gloria Cifuentes, the governor of Valdivia, says that “there is a very good disposition of the enterprise world, that participates more and more in the community”, and also of the environmentalists, to those who recognizes “her legitimate restlessness of knowing how she advances Celco”. The best relation also is valued by the company. Charles Kimber, manager of corporative and commercial subjects of Celco, says that that bond “has improved remarkably”, which attributes “to the opening of the company, the interest by the flowed dialogue, to be transparent his to drive in different scopes”. It explains that the visits to the plant have been increased up to 15 thousand people in 2006 and who they work with communities, advising them in diverse scopes. Celco participates, in addition, actively in the elaboration of the Integral Plan of Management for the Sanctuary of the Nature. And recently it subscribed an agreement with the Ramsar Convention on Humedales, to finance studies and investigations that help the restoration of the sanctuary, explains Jose Luis Galaz, head of Wild Patrimony and Biodiversity of the Forest National Corporation (Conaf). Galaz says that what is required today is to look for the maximum of technical information and scientific to obtain a management plan, for which is due first to create a conceptual model of that ecosystem. “Who asks to him is going to have a different opinion respect to the humedal, of which were the variables that affected? , so that it happened? , how to approach it? , it emphasizes Galaz. The civil employee of Conaf is optimistic: “I believe that the nature has an enormous capacity to come out ahead”. It remembers that there are very good experiences in other nations where they have been recovered humedales. And also of a good management of plants of cellulose in natural atmospheres and it mentions an example in Mississippi, in the United States. Resolution Nelson Bustos was consulted by the presentation that made Celco to Corema recently to retake the 550 thousand annual tons of production, that in 1998 fixed the Resolution to him of Environmental Qualification (RCA), when it authorized the operation of the company. The secretary of Corema says that “the antecedents are in being able of the intersectorial technical committee, that will have to give its proposal so that it is analyzed by Corema”. The plant began to operate in January of 2004 and when the crisis by the death of about 300 swans of black neck and the exodus of about 4 thousands took place, it was producing to arrive at the 550 thousand annual tons. But after an imposed paralyzation of a month, to January of 2005, and another volunteer, by almost two months, to June of 2005, to fit its processes in the middle of repeated sancionatorios processes notified by Corema, this one fixed a restriction reducing its production in a 20%, up to 440 thousand tons annual. The measurement would prevail until the plant fit its processes to new and more demanding environmental parameters. Now Celco hopes that Corema certifies that it fulfilled those exigencies and to retake its production of 550 thousand tons. Chicks are the good news Like an important observation, the good news, but not necessarily an indicator of recovery of the humedal of the Cruces River, Carlos Anwandter sees in the Conaf the presence of a ten of chicks of swan of black neck in the last observed censuses of birds in the Natural Sanctuary and the rivers to pay ios.After the 2004 crisis, this summer nidificaciones and pairs with chicks were observed for the first time. Jose Luis Galaz says that the chicks are the good news, but nondefinitive. It explains that the populations of this species are fluctuating, “is cosmopolitan, adapts easily to different conditions”, it stresses, and in general its population increases in the sanctuary between February and May and they go away with rains. Historically, it had between 5 and 6 thousand swans within the sanctuary. A time ago the count extended to the ribereños rivers, with which the statistics of March 2007, for example, brief the presence of 547 swans within the sanctuary, that has a surface of 4,877 and other 510 in the tributary rivers of the river basin. In February of this year 252 within the sanctuary were had counted, that is to say, near half, but less than in March of 2006, when 1,205 were entered altogether, between the swans inside and outside the sanctuary.

Wood Boron-Silicon

Wood (Boron-Silicon) list for commercialization Buckhard Seeger today works in the Fondef project “Destruction of chlorinated toxic substances without contamination of the medioambiente”. Surprised by the mention of its technological resistant wood development that President Michelle Bachelet in her speech did of the 21 of May, was to Tuesday in its laboratory in the University of Conception chemistry Buckhard Seeger Stein. “It is good that it announced the scientific and technological profits that become the country”, it said the academic outstanding, that it forms the exclusive list of professors eméritos of the UdeC. Clear that he did not think that that could happen, “it is that in the country is only spoken of other things”. Think that the presidential consideration is an incentive in its area. With respect to its invention: wood BS (pine impregnated with liquid boron-silicon), already patented in the country and the United States, esteem that soon will come its massive commercialization. The Stonewood company has the concession. In any case already there are houses, furniture, terraces and until a bridge constructed with wood BS, very good results. Wood BS, inspired by the fossilized wood, is impregnated to the emptiness and stays as with dust rock in its interior. Thus he is more resistant to the fire, to physical changes, humidity and it does not change of color. Seeger, already pensioner, does not stop. Wanted and admired in the UdeC, it works now in another Fondef project.

By J.Oyarzo
University of Bio-Bio
Chile Concepcion

Termitas para producir etanol a partir de la celulosa

América Latina Logística, la empresa brasileña que tiene la concesión del tren de cargas de la mesopotamia decidió priorizar el transporte de soja de Paraguay y Bolivia a Brasil, pasando por nuestro país, pero desplazando al sector productivo de la región como clientes. Exigió una disminución en la carga argentina y un aumento de tarifa de un 40%. Empresarios advierten que pedirán un mayor control sobre la línea del ferrocarril y cuestionan la "política desleal" de la compañía. Investigadores analizan el proceso que permite a estos insectos transformar la madera en azúcar, lo que puede convertirse a corto plazo en un elemento base para la producción de biocombustibles. A su vez, esto evitaría tener que utilizar en maíz y otros granos que sirven como alimento. Investigadores de diversas universidades y empresas privadas analizan el proceso que permite a las termitas transformar la madera en azúcar para producir etanol a partir de la celulosa y evitar de esta manera utilizar maíz y otros granos que sirven como alimento. Las termitas pueden convertirse a corto plazo en un elemento base para la producción de biocombustibles, aseguró Achim Steiner, director del Programa de la Organización de Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente (PNUD) en una columna publicada en el diario brasileño Gazeta Mercantil. Según Steiner, las termitas albergan microbios capaces de transformar de "forma eficiente y económica los residuos de madera en azúcares para la producción de etanol". "Estados Unidos está invirtiendo miles de millones de dólares en combustibles alternativos, una parte de los cuales fue destinado a las termitas", reveló Steiner, quien agregó que "estudios semejantes están siendo realizados en laboratorios de insectos tropicales de Kenia con financiamiento europeo". En "pocos años", pronosticó, la tecnología de termitas podría superar a la de la caña de azúcar o del maíz, con las cuales Brasil y Estados Unidos producen etanol como sustituto de los combustibles fósiles. El etanol, que se obtiene del azúcar presentes en el maíz y la caña de azúcar, entre otros cultivos, se perfila como un recurso energético potencialmente sostenible con importantes ventajas medioambientales y económicas a largo plazo. Sin embargo, los actuales métodos de producción de etanol utilizan una cantidad significativa de energía, comparada al valor de la energía del combustible producido, y presionan sobre los precios de las materias primas utilizadas y los alimentos derivados de ellas. Por ello, distintas investigaciones buscan terminar con la competencia entre combustible y alimento, a partir de convertir la celulosa en azúcares para producir etanol. La fórmula que utilizan las termitas para transformar madera en azúcar es una de las opciones más prometedoras, coinciden investigadores del Instituto de Tecnología de California y de la Universidad de Stanford, entre otras instituciones y empresas. Si los estudios prosperan, podrían reproducirse los procesos químicos de las termitas sintéticamente; sin embargo, admiten, aún no es posible la producción masiva de etanol a partir de celulosa ya que hasta el momento los científicos no han logrado reproducir especies individuales de microorganismos en el laboratorio. No obstante, ya hay compañías que empezaron a instalar plantas para producir etanol a partir de los desechos de las fábricas madereras. Simultáneamente, en Valencia (España), aprovechan la pulpa y la cáscara de las naranjas para producir etanol; y en Suecia tratan de obtener etanol a partir de hongos; entre muchas otras experiencias en todo el mundo.