Thursday August 21^st – Day 11

            Today we went to a bio-energy visit at Fazenda Colombari, a cow farm.  It was actually very interesting to learn about how the owner decided to make his farms more efficient and economical.  It operates as any other farm where certain cows are designated to produce milk and others are for meat or breeding except the cow manure is recycled at this farm.  Some of the manure is used for compost and fertilizer while the rest is taken and put into a biodigester.  The waste is pumped into a system that has a hole in the ground with a dome cover over the top; anaerobic digestion takes place here and after time biogas is produced.  This is then used to power a generator.  The biodigester at this farm cuts the electricity bill in half.  Imagine if most farms implemented this, it would be much more economical and sustainable! 

            Our next stop was at Itaipu Dam, which was incredible.  The tour took us up to the very top of the dam so we could see the reservoir full of water and the magnitude of the dam.  Then we got to walk through the dam.  Inside the structure it was hard to fathom the large amounts of materials, laborers, and time needed to complete a hydroelectric project of this degree.  Itaipu is shared between Brazil and Paraguay in an agreement.  This dam alone satisfies 17% of Brazil’s energy needs and 75% of Paraguay’s; in fact Paraguay sells back some of the electricity to Brazil.  This visit was amazing and unbelievable, I really enjoyed it! 

            We had our goodbye dinner which was bittersweet.  It was a barbeque buffet and delicious, I don’t think I have ever eaten that much meat in my life.  I tried chicken hearts, lots of beef, and grilled pineapple!  This time in Brazil was such a great international learning experience and I had a wonderful time!      

Wednesday August 20^th – Day 10

            Today we went to Parque Das Aves near Foz do Iguaçu.  The bird park rescued 50% of the birds from mistreatment and trafficking and 43% of the birds were born at the park.  It was such a peaceful park with tons of birds native to Brazil flying around, such as toucans and various parrots.  All of the birds looked happy and were extremely beautiful!  The set up was very cool with cages that we could walk though filled with exotic birds.  It was such a great start to the day and we had lunch at the park with sounds of birds chirping and live music in the background.  After the park we went to Iguaçu National Park to see the falls.  A handful of us went on a boat tour of part of Foz do Iguaçu.  It was a small boat that fit about 20 passengers and was thrilling.  We sped through the rapids and went close enough to a smaller part of the falls that we were all soaked by the end of the ride.  Afterward we had to rush to see the main views of Foz do Iguaçu.  It was simply amazing in appearance and pure power!  There was a walkway that went out over part of the waterfalls, at the end of it you were in a place completely surrounded by waterfalls in every direction.  I would love to go back to visit, it was breathtaking! 

            After the falls, one of the New Natural Seven Wonders of the World, we went to a location where from Brazil we could see both Argentina and Paraguay across the meeting rivers.  It was a very nice break from such an exciting day.  For dinner we went to a buffet and Churrascaria show called Rafain.  The food was wonderful and the show consisted of different Latin American dances and wonderful music.  It was really entertaining and a fun night!

Tuesday August 19^th – Day 9

            We drove to our tour at RENUKA, a sugarcane ethanol plant.  The plant we visited was in Vale do Ivai and began sugar production in 1993.  In 2010 it was bought by Shree Renuka Sugars, a company started in India in 1998.  At the plant we had to opportunity to chew on some sugarcane, which was very sweet and delicious!  Sugarcane is broken down, washed twice, and crushed by going through 5 or 6 mills.  A sweet juice is produced which can go through a fermentation process for ethanol generation or crystallization process that results in raw sugar.  The waste from the sugarcane, called bagasse, is burnt as fuel to create steam and power the generator for the plant.  The plant generates 18 megawatts of power and consumes 7 megawatts to operate so the company is looking into ways of selling the excess energy, though currently the company is not selling any power.  The plant cannot operate during rain and it runs from March to November or December.  When the plant is running at full sugar capacity it generates 75% sugar and 25% ethanol as opposed to if the plant was running at full ethanol capacity, only 45% ethanol could be produced.  The soil at this location in Brazil is some of the best in the world.  It is possible to harvest without replanting for 7 years, where most sugarcane farms must be replanted every 4 years. 

            This entire process of self-power generation through bagasse, creating ethanol as a side product from sugar which will always have a demand, and ending up with excess power after the cycle is great but there are also some downsides as with all energy sources.  Unfortunately 6 to 7 million liters of water is used daily.  The company tests for heat exchange and releases the water back into rivers when the temperature is acceptable again.  Waste water is also used on the farms.  The process releases carbon dioxide and other gases into the atmosphere.  Departments within the company monitor the gas emissions and deal with the management of solid waste.  The visit was very enlightening and I believe that the concept of taking advantage of the resulting product (ethanol) from a staple on such high demand (sugar) is a smart investment and idea.   

            

Monday August 18^th – Day 8

            Today we packed up and went to Universidade Federal do Parana.  We got a tour of the hydraulic department where large models are made to demonstrate the water flow behind and through dams.  We saw the model of Belo Monte which is a future dam in the Amazon.  The land is surveyed, cross sections determined, the topography is made with concrete, and then water is added to the model.  These models are only used to measure the water level and velocity.  The environmental and flooding impacts would be a different departments concern.  Another model we saw was the spillway for Belo Monte dam for the projection of the discharge.  The erosion at the bottom of the spillway is checked and helped determined that the current spillway is not a good design.  The guide showed us a tank that used to contain fish and test the water velocities.  Water velocities that are too low will not encourage fish to stay in the area and velocities too high will not allow fish to jump/swim easily enough.  I found this hydraulic and environmental part of the visit interesting, as I would not have originally considered all of these components, especially monitoring water velocity for the fish.

         In the second lab that we visited at the university, biomass for fuel and other products was the focus of the research.  Bacteria containing a lot of oil are chosen for these experiments and then exposed to carbon dioxide for photosynthesis to occur.  The process takes a long time and the experimentation with microorganisms is done in the lab, but then must be scaled up for large projects and notable results.  The lab found that the microalgae grow best when the entire sample is exposed to carbon dioxide and not just the surface, such as in raceway ponds, so this lab injects carbon dioxide into the system instead.  The fascinating part is that the carbon dioxide used is only from the air!  The lab still tests nutrients for the microalgae for improvements and efficiency.  The algae growth is monitored in the lab and then placed in photobioreactors which we were able to see outside.  The three photobioreactors were located in an area that receives a lot of direct sunlight and have carbon dioxide injected at the bottom of each structure.  Each compact photobioreactor produces 10 kg of microalgae biomass, which has multiple purposes.  The oil that is removed from the microalgae biomass can be used for biodiesel and the remaining dry biomass can be used in supplements, cosmetics, and even biogas in a biodigester.  This lab has goals to use the energy from the biomass/biofuel to power the building and to make the process and photobioreactors more efficient, along with increasing the oil content in the biomass.  When the biomass is taken out of the photobioreactor the tubes are cleaned and the residue is then reused so the process of creating the microalgae takes less time and biomass can be made faster and more efficiently.  This system does not produce any residuals or emissions, oxygen is the only emission!  I found this entire process very interesting and it was exciting to visit a lab that is in the forefront when discovering new biofuel technologies!        
    

       

Sunday August 17^th – Day 7

            Today we had a nice breakfast at the resort and I had the chance to briefly walk around outside because the weather had cleared up, before getting on the bus to Curitiba.  We had lunch at another buffet along the way to the museum in Curitiba.  The museum was designed by Oscar Niemeyer and shaped as a large eye.  He has designed multiple buildings and Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, so he is well known throughout the country.  There was a decent amount of modern art along with work from older artists spread throughout the museum.  Kim, Jessica, and I lost track of time and spent almost an hour in the Frida Kahlo exhibit observing photographs she had taken during her life.  The photographs were very interesting and told a vague description of her difficult life.  With the remaining time we were able to go up into the eye structure and see the exhibit there.  I would have liked to have more time at the museum to explore other exhibits. 

We arrived in Curitiba with enough time to go to the mall a couple of blocks away.  We had a dinner of very good burgers and fries from a place called Madre at the food court.  The hamburgers have been hit and miss; in a few instances we’ve been given burgers with ham on top.  The only explanation I could fathom is the word ‘hamburger’ is taken literally, as ham and a burger!  I love that there is so much beautiful artwork around Brazil such as the murals and graffiti art.  There was a lot of travel involved today so in the evening I relaxed in the hotel and ended up watching Finding Nemo on the television, luckily it was in English!                    

                

Saturday August 16^th – Day 6

            Today we drove from the hotel in Florianopolis to Apuama rafting in Santa Catarina, Brazil on Rio Cubatao do Sul.  The weather was a little rainy and cooler, but we were given wet suits.  Rafting was such a rush and so fun! The scenery was beautiful even with the fog resting low on the mountains.  In the very beginning we went over a waterfall that must have been at least 6 feet tall and then through the remainder of the tour which consisted of tons of rapids around class 3 or 4.  We stopped at one point where we had the option to jump into the water; it was freezing but completely worth it.  We also walked under a small waterfall farther down the river. 

            Soaking wet and cold we were driven to our hotel at Aguas Mornas Hot Spring Resort.  After we had all warmed up and showered we had lunch at the resort, which was delicious.  We went to the sauna and then into the pools filled with hot spring water.  It was a very relaxing day filled with tons of food and coffee.  The resort had loads of things to do such as a game room, bikes, tennis courts, etc.  Unfortunately the weather was not nice enough to take part in these activities.  During dinner a live band was playing and people were dancing, it was very enjoyable.               

Friday August 15^th – Day 5

            Today was our day off.  I still got up in time for breakfast and drank lots of tea because my throat was becoming sore.  A lot of us have started to get sick from travelling and close living corridors.  We went looking for shoes to wear for the rafting trip tomorrow and roamed around Florianopolis.  We went to a cute café for coffee and had first had experience with the language barrier.  I successfully ordered coffee while Kim, Jessica, and Fowzia all ended up ordering a hot cup of milk!  

It is interesting to think of the similarities and differences between what I’ve seen so far in Brazil and the United States.  Styles, trends, and infrastructure are similar and the places we’ve seen have been more modern and developed than I expected.  The money here, reals, is about half of the dollar.  23 reals is equivalent to 10 dollars.  Most things here have comparable prices to the United States or are less.  Certain products such as peanut butter and McDonalds are much more expensive here than in the United States.  It is not suggested to drink tap water in Brazil and only bottled water is served at restaurants.  Buffets are very popular and fruits, along with fruit drinks are more common than in the United States.  Motorcycles and small vehicles are the main forms of transportation, along with buses.  Buildings are brightly colored and the architecture is beautiful.  There are also tons of stray dogs roaming around the streets.  These are a few of the things I’ve noticed, though I’m sure visiting the favelas in poor areas would be a different experience all together. 

While exploring Florianopolis we watched a band playing on the steps of a church in a courtyard area with vendors selling their goods.  For dinner we had the hotel order Bob’s Burgers for delivery which is a type of fast food chain in Brazil.  It was good except for the fact that by mistake we got a cheddar cheese whiz on the burgers, challenges ordering food today.  At night the four of us went to an awesome bar and had Caipirinhas and danced to rock music.  It was a blast and a completely different taste of Brazil than the night before!