A recent report of the International Labour Organization (ILO) entitled "Key indicators of the Labour Market 5th edition" is being throughly discussed in Brazil today. This report publishes a ranking of countries in terms of the productivity of the labour force. The reason for the noise here under the equator is that the position of Brazil in this ranking got worse in comparison with 10 years ago. To explain this "disappointing" performance, some analysts are blaming the low level of education of the brazilian population. I would like to launch an alternative hypothesis: the low level of education of the brazilian population is not the cause, but the consequence of the "disappointing" behaviour in this list. My intuition tells that the low level of technology in the brazilian enterprises allowed the desconstruction policy applied to the education in the last 20 years: an educated population is not interesting to these low tech industries, since this would require better salaries.
Think about this...
Showing posts with label industrial policy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label industrial policy. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Ethanol as automobile fuel and the brazilian PROALCOOL project: interview with Prof. Dr. Stephan Wolynec
The recent visit of President George W. Bush to Brazil brought to the world´s attention the brazilian PROALCOOL project. In fact, as far as I know, this is the only alternative automobile fuel project which achieved commercial status in the world. The interest of the american president adds some status to the matter and this, combined with the fact that Brazil and USA are the largest ethanol world producers, makes this technology fit for expansion outside the brazilian borders.
Prof. Dr. Stephan Wolynec is full professor (emeritus) at the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering of the Escola Politécnica da USP. He is one of the most important brazilian researchers in the field of metallic corrosion and was deeply involved with the PROALCOOL project since the begining. I invited him for an interview and he, graciously, accepted. The content of this interview follows...
(Noted added for the help of the reader: Telex is an ancient communication medium, found today only in Technology Museums around the world - it was the poor equivalent of an e-mail twenty to thirty years ago).
----
CGS: Please review the role of the university and of the research centers in the PROALCOOL project.
SW: The use of ethanol as a substitute of gasoline in cars in Brazil was motivated by the petroleum crisis started in 1973, which was aggravated in the last years of that decade. To overcome this situation, the Brazilian government launched the “Proalcool” program, through which it stimulated the car manufacturers to develop an ethanol fuel powered car.
The response of car manufacturers was positive, and their initial concern was basically directed, as expected, to optimize the parameters responsible for the engine performance. It was believed that it was sufficient to replace the engine of the gasoline powered car by the new engine to obtain the ethanol fuel powered car. However, it was soon realized that the ethanol fuel was not compatible with most of the materials used in the gasoline car due to corrosion problems, and that the undertaking of new materials selection was mandatory.
Two manufacturers (Fiat and Volkswagen), after adopting some surface treatments in some components of the gasoline car, started the production of ethanol fuel powered cars in the beginning of the 80’s. A euphoric start of a new automotive transport era was witnessed, which gradually began to fade due to the technical shortcomings of the new vehicle, which had in corrosion its implacable enemy. The complaints of bad performance of the vehicle, difficulties in starting the engine in cold days, the high fuel consumption, were growing, and the sales of these vehicles were collapsing. It seemed that the ethanol car had no chances to compete with its older brother, the gasoline car. However, in August of 1980 the government summoned a meeting between the car manufactures, universities and research institutes in order to discuss the possibilities of a collaborative work to solve the corrosion problems in ethanol fuel powered cars. The response of the participants of that meeting was highly positive, and the collaborative work started almost immediately. As a consequence, in the end of 1981 the ethanol fuel powered cars were already representing more than 50% of new cars in the automobile market. The participation of research institutes and university was decisive in the solution of corrosion problems. The new ethanol car became, in terms of performance and fuel consumption as good, or even better, than the gasoline car.
CGS: Which part did you play in this?
SW: At that time I was head of the Corrosion and Electroplating Laboratory at the Technological Research Institute of the State of São Paulo (IPT). This laboratory became heavily involved in the study of corrosion and corrosion protection against ethanol fuel. We performed decisive works initially with Ford and afterwards with Volkswagen. More than 10 papers were published and a considerable amount of technical reports were issued for different manufacturers involved in the task of solving the corrosion problems in ethanol cars.
CGS: The introduction of ethanol as an automobile fuel lead to considerable corrosion related difficulties at the time. Could you please explain this to our audience?
SW: The corrosion problems in the ethanol car were observed in many components. However, the most critical was that of the carburetor. At that time the carburetors in Brazil were essentially made of Zamak alloy (zinc-aluminum-copper alloy), and only in some few cars aluminum alloy carburetors were used. Already during the development stage it was found that Zamak and aluminum alloy were not corrosion resistant to ethanol and that some protective coating was necessary. Thus, the first attempt was to apply to Zamak carburetors a double dip chromate coating, but it was soon realized that the improvement in corrosion resistance it provided was only temporary.
In the first ethanol cars the corrosion of the carburetor, which is a vital component of a vehicle, was responsible for a considerable amount of corrosion products, which were dragged by the fuel, obstructing the calibrated orifices and interfering with the normal flux of the fuel, causing frequent problems of engine adjustment and increasing the ethanol consumption.
It can be stated that the ethanol car became viable only after the corrosion problems of the carburetor were solved. This was achieved when the Zamak carburetors became plated with electroless nickel. The idea of using this type of coating come out in a meeting at IPT that I and my colleagues from the Corrosion and Electroplating Laboratory had with the people of Ford R&D Laboratory. The Ford car manufacturer was the first to produce ethanol cars with this type of carburetor.
Coatings of other components of the car had also to be substituted for new coatings resistant to ethanol fuel. Thus, in the fuel tank the lead/tin coating (terne plate) was substituted by a tin coating with an intermediary coating of copper. All zinc coated components, chromatized or not, were substituted by cadmium chromatized components.
The ethanol car, in terms of materials used in its manufacture, became significantly different from the gasoline car. More than 300 components in the ethanol car are different from those used in gasoline car.
CGS: The recent introduction of the bi-fuel engines (the so called FLEX technologies), in my opinion, was quite smooth, in the meaning the the whole development, from the idea to the production, was made in a couple of years. Does this means that the above mentioned corrosion issues have been solved?
SW: I am not acquainted with this development. But, the development of the ethanol car had a very satisfactory effect upon the Brazilian car manufacturers. Before this development, we used to joke that their R&D laboratory was the telex. Every time they had a technical problem, they sent a telex to the parent firm in Unites States or Germany, and got the answer on how to solve it. But this did not work with the ethanol car. The development of this car forced the Brazilian car manufacturers to invest in their own R&D capabilities. Thus, I believe that presently they have highly qualified people and facilities to undertake the development of such technologies as the FLEX bi-fuel engines. Moreover, with the development of the ethanol car I am sure they learned how to solve the corrosion problems.
CGS: What are the actual research challenges in corrosion in ethanol media?
SW: Up to now the corrosion mechanism in ethanol media has not been properly established. This is a scientific challenge, but if we learn about this mechanism, new methods of corrosion protection could be discovered, both more efficient and cheaper.
CGS: Was the Proalcool project a successful example of interaction between universities, research centers and industries? Have we learned something from this experience?
SW: It certainly was. We had a big challenge to develop a new type of car, powered by ethanol fuel. In no place in the world there was a ready answer for this challenge. The Proalcool program showed that by joining efforts of industry engineers with that of university and research institutes scientists it was possible to develop, without relying on imported technology, and in a relatively short time, a Brazilian know-how. From this experience we learned that the scientific and technological expertise of our universities and research institutes can efficiently support the innovation efforts of our industries.
Prof. Dr. Stephan Wolynec is full professor (emeritus) at the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering of the Escola Politécnica da USP. He is one of the most important brazilian researchers in the field of metallic corrosion and was deeply involved with the PROALCOOL project since the begining. I invited him for an interview and he, graciously, accepted. The content of this interview follows...
(Noted added for the help of the reader: Telex is an ancient communication medium, found today only in Technology Museums around the world - it was the poor equivalent of an e-mail twenty to thirty years ago).
----
CGS: Please review the role of the university and of the research centers in the PROALCOOL project.
SW: The use of ethanol as a substitute of gasoline in cars in Brazil was motivated by the petroleum crisis started in 1973, which was aggravated in the last years of that decade. To overcome this situation, the Brazilian government launched the “Proalcool” program, through which it stimulated the car manufacturers to develop an ethanol fuel powered car.
The response of car manufacturers was positive, and their initial concern was basically directed, as expected, to optimize the parameters responsible for the engine performance. It was believed that it was sufficient to replace the engine of the gasoline powered car by the new engine to obtain the ethanol fuel powered car. However, it was soon realized that the ethanol fuel was not compatible with most of the materials used in the gasoline car due to corrosion problems, and that the undertaking of new materials selection was mandatory.
Two manufacturers (Fiat and Volkswagen), after adopting some surface treatments in some components of the gasoline car, started the production of ethanol fuel powered cars in the beginning of the 80’s. A euphoric start of a new automotive transport era was witnessed, which gradually began to fade due to the technical shortcomings of the new vehicle, which had in corrosion its implacable enemy. The complaints of bad performance of the vehicle, difficulties in starting the engine in cold days, the high fuel consumption, were growing, and the sales of these vehicles were collapsing. It seemed that the ethanol car had no chances to compete with its older brother, the gasoline car. However, in August of 1980 the government summoned a meeting between the car manufactures, universities and research institutes in order to discuss the possibilities of a collaborative work to solve the corrosion problems in ethanol fuel powered cars. The response of the participants of that meeting was highly positive, and the collaborative work started almost immediately. As a consequence, in the end of 1981 the ethanol fuel powered cars were already representing more than 50% of new cars in the automobile market. The participation of research institutes and university was decisive in the solution of corrosion problems. The new ethanol car became, in terms of performance and fuel consumption as good, or even better, than the gasoline car.
CGS: Which part did you play in this?
SW: At that time I was head of the Corrosion and Electroplating Laboratory at the Technological Research Institute of the State of São Paulo (IPT). This laboratory became heavily involved in the study of corrosion and corrosion protection against ethanol fuel. We performed decisive works initially with Ford and afterwards with Volkswagen. More than 10 papers were published and a considerable amount of technical reports were issued for different manufacturers involved in the task of solving the corrosion problems in ethanol cars.
CGS: The introduction of ethanol as an automobile fuel lead to considerable corrosion related difficulties at the time. Could you please explain this to our audience?
SW: The corrosion problems in the ethanol car were observed in many components. However, the most critical was that of the carburetor. At that time the carburetors in Brazil were essentially made of Zamak alloy (zinc-aluminum-copper alloy), and only in some few cars aluminum alloy carburetors were used. Already during the development stage it was found that Zamak and aluminum alloy were not corrosion resistant to ethanol and that some protective coating was necessary. Thus, the first attempt was to apply to Zamak carburetors a double dip chromate coating, but it was soon realized that the improvement in corrosion resistance it provided was only temporary.
In the first ethanol cars the corrosion of the carburetor, which is a vital component of a vehicle, was responsible for a considerable amount of corrosion products, which were dragged by the fuel, obstructing the calibrated orifices and interfering with the normal flux of the fuel, causing frequent problems of engine adjustment and increasing the ethanol consumption.
It can be stated that the ethanol car became viable only after the corrosion problems of the carburetor were solved. This was achieved when the Zamak carburetors became plated with electroless nickel. The idea of using this type of coating come out in a meeting at IPT that I and my colleagues from the Corrosion and Electroplating Laboratory had with the people of Ford R&D Laboratory. The Ford car manufacturer was the first to produce ethanol cars with this type of carburetor.
Coatings of other components of the car had also to be substituted for new coatings resistant to ethanol fuel. Thus, in the fuel tank the lead/tin coating (terne plate) was substituted by a tin coating with an intermediary coating of copper. All zinc coated components, chromatized or not, were substituted by cadmium chromatized components.
The ethanol car, in terms of materials used in its manufacture, became significantly different from the gasoline car. More than 300 components in the ethanol car are different from those used in gasoline car.
CGS: The recent introduction of the bi-fuel engines (the so called FLEX technologies), in my opinion, was quite smooth, in the meaning the the whole development, from the idea to the production, was made in a couple of years. Does this means that the above mentioned corrosion issues have been solved?
SW: I am not acquainted with this development. But, the development of the ethanol car had a very satisfactory effect upon the Brazilian car manufacturers. Before this development, we used to joke that their R&D laboratory was the telex. Every time they had a technical problem, they sent a telex to the parent firm in Unites States or Germany, and got the answer on how to solve it. But this did not work with the ethanol car. The development of this car forced the Brazilian car manufacturers to invest in their own R&D capabilities. Thus, I believe that presently they have highly qualified people and facilities to undertake the development of such technologies as the FLEX bi-fuel engines. Moreover, with the development of the ethanol car I am sure they learned how to solve the corrosion problems.
CGS: What are the actual research challenges in corrosion in ethanol media?
SW: Up to now the corrosion mechanism in ethanol media has not been properly established. This is a scientific challenge, but if we learn about this mechanism, new methods of corrosion protection could be discovered, both more efficient and cheaper.
CGS: Was the Proalcool project a successful example of interaction between universities, research centers and industries? Have we learned something from this experience?
SW: It certainly was. We had a big challenge to develop a new type of car, powered by ethanol fuel. In no place in the world there was a ready answer for this challenge. The Proalcool program showed that by joining efforts of industry engineers with that of university and research institutes scientists it was possible to develop, without relying on imported technology, and in a relatively short time, a Brazilian know-how. From this experience we learned that the scientific and technological expertise of our universities and research institutes can efficiently support the innovation efforts of our industries.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Industry/University relationships in Brazil
The partnership between university, research centers and industries is a keystone of modern sciences. From the industry side this partnership leads to a better access to top quality science and technology at low cost, since most of the research facilities have been built by the state or by other institutions (meaning not this industry). Researchers and University professors are also usually well informed persons and keep in touch with the novelties in the world. From the university/research centers side, on the other hand, a close contact with the productive sector allows a retribution to the society, which usually "pays the bills" through an official budget and through direct investments. Not to mention also the complementation of this official budget, which is usually too short and is shrinking. I am aware, for example, that a considerable part of the budget of a leading German research center in materials science is composed of the so called "Drittmittel", money from research contracts with the DFG or directly with industries. This institution depends on these resources to the point that the salaries of some of the researchers is paid with them.
Brazil can be considered a newcomer in science. The particularities of the Portuguese model of colonization resulted , for example , in the foundation of the first "university institution" only in the XIX th century (a school of medicine in Salvador, Bahia). My own institution, the "Escola Politécnica de São Paulo" is considered one of the oldest engineering schools in the country, being founded only in 1894. The creation of the University of São Paulo, the leading university in the country, dates from 1934. This, together with the agrarian roots of the country resulted in the critical lack of specialized personal at the beginning of the industrialization, in the 1950's.
This was attacked by the governments with the foundation of grant agencies (CNPq by the federal government and the FAPESP, by the São Paulo State government),which started huge programs of grants to master and doctor studies. The lack of specialized was so critical that most of these new masters and doctors was absorbed by newly founded universities and not by the industries. The industries, on the other side, were either multinational corporations or family business and both, in most cases, were not interested in the specialization of their workers. The need for technological improvement in the industry was also damped by disastrous protectionist policies adopted specially by the military regime between 1964 and the mid 1970's.
Nowadays the situation is different. The new formed masters and doctors cannot be absorbed by universities and research centers and usually spend long times in post-doc positions, depending on official grants. In the industries, on the other side, the growth of unemployment rates lead their engineers and technicians to search the university looking for a master or doctor diploma in the hope of becoming protected. Three quarters of my master students, for example, work in the industry. This should be good news, apparently. I, for example, select the the themes of the master dissertations asking to the student about specific problems which could be solved at their work. My hope is, that doing so, I am contributing to a technology transfer to their workplaces. Unfortunately this does not happen. It is a common practice of the brazilian industries to ignore the efforts of their workers, disregarding technologies which would lead to productivity enhancement. I blame the above described history for this.
In my opinion this situation require a corrective action. The leaders at the industry should learn that working with the university is not only desirable, but also necessary for maintenance of their markets. The recent devaluation of the dollar against the brazilian real will prove fatal for technologically obsolete industries. We, the universities, are ready for this dialog. The next move belongs to the industrial partners.
Brazil can be considered a newcomer in science. The particularities of the Portuguese model of colonization resulted , for example , in the foundation of the first "university institution" only in the XIX th century (a school of medicine in Salvador, Bahia). My own institution, the "Escola Politécnica de São Paulo" is considered one of the oldest engineering schools in the country, being founded only in 1894. The creation of the University of São Paulo, the leading university in the country, dates from 1934. This, together with the agrarian roots of the country resulted in the critical lack of specialized personal at the beginning of the industrialization, in the 1950's.
This was attacked by the governments with the foundation of grant agencies (CNPq by the federal government and the FAPESP, by the São Paulo State government),which started huge programs of grants to master and doctor studies. The lack of specialized was so critical that most of these new masters and doctors was absorbed by newly founded universities and not by the industries. The industries, on the other side, were either multinational corporations or family business and both, in most cases, were not interested in the specialization of their workers. The need for technological improvement in the industry was also damped by disastrous protectionist policies adopted specially by the military regime between 1964 and the mid 1970's.
Nowadays the situation is different. The new formed masters and doctors cannot be absorbed by universities and research centers and usually spend long times in post-doc positions, depending on official grants. In the industries, on the other side, the growth of unemployment rates lead their engineers and technicians to search the university looking for a master or doctor diploma in the hope of becoming protected. Three quarters of my master students, for example, work in the industry. This should be good news, apparently. I, for example, select the the themes of the master dissertations asking to the student about specific problems which could be solved at their work. My hope is, that doing so, I am contributing to a technology transfer to their workplaces. Unfortunately this does not happen. It is a common practice of the brazilian industries to ignore the efforts of their workers, disregarding technologies which would lead to productivity enhancement. I blame the above described history for this.
In my opinion this situation require a corrective action. The leaders at the industry should learn that working with the university is not only desirable, but also necessary for maintenance of their markets. The recent devaluation of the dollar against the brazilian real will prove fatal for technologically obsolete industries. We, the universities, are ready for this dialog. The next move belongs to the industrial partners.
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