The risks of environmental damage are inherent in oil activities, being a constant concern to our modern society. Among the remediation strategies, the biological one is safer and more inexpensive compared to physic‐chemicals approaches. Bioremediation can be enhanced using biodegradable polymers as coating materials of the nutrient release systems. However, some of these polymers can be improved using electromagnetic radiation, able to modify their properties, such as, molar mass, changing the materials physicochemical behavior. Thus, immobilizing urea in poly (butylene succinate) (PBS) matrix, producing a petroleum bioremediation tool was the primary goal in the paper herein. The composites were obtained by melting at 110 °C with subsequent application of gamma (γ) radiation at doses of 15, 25, 50, and 75 kGy. The obtained results allowed to infer that the increase of the γ radiation doses improved the immobilization, thus reducing the immediate urea release. Besides that, the preliminary biodegradation results showed that the highest rates of hydrocarbon reduction at the end of the analysis period were reached using the material irradiated at 25 kGy. These results are encouraging and proved that irradiated PBS‐urea systems could be used as oil spill disasters tool.

Controlled‐release fertilizer is one of the most critical tools in agribusiness for decreasing environmental impacts. Thus, the development of bio‐based systems able to induce the slow release of fertilizers has become the focus of numerous researchers. In this sense, this work presents a slow‐release fertilizer prepared by melt mixing of poly(butylene succinate) filled with 30 wt % urea and 5 wt % montmorillonite clay. The obtained materials were characterized using FTIR, XRD, and SAXS. Also, the release of urea was investigated using gravimetric and spectrophotometric tests. Finally, a vegetable growth analysis was performed to evaluate the development of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). The best composite material can increase the diameter of the lettuce by 67%, whereas the conventional use of urea increased this diameter by 48%. Therefore, the presented materials are useful as fertilizer systems.

O presente trabalho surge no contexto dos estudos desenvolvidos no Grupo de Pesquisa, Ensino e Extensão de Alfabetização Geográfica (ALFAGEO) da Universidade Estadual do Ceará (UECE), vinculado ao Laboratório de Prática de Ensino de Geografia (LAPEGEO/UECE) a fim de contribuir com o desenvolvimento teórico através do levantamento bibliográfico dos (as) autores (as) que abordam sobre o tema apresentado. No texto, será tratado o histórico da cartografia no ensino geográfico brasileiro, o mapa como ferramenta técnica, metodológica e de linguagem para aprender Geografia, além do processo de alfabetização cartográfica como metodologia primordial ao ensino e aprendizagem da cartografia escolar. Essa pesquisa foi elaborada através do levantamento bibliográfico de obras que discutem a cartografia escolar no contexto da alfabetização cartográfica.

Biodegradable polymers (e.g. poly(butylene succinate)-PBS) have been used in several sectors such as the environmental area, especially in bioremediation, in biological processes for conversion of pollutants into inorganic compounds. In this study, the foresight methodology for the use of biodegradable polymers, including PBS, reveals a publication rate of approximately 8.74 articles and 30.63 patents per year, between 2005 and 2019. However, the application of PBS, specifically, is still restricted to the environmental area, with only 3.0% of the 1484 works from this period. The results showed a more significant number of papers on the PBS application for synthesis, characterization, and application in the areas of Chemistry, Physics, and Pharmacy. In the area of bioremediation, only three studies related to PBS were found, revealing the lack of research and development to increase the contribution in the area of environmental recovery.