Humans are increasingly influencing the climate and the temperature of the Earth by burning fossilfuels, destroying forests, and raising livestock. This adds massive amounts of greenhouse gases(GHG) to those already present in the atmosphere, amplifying the greenhouse effect andcontributing to global warming. The building sector accounts for a significant amount ofgreenhouse gas emissions. Decarbonizing the building industry can result in significant emissionreductions in the future years. Sweden's energy and climate goals have been updated, and some ofthem include reducing GHG emissions in the building sector, increasing energy efficiency, andmaking electricity production 100 percent renewable. In Sweden, energy renovations in singlefamily houses (SFHs) have the potential to reduce GHG emissions and improve energy efficiency,but the rate of energy renovations remains low because of financial, social, and behavioral barriers.This thesis aims to use LCA and LCC methodologies to assess energy renovations on SFH inVäxjö by combining various combinations of energy efficiency measures (EEMs) to reduce energyuse. The energy performance and eight different renovation scenarios using different EEMs havebeen evaluated for the selected single-family building. To evaluate building renovation measures,we developed a method based on life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle cost (LCC) thatincorporates building information modeling (BIM). Five different renovation measures werecombined in eight scenarios in this research, including different thicknesses of thermal insulationfor walls and roofs, triple-glazed windows, and doors with different U-values, air-source heatpumps, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, and solar photovoltaic. The present cost valuesof renovation measures over 50 years for LCC calculation were calculated. The global warmingpotential (GWP) of each renovation measure was estimated over 50 years using One-click LCA.According to the findings of this thesis project, scenarios 1 and 8 had the lowest and highestreductions in primary energy number, respectively. Scenarios 5, 6, 7, and 8 are the most costeffective in comparison to other scenarios. All scenarios resulted in a reduction in GWP impactfrom an LCA perspective in which scenario 7 resulted in the highest reduction in GWP impact. 

Biologisk lakvattenrening, med hjälp av mikroorganismer, används på Häringetorp avfallsanläggning för att bland annat reducera mängden kväve i lakvattnet. För att möjliggöra en längre reningsperiod, eftersom mikro­organismernas tillväxt hämmas vid låga temperaturer, vill Tekniska förvaltningen på Växjö kommun studera möjligheten att värma upp nitrifikationsdammen på Häringetorp avfallsanläggning med hjälp av grön energi.

Kvantifiering av effektbehov för förlängning av reningsperioden har gjorts utifrån en simuleringsmodell. Studie av tillförd effekt har gjorts under det första året med tillförd effekt. Jämförelse mellan de tekniska lösningarna solfångare, värmepump och biobränslepanna har gjorts gällande aspekterna driftsäkerhet, praktisk genomförbarhet, enkelhet och ekonomi. Utifrån diskussion ges rekommendation att installera en värmepump, vilken utnyttjar intern energi, för att levererar en effekt till nitrifikationsdammen på 100 kW under temperaturstyrda förhållanden. Denna tillförsel av effekt förväntas ge en förlängning av reningsperioden på fyra veckor.  

This study investigates the partial combustion technique for tar conversion using a modified experimental set up comprising a packed bed reactor with bed-inside probe for air supply. Simulated producer gas (SPG) and benzene were selected as a real producer gas alternative and model tar component respectively. The benzene conversion was investigated under different experimental conditions such as reactor temperature (650–900 °C), packed bed height (0–12 cm), residence time (1.2–1.9 s), air fuel ratio (0.2 and 0.3) and SPG composition. The results showed insignificant effect of temperature over benzene conversion while air fuel ratio of 0.3 caused high benzene conversion than at 0.2. Absence of packed bed lead high benzene conversion of 90% to polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) compared to similar low PAHs free benzene conversion of 32% achieved at both packed heights. In SPG composition effect, H2 and CH4 had a substantial inverse effect on benzene conversion. An increase in H2 concentration from 12 to 24 vol% increased the benzene conversion from 26 to 45% while an increase in CH4 concentration from 7 to 14 vol% reduced the benzene conversion from 28 to 4%. However, other SPG components had insignificant impacts on benzene conversion.

This study investigates the conversion of benzene in a novel highly non-porous ɣ-Al₂O₃ packed bed reactor at 1000–1100 °C. The influences of packed bed presence, reforming medium (steam and CO₂), gas flow rate and benzene concentration on steady state benzene conversion are examined. In presence of packed bed, benzene conversions of 52, 75, and 84% were achieved with combined steam and CO₂ reforming at 1000, 1050, and 1100 °C, respectively. Whereas, benzene conversion of 65% without the packed bed at 1000 °C experienced a continuous increase in differential upstream pressure (DUP) of high temperature (HT) filter at reactor downstream due to deposition of in situ generated coke. High concentrations of generated CO and H₂ of 2.3 and 6 vol% with packed bed than 1.4 and 4.7 vol% without the packed respectively, were achieved. CO₂ reforming achieved high benzene conversions of 68–98% than 42–80% achieved with stream reforming at packed bed reactor temperatures of 1000–1100 °C. The results indicated that presence of ɣ-Al₂O₃ packed bed with possible surface reactions directed the conversion of benzene to combustible gases instead of coke. Hence, ɣ-Al₂O₃ packed bed reactor could be a suitable choice for coke-free conversion of tar of gasifier producer gas.

This work presents the experimentally determined density (rho), viscosity (eta), speed of sound (u), and surface tension (sigma) data for tert-amyl methyl ether (TAME) + n-hexane and TAME + m-xylene systems at several temperatures (298.15, 308.15, 318.15, 323.15, and 328.15 K). These experimentally determined thermophysical data are utilized to compute various excess/deviation parameters such as molar volume (V-E), isentropic compressibility (K-s(E)), speed of sound (u(E)), deviation in viscosity (Delta In eta), isobaric thermal expansion coefficient (alpha(E)(P)), and surface tension (sigma(E)). The inspection of parameters response may interpret the existing specific molecular interactions as well as the mixing behavior of solutions. The critical analysis of observed parametric behavior have unveiled the strong and weak molecular interactions in TAME with m-xylene and TAME with n-hexane systems, respectively.

Sweden’s municipalities are leading the green energy transition, in this study, a techno-economic evaluation was done for a number of carbon neutral scenarios for Växjö municipality’s future energy system, situated within Sweden’s projected energy demand development in 2030 and 2050. The municipality’s partially decentralized energy system relies heavily on interconnected electricity supply from the national grid, and fuels imports from other parts of Sweden. It was a matter of question: in which ways will future demand changes induce supply changes, and whether a future carbon neutral energy system will be less costly in a sustained-electricity supply condition? To answer this, a balanced energy reference system for the municipality was created from an actual energy balance, using an hour-by-hour dynamic energy analysis tool EnergyPlan. Afterward, a future energy demand projection for Växjö was stemmed from the Swedish Energy Agency (SEA) sustainable future scenarios for Sweden, based on an average inhabitant energy demand. Modelling results for Växjö carbon neutral scenarios showed that Växjö energy system will be sufficient to supply future heat demand but not electricity demand, nor transport and industrial fuels. While in the short-term being carbon neutral is more economically attainable without changes in electricity supply technologies, a projected electricity price and consumption increase, change the outcomes for a carbon neutral scenario based on Intermittent Renewable Energy (IRE) to be less costly in the long term.

In line with the Swedish target of carbon neutrality by 2045, the municipality of Växjö in Kronoberg County has set its own target to be carbon neutral in 2030. Currently, the Municipality's partially decentralized energy system relies heavily on interconnected electricity supply from the national grid, and fuels imports from other parts of Sweden. Under this circumstance, several concerns arise, including: in which ways future demand changes induce supply changes, and whether a future carbon-neutral energy system will be less costly in a sustained-electricity supply condition. In this study, techno-economic evaluations are conducted for different carbon-neutral scenarios for Växjö’s future energy system in 2030 and 2050, using an hour-by-hour dynamic energy simulation tool of EnergyPLAN. Projections for the future energy demands for Växjö were developed and modeled, based on the development strategies and on the national sustainable future scenarios in Sweden. Results for the Växjö’s carbon-neutral scenarios showed that the current energy system is sufficient to satisfy future heat demand. However, fulfilling demands of electricity for all sectors and fuels for transport and industry is a challenge. In the short term and at increased energy demand and price, being carbon neutral is technically viable without major changes in energy supply technologies. However, in the long term, investment for intermittent renewable energy resources, together with carbon capture and storage is considered to be viable financially. Therefore, planning for a carbon-neutral Växjö based on local investments showed to be a feasible strategy.

Saccharina latissima biomass cultivated along the Swedish west coast was subjectedto four different scalable preservation methods after harvest; freezing, sun-drying,oven-drying and ensiling. Freeze-drying and freezing at -80 °C were also included toprovide dry and wet references. The effects of the different preservation methods onthe composition of Saccharina biomass (on dry weight, DW, basis), and the recoveryas well as properties of high-quality protein, alginate and biogas were evaluated. Sundrying significantly reduced protein, alginate and fatty acid content of the seaweeds and thereby concentrated ash in the biomass compared to the other methods.Protein/amino acids and fatty acids were significantly concentrated in ensiled biomass,while mannitol and laminarin were reduced compared to the other biomasses. Ovendryingand -20 °C freezing affected the composition the least, with lower ash content and alterations in some specific amino and fatty acids. Sun-drying and ensiling resulted in significantly lower protein solubility at high pH compared to the other biomasseswhich translated into the lowest total seaweed protein recovery using the pH-shiftprocess. Highest protein yield was obtained with the freeze-dried reference. Ensilinglead to a significant decrease in the molecular weight of alginate, while sun-dryingcaused a negative effect on alginate by inducing a shift in the guluronic and mannuronic acids composition of alginate. Sun-drying gave the lowest methane yield inthe anaerobic digestion experiments while freezing at -80 °C gave the highest yield,closely followed by freezing at -20 °C and ensiling. To conclude, preservation methods must be carefully chosen to protect the valuable component in Saccharina latissima ,and to achieve an efficient downstream processing ultimately yielding high quality products as part of a seaweed biorefinery.

As a result of the significant increase in population, urbanization, the lack of societal awareness, and the lack of sustainable strategies and appropriate policies for solid waste management, the problem of solid waste management has become a significant threat to the environment and living organisms in developing countries. The situation is not in the best condition in the Zahle district in Lebanon, as the lack of funding and expertise, the absence of legal systems and the Syrian refugee crisis are the most prominent obstacles faced by the municipalities of Zahle district for the optimal management of municipal solid waste (MSW). In the Zahle district, most MSW is disposed of in landfills. This approach includes several drawbacks, such as occupying large areas and becoming an environmental threat. In this paper, a review was conducted of the most common technologies for recovering energy from MSW. Based on that, anaerobic digestion (AD) technology as a potentially effective option for converting waste into energy was selected for adoption in the Zahle district. However, the main objective of this analysis was the site suitability analysis by implementing the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) in a Geographic Information System (GIS) model to assess the land suitability for the AD plant. AHP was used to estimate the weights and thus determine their relative importance in the site selection of the AD plant. ArcGIS software was used to analyze the site suitability of an AD plant in this research. The map of the potential locations of the AD plant was divided into five classes: Highly suitable, most suitable, suitable, moderately suitable, and low suitable. The results indicated that the highly suitable class with an area of 1867.5 hectares contained three zones suitable for building an AD plant, according to its proximity to the current sites of sanitary landfills. Accordingly, Zone 3 with 66.79 ha was identified as the most suitable site for establishing an AD plant. The research can help decision-makers in the Ministry of Environment and the Zahle municipalities choose the appropriate technology for energy recovery from waste and select a suitable site for that plant.

In the context of electricity, arbitrage trading involves taking advantage of existing price variations within electricity markets. The report conducted financial modelling for energy storage systems and demand-side load management for electricity arbitrage trading in single-family homes. The analysis included two different energy storage systems: a thermal energy storage system and a battery energy storage system. Additionally, electricity spot cost reduction was compared between electricity arbitrage trading and traditional energy efficiency measures such as air-to-water and ground-source heat pumps.

The report's findings indicated that air-to-water and ground-source heat pumps emerged as the most economically viable choices for reducing electricity spot costs, irrespective of the studied electricity price area. The thermal energy storage system, employing an insulated hot water storage tank, ranked the third most efficient in achieving cost savings. The battery energy storage system, represented by a lithium home battery system, demonstrated the lowest rate of cost saving among the analyzed energy efficiency measures. 

The financial modelling highlighted the economic potential for thermal energy storage systems, particularly in southern Sweden's electricity price areas SE3 and SE4. On the other hand, no economically viable options for battery energy storage systems were identified, regardless of the studied electricity price area. As a results, the report recommends utilizing thermal energy storage systems and implementing demand-side load management as strategies to hedge against future electricity price volatility.

Most of the detached houses in Sweden were built more than 30 years ago, and most of them are oldand need a deep renovation. The renovation is an excellent opportunity to apply the energy measure witha combination of renewable energy such as PV solar, which could be a great option to reduce energyconsumption and contribute to reducing greenhouse emissions. For this reason, selecting effectiverenovation scenarios for buildings could be important and challenging. One of these challenges isapplying typical scenarios for one archetype's buildings. A building could be in the same archetypeswith similar geometry and properties but in different directions. In this study, the researcher aims toinvestigate the yearly heat demand energy saving of buildings from one archetype, the same renovationscenario, and the same area but in four different directions, 0-30-60-90 degrees from the south (casestudies).This project's additional aim is to examine the electricity generation from PV when installedon one and both sides for four houses in the same area in four different directions, 0-30-60-90 degreesfrom the south.

Design Builder software was used as a graphical user interface through the Energy Plus engine. In thisway, the heat demand of case studies was simulated for different scenarios (Standard renovation andadvanced renovation) in the Växjö region. The results from the simulation of the houses with differentdirections showed that the heat demand energy decreased by, on average, 20% for standard and 28% foradvanced renovation. The comparison of the case studies with the same renovation scenario concludesthat they are no differences in the heat energy savings, which means the direction of the building has nobig impact on the energy saving of the renovation scenario in the Växjö region. The installation side ofthe PV has no impact on the annual electricity generation from PV for the house with a direction of 0degrees from the south. For the other houses, the yearly electricity generation from the PV increased by36.8% with one side on the roof (South direction). House number 4 is the best direction to install PVwith one side on the roof (south direction), and house 3 is the next best direction to install PV on oneside.

When installed on both sides of the roof, the annual electricity generation from the PV decreased by5,3% with four houses in different directions. The changes are not so high may be due to the weather ofthe Växjö, which is 65 % cloudy according to the weather data file from TMY. Another reason is thatthe PV was installed on both sides of the pitched roof. When the houses have different directions, 0 to90 degrees from the south, that may be increased the electricity generation from the PV on one side andreduce it on the other.

The incorporation of nitrogen as a second anion species into oxide glasses offers unique opportunities for modifying glass properties via changes in glass polymerization and structure. In this work, the compositional dependence of elastic properties and the nanoindentation hardness of mixed alkaline-earth silicate oxynitride glasses containing a high amount of nitrogen (>15 at.%, c.a. 35 e/o) were investigated. Three series of silicon oxynitride glass compositions AE-Ca-Si-O-N glasses (where AE = Mg, Sr, and Ba) having varying amounts of modifiers were prepared using a new glass synthesis route, in which a precursor powder of metal hydrides was used. The obtained glasses contained high amounts of N (19 at.%, c.a. 43 e/o) and modifier cations (26 at.%, c.a. 39 e/o). Mg-Ca-Si-O-N glasses had high values of nanohardness (12-16 GPa), along with a reduced elastic modulus (130-153 GPa) and Young's modulus (127-146 GPa), in comparison with the Sr-Ca- and Ba-Ca-bearing oxynitride glasses. Both the elastic modulus and the nanohardness of AE-Ca-Si-O-N glasses decreased with an increase in the atomic number of the AE element. These property changes followed a linear dependence on the effective cation field strength (ECFS) of the alkaline earth (AE) modifier, according to their valences and ionic radii. No mixed alkaline-earth effect was observed in the current investigation, indicating that the properties were more dictated by the nitrogen content.

Glass has been a key material for many important advnces in cilivilization.  Currently there is much scientific and technological interest to obtained flat/float glass surface that has extremely highly resistant to abrasion, anti-fingerprint, surface contamination and optical dimming. The aim of current project is to develop new routes to modify the glass surface in order to increase functionality and enhance performance in various existing and future areas of application. This will be achieved by modifying the glass surface by incorporating nitrogen to the flat/float glass surface by deposition of thin coatings of AlN, Si₃N₄ and TiN. This will be achieved by gas to particle conversion by physiochemical routs. Thin films of elemental nitrides have not been reported previously by aerosol technique and we anticipate that these can be used to enhance the mechanical, optical and chemical properties of flat/float glass surface. Techniques used for structural and physical characterization include, SEM, TEM, AFM, Raman, thermal analysis, mechanical and optical measurements. Areas of applications of these modified surfaces include automotive, architectural, laser optics, camera lenses, optical filters and display technologies.

In this work, the impact of the atomic packing density/fractional glass compactness of Ca-Si-O-N glasses on glass transition and crystallization temperatures, glass density, microhardness, molar volume, and refractive index were examined. It was found that the atomic packing density increased with increasing the nitrogen content and decreased with increasing the Ca content in the glass network. Furthermore, density, glass transition and crystallization temperatures, and refractive index, increased with an increasing atomic packing density of the glass, while molar volume increased with decreasing atomic packing density values. The change in hardness with atomic packing density is less clear and suggests that the atomic packing density does not solely control the underlying deformation mechanism. There is indeed competition between densification (favored at low packing density values) and isochoric shear (at larger packing density). Despite that, the effects of nitrogen as a network former and Ca as a modifier are significantly independent. The obtained results indicate that the atomic packing density of the prepared samples linearly depends on many mechanical and optical properties, suggesting that the glass network and cross-linking are proportional to the ionic radius of the Ca and the nitrogen content, respectively.

The aim of this project is to produce more chemical and mechanically durable glasses and glass surfaces having high thermal, mechanical and optical properties. The development of new materials is fundamental for the technological progress; their preparation and characterization lead to breakthrough applications as well as progress in our understanding of basic solid state materials properties. Glasses play an important role in our society and are expected to do so even more in the future. In the current proposed project we would like to extend the M-Si-O-N  ( M= Ca and Sr) system to T-Si-O-N (T= Transition metals e.g. Ti, Zr, Y, Mn etc) and Ln-Si-O-N ( Ln = Lanthanoids e.g. La, Ce, Pr, Eu, Gd, etc) systems. Applications of these nitrogen rich glasses include, as potential materials for use in more light-weight applications in modern communications equipment, in biomedical devices and where reductions in energy usage are critical. Furthermore, these glass materials can be used as a passive coatings on electronic substrates using their higher dielectric constants and elastic moduli to best advantage; special windows where their higher elastic moduli would allow them to remain stiff in thinner sections, thus allowing weight and energy savings; hard disk drives, again making use of higher modulus and lower densities to achieve higher rotation speeds; new bioactive oxynitride glasses and glass-ceramics with better load-bearing properties.

This paper reports the hardness, elastic modulus and refractive index values of the oxynitride glasses prepared from woody biofuel ashes. The glasses were prepared in nitrogen atmosphere at 1350–1500°C with addition of Ca metal as a precursor to the extra addition of this modifier. The glasses were homogenous, but appeared translucent grey to black. They contained up to 23 eq% of Ca and 5 eq% of N. The glass densities vary slightly between 2.76 to 2.92 g/cm³. The molar volume and compactness values vary between 8.01 cm³/mol to 8.31 cm³/mol and 0.446 to 0.462 respectively. Mechanical properties like hardness and reduced elastic modulus show values, up to 10 and 105 GPa, respectively. These properties are strongly correlated with the amount of N in the glass. The refractive index (1.54–1.75) increases with increasing N and Ca contents.

We explore the formation and composition–structure–property correlations of transparent Ca–Al–Si–O–N glasses, which were prepared by a standard melt-quenching technique using AlN as the nitrogen source and incorporating up to 8 at.% of N. Their measured physical properties of density, molar volume, compactness, refractive index, and hardness—along with the Young, shear, and bulk elastic moduli—depended roughly linearly on the N content. These effects are attributed primarily to the improved glass-network cross-linking from N compared to O, rather than the formation of higher-coordination AlO5 and AlO6 groups, where 27Al magic-angle-spinning nuclear magnetic resonance experimentation revealed that aluminum is predominately present in tetrahedral coordination as AlO4 units. Yet, several physical properties, such as the refractive index along with the bulk, shear, and Young's elastic moduli, increase concomitantly with the Al content of the glass. We discuss the incompletely understood mechanical–property boosting role of Al as observed both herein and in previous reports on oxynitride glasses, moreover suggesting glass-composition domains that are likely to offer optimal mechanical properties. 

Lithium containing glassy materials can be used as solid electrolytes or electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries due to their high energy density. Conventional melt-quenched Ca11Al14Si16O49N10 glass powder containing 24 e/o N, doped with Li-ions (1, 3, and 6 wt. %) and sintered by spark plasma sintering technique (SPS) was studied. The benefits of using SPS to produce glass-ceramics are rapid heating rates compared to conventional consolidation techniques and tuning of properties, adjusting the temperature, holding time (closed to Tg temperature), heating rate (solidification), and pressure (densification) profile during the heat treatment using SPS. Pure glass and glass-ceramic were obtained under identical SPS conditions and compared with pristine oxynitride and soda-lime-silicate (float) glasses. XRD and SEM analysis confirmed that increasing the amount of Li increases the crystallinity in the glass matrix. Nano-indentation analysis showed a decreased hardness and reduced elastic modulus values with the addition of Li-ions. The direct current conductivity increases with the addition of Li due to the high mobility of Li-ions. However, the float glass sample doped with 6 wt.% of Li exhibits even higher values of D.C. conductivity, than the analogously doped Ca11Al14Si16O49N10 glass. The magnitude of activation energy (more than 1 eV) is typical for an ion hopping mechanism and the D.C. conduction mechanism is dominated by Li+ hopping.

Nitrogen rich oxynitride glasses in Ca-Sr-Si-O-N system were prepared by the novel synthesis route in which the modifier is used as a metal instead of metal oxide. The results show high values of glass transition (912C), and crystallization temperatures (1140C) and hardness (10.50 GPa). The viscosity increases significantly with the nitrogen content and the apparent viscosity activation energies, ranging from 855 to 2170 kJ/mole. These glasses can be classified as being both very refractory and very fragile.

Oxynitride glasses are a branch of high performance glasses, obtained by incorporation of nitrogen atoms into oxide glass network. [1-3]Oxynitride glasses have superior mechanical, rheological and optical properties as compared to their oxide glass counter partner [2-5]. Properties of these glasses can be tailored by changes in nitrogen content and additions of various alkaline-earth and or rare-earth elements. Ca- Si-O-N glasses containing high amount of nitrogen and modifiers have been prepared by melting the mixture of CaH₂, SiO₂ and Si₃N₄ powder in nitrogen atmosphere. The glasses were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, differential thermal analysis and scanning electron microscopy. The obtained glasses were found to be homogenous, and having colour opaque black[3]. These glasses show high values of glass transition temperature (1050°C), and crystallization temperatures (1150°C) measured by differential thermal analysis.  Generally the Ca-Si-O-N glasses thermal properties evolve approximately linearly with the nitrogen content. The viscosity increases significantly with the nitrogen content and reaches viscosity values close to reported values for rare-earth silica oxynitride glasses. The apparent viscosity activation energies are very high, ranging from 855 to 2170 kJ/mole. These nitrogen rich glasses can accordingly be classified as being both very refractory and very fragile.

Oxynitride glasses and glass ceramics are increasingly recognized as potential materials in specialist applications in modern industrial sectors. Oxynitride glasses have superior mechanical, rheological and optical properties to their oxide glass counterparts. Properties of these glasses can be tailored by changes in nitrogen content and additions of various alkaline-earth and or rare-earth elements. In contrast to oxide glasses, oxynitride glasses are difficult to prepare which adds to production costs. Furthermore, they contain impurities in the form of elemental silicon and silicides, have poor oxidation resistance in air above their glass transition temperatures and have poor transparency in the visible region. This article reviews the above issues in relation to the potential applications of these glasses.

Mg-Ca-Si-O-N glasses containing high amount of nitrogen have been prepared by melting the mixture of Mg metal, Ca metal, SiO2 and Si3N4 powders in nitrogen atmosphere using a radio frequency furnace. Chemical composition, surface morphology, glass transition temperature, hardness, reduced elastic modulus and refractive index of the glasses were investigated using X-ray (EDX) point analysis, scanning electron microscopy, differential thermal analysis, nanoindentation, and spectroscopic ellipsometry. Mg was substituted for Ca in these glasses. The obtained glasses were found to be homogenous, and most of them were not transparent in the visible region. These glasses show high values of glass transition temperature (1020°C), and crystallization temperatures (1150°C). The hardness and reduced elastic modulus increases upon substitution by Mg, up to 13 GPa and 150 GPa respectively. The refractive index of the glasses was found to decrease upon increasing substitution by Mg.

Glass is indispensable and innovative material that has plenty of applications. It is an essential component of numerous products that we use every day, most often without noticing it. Glass is widely used in a variety of applications e.g. housing and buildings, automotive and transport, containers, drinking vessels, displays, insulation and optical fibers due to its universal forming ability, transparency, chemical durability, form stability, hardness relatively low price and possibility of recycling. Flat glass is a wide market of the glass industry and generally ninety percent of all flat glass produced worldwide is manufactured using the float forming process. There is a large market strive for thinner and stronger glass in order to reduce costs, save energy, and to find new applications.

This study comprises the modification of flat/float glass surface by novel oxynitride thin films in the Mg-Si-O-N and Ca-Si-O-N systems prepared by RF magnetron sputtering technique. The aim of this work is to develop a novel process in order to improve the mechanical and optical properties of flat/float glass by deposition of external materials e.g. alkaline earth metals and nitrogen to the surface in a process with the obvious potential to be automatic in industrial processes. Both mechanical and optical properties of the glass surface have been improved by the deposition of thin films. The float glass surface modified with Mg-Si-O-N have high value of hardness of 20 GPa, elastic modulus of 175 GPa and refractive index value of 1.96 compare to the float glass having hardness of 7 GPa, elastic modulus of 72 GPa and refractive index of 1.50.  The method presented here is anticipated to be used in production in the future and would make it possible to produce larger quantities of strong flat glass for smartphone, tablet covers and display technology to a considerably lower cost.

Phase formation, morphology, and optical properties of Ti(O,N) thin films with varied oxygen-to- nitrogen ration content were investigated. The films were deposited by magnetron sputtering at 500°C on Si(100) and c-plane sapphire substrate. A competition between a NaCl B1 structure TiN_1-xO_x, a rhombohedral structure Ti₂(O_1-yN_y)₃, and an anatase structure Ti(O_1-zN_z)₂ phase was observed. While the N-rich films were composed of a NaCl B1 TiN_1-xO_x phase, an increase of oxygen in the films yields the growth of rhombohedral Ti₂(O_1-yNy)₃ phase and the oxygen-rich films are comprised of a mixture of the rhombohedral Ti₂(O_1-yN_y)₃ phase and anatase Ti(O_1-zN_z)₂ phase. The optical properties of the films were correlated to the phase composition and the observation of abrupt changes in terms of refractive index and absorption coefficient. The oxide film became relatively transparent in the visible range while the addition of nitrogen into films increases the absorption. The oxygen rich-samples have bandgap values below 3.75 eV, which is higher than the value for pure TiO₂, and lower than the optical bandgap of pure TiN. The optical properties characterizations revealed the possibility of adjusting the band gap and the absorption coefficient depending on the N-content, because of the phases constituting the films combined with anionic substitution.

Ca-Si-O-N thin films were deposited on commercial soda-lime silicate float glass, silica wafers and sapphire substrates by RF magnetron co-sputtering from Ca and Si targets in an Ar/N-2/O-2 gas mixture. Chemical composition, surface morphology, hardness, reduced elastic modulus and optical properties of the films were investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, nanoindentation, and spectroscopic ellipsometry. It was found that the composition of the films can be controlled by the Ca target power, predominantly, and by the reactive gas flow. Thin films in the Ca-Si-O-N system are composed of N and Ca contents up to 31 eq. % and 60 eq. %, respectively. The films thickness ranges from 600 to 3000 nm and increases with increasing Ca target power. The films surface roughness varied between 2 and 12 nm, and approximately decreases with increasing power of Ca target. The hardness (4-12 GPa) and reduced elastic modulus (65-145 GPa) of the films increase and decrease with the N and Ca contents respectively. The refractive index (1.56-1.82) is primarily dictated by the N content. The properties are compared with findings for bulk glasses in the Ca-Si-(Al)-O-N systems, and it is concluded that Ca-Si-O-N thin films have higher values of hardness, elastic modulus and refractive index than bulk glasses of similar composition. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

In this work, amorphous thin films in Mg-Si-O-N system typically containing >15 at.% Mg and 35 at.% N were prepared in order to investigate especially the dependence of optical and mechanical properties on Mg composition. Reactive RF magnetron co-sputtering from magnesium and silicon targets were used for the deposition of Mg-Si-O-N thin films. Films were deposited on float glass, silica wafers and sapphire substrates in an Ar, N₂ and O₂ gas mixture. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, spectroscopic ellipsometry, and nanoindentation were employed to characterize the composition, surface morphology, and properties of the films. The films consist of N and Mg contents up to 40 at.% and 28 at.%, respectively and have good adhesion to substrates and are chemically inert. The thickness and roughness of the films increased with increasing content of Mg. Both hardness (16–21 GPa) and reduced elastic modulus (120–176 GPa) are strongly correlated with the amount of Mg content. The refractive index up to 2.01 and extinction coefficient up to 0.18 were found to increase with Mg content. The optical band gap (3.1–4.3) decreases with increasing the Mg content. Thin film deposited at substrate temperature of 100 °C shows a lower value of hardness (10 GPa), refractive index (1.75), and higher values of reduced elastic modulus (124 GPa) as compared to the thin film deposited at 310 °C and 510 °C respectively, under identical synthesis parameters.

There is an increasing demand for glass materials with better mechanical and optical properties for display and electronic applications. This paper describes the deposition of novel thin films of Mg-Si-O-N onto float glass substrates. Amorphous thin films in the Mg-Si-O-N system with high nitrogen and magnesium contents were deposited by reactive RF magnetron co-sputtering from Mg and Si targets in Ar/N2/O2 gas mixtures. The thin films studied span an unprecedented range of compositions up to 45 at% Mg and 80 at% N out of cations and anions respectively. Thin films in the Mg-Si-O-N system were found to be homogeneous and transparent in the visible region. Mechanical properties like hardness (H) and reduced elastic modulus (Er) show high values, up to 21 GPa and 166 GPa respectively. The refractive index (1.87-2.00) increases with increasing magnesium and nitrogen contents.

Laser melting techniques have been used in the preparation of unconventional glasscompositions with high melting temperatures. Thus, we wanted to test the feasibilityof using a CO2 laser in the preparation of nitrogen-rich oxynitride glasses and nitridesilicate glasses. Melting from oxides and metallic raw materials, we wanted to studyfirst glass formation and possible evaporation losses of the glass components. Twoglass series were prepared and studied for their structure and thermal properties, onewith Ca2+- and a higher melting La3+-doped soda-lime-silicate (SLS) series. In lessthan 3 minutes of laser melting, spheres of up to 6 mm diameter were successfullyfabricated. The obtained glass samples were homogeneous and transparent in thevisible region. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopic analysis confirmed theamorphous nature of the synthesized samples. Sodium losses increase as calcium isadded to the soda-lime-silicate glass. As expected, increasing Ca2+ or La3+ additionlead to increased depolymerization of the silicate network. Moreover, the increasesin Tg with the addition of Ca2+ or La3+ ions indicating strengthening of the sodalime-silicate glass by increasing strength of the M-O bonds of divalent and trivalentions over monovalent sodium ions, weak Na-O bonds also resulting in significantevaporation loss during the short laser melting times. The thermal stability decreasesupon addition of Ca2+ or La3+ ions to the soda-lime-silicate glasses.

Carbon fiber (CF) is predominantly produced from fossil-based sources and is therefore an area of interest for further development towards a more sustainable society. The purpose of this thesis work was to investigate the possibility of producing precursor fibers (PFs) for CF production from a blend of renewable cellulose andlignin. Cellulose, which is used to some extent for CF production, was chosen, while the possibility of adding lignin was investigated in hope of increasing the gravimetric yield of the CF production. Blends of softwood kraft cellulose pulp (SKP) and softwood kraft lignin (SKL) were dissolved in an alkaline (NaOH) solvent system at different cellulose/lignin ratios. A total of eight dopes were prepared (SKP/SKL ratios of 100/0–60/40 wt./wt.) with total dope concentrations ranging from 4.5 wt.% to 9.2 wt.%. The addition of SKL resulted in dark colored dopes with viscosities of which mainly appeared to depend on the SKP concentration. The dopes were wet spun, resulting in continuously spun PFs. The PFs showed on an increasing pyrolysis yield with increased SKL content but decreasing mechanical properties. However, process optimization was not included in the work, subsequently leading to the assumption that greater values on mechanical properties can be achieved. A pure SKP PF and a SKP-SKL (70/30 wt./wt.) PF were successfully thermally converted into CFs by carbonization at 1000 °C. The PF containing SKL had a total gravimetric yield more than twice as high as the pure SKP PF, 28 wt.% and 12 wt.%, respectively. Thereby, the addition of SKL seems to have a positive impact on the CF yield when utilizing a NaOH(aq) solvent system. This thesis work has become a base for the future work towards the development of CFs from wet spun cellulose-lignin PFs in the NaOH(aq) solvent system.  

Circularity in construction industry requires understanding of the complex system dynamics, which are affected by various building layers and societal systems. While the existing building stock offers opportunities to enable re-looping of construction and demolition waste, the assessment of building circularity performance is not straightforward, due to lack of standard database, methods, and tools. This may lead to subjective interpretations by practitioners who rely on lifecycle assessment (LCA) approach complemented with circularity indicators (C-indicators) to know the level of circularity (LOC) of building materials, components, and elements. Thus, these C-indicators requires careful evaluation of the current methodological approaches. The aim of this paper is to map and evaluate the nexus between assessment methodologies highlighting their strengths, limitations, and areas of improvement. In this study, a complementary approach of systematic literature review and design research concept was used to classify seven primary aspects covering 18 key performance indicators, that impact the system thinking approach of the renovation project. The critical analysis of ten distinguished C-indicators show conditional, beneficial and trade-off relationships between various indicators. At the same time, the dynamic aspect of re-looping the resources is missing in these indicators and sustainability is accounted by complementing lifecycle impacts rather than coupling them. Results of this review highlight substantial gaps in C-indicators applicability for renovation projects with emphasis to formulate a practical guidance to assess recirculation of materials throughout the value chain. 

Inom EU ska alla nyproducerade byggnader ha en energiförbrukning nära noll senast den sista december 2020. Region Kalmar Län genomför omfattande byggnationer av lokaler för psykiatrisk vård. Genom att ta fram en optimal fönsterstorlek för två typrum, ett undersökningsrum och en expedition, kan energiförbrukningen under lokalernas drift minimeras. Målet är att tafram en optimal fönsterstorlek och konstruktion så att målen för solvärmelast och dagsljus uppnås i rummen enligt Miljöbyggnad 3.0. Ett fönsters g-värde anger hur stor del av solinstrålningen som transmitteras genom glaset, ett lågt g-värde ger en lägre solvärmelast i ett rum. Ett fönsters LT-värde anger hur stor del av det synliga ljuset som transmitteras genom glaset, ett högt LT-värde ger ett större dagsljusinsläpp. Den största möjliga glasarean för uppfyllande av kraven för solvärmelast räknasut för flera g-värden. Den minsta möjliga glasarean för uppfyllande av kraven för dagsljus simuleras för flera olika LT-värden i Velux Daylight Visualizer. De g-värden och LT-värden som är möjliga att kombinera ur ett areaperspektiv tas fram genom att jämföra största och minsta möjliga glasarea. De alternativ som har ett motsvarande verkligt fönsterglas som ger låg solvärmelast och stort dagsljusinsläpp väljs. För undersökningsrummet väljs ett 1,40 m² stort glas med g-värde 0,41 och LT-värde 0,66. För expeditionen väljs ett 1,04 m² stort glas med g-värde 0,33 och LT-värde 0,62. Energiförbrukningen under ett år och effekten för ett kyl- och värmesystem i de två rummen tas fram genom en energisimulering i VIP Energy.

Hagelrums Gård/Biogas is a farm that produces biomethane for transportation from anaerobic digestion. For the anaerobic digestion manure is mainly used in their facility with two digesters.

This report investigates if installation of a heat pump that takes heat from the digestate would be economically and beneficial for heating of the first digester. The comparison will be done against the facility’s current chip boiler.

The current facility’s operation and three different scenarios with a heat pump with COP 4 and continuous flow of digestate is presented in the result section. In the results section is also comparisons of how an installation of the proposed heat pump would affect the operation of the facility.

The conclusion of the project is that a heat pump is not economical or suitable for the current facility. The extra costs and operation of the facility that is not optimal for a heat pump is the reasoning of the conclusion.

Tillverkning av papper och pappersmassa är en energikrävande process och industrin står för över 51 % av energiförbrukningen inom Sveriges industrisektor. Vid tillverkningen av kemisk pappersmassa används sulfatprocessen och då tillsätts lut i kokeriet som därefter kan återbildas i brukets lutcykel. I lutcykeln förvaras lut i cisterner och från dessa sker avdunstningsförluster.

Syftet med examensarbetet var att lokalisera de största avdunstningsförlusterna i lutcykeln i kausticeringsprocessen på Södra Cells pappersmassabruk i Mönsterås. Dessutom gavs förslag på hur energiförlusterna kan minskas och hur den sparade energin kan nyttjas.

Mätningar på avdunstningsförlusterna genomfördes för att kunna beräkna energiförlusterna. Dessutom togs cisterntemperaturer och lutflöden fram från Södras loggningssystem. De beräknade energiförlusterna var störst i kalkmjölkcisternen på 1,58 MW och vitlutscistern 1 på 0,97 MW. Den totala energiförlusten genom avdunstning från cisternerna i kausticeringsprocessen beräknades till 6,01 MW. Lösningar som undersökts för att minska energiförlusterna har varit att installera en ”breather valve”, nyttja ångorna i en Organic Rankine Cycle eller använda dem för att producera fjärrvärme. Det har även studerats vart den sparade energin kan användas i det undersökta massabruket.

Building energy assessment is essential to accomplish the sustainable energy targets of new and present buildings. Retrofitting of the existing buildings by assessing them through energy models is the most prominent method. Studies revealed that there is still blank information about the building stocks, and these affect the valuation of building energy efficiency policies. Literature also recommends that the existing energy models are too complex and unreliable to predict the energy use. Reliability of such energy models would improve through a better alignment of the input parameters and the model assumptions. The authors hypothesized that the reliability of models would be improved through identification of the most relevant energy use parameters for the building stocks in different regions and models. One of the most commonly accepted methods for detecting the most dominant input parameters is sensitivity analysis, though its shortcomings include the need for a large number of data samples and long computing time. In this research, the Energy, Carbon, and Cost Assessment for Buildings Stocks (ECCABS) model is adopted to identify the most important parameters of the presented model. The research team uses the model that has been validated by studies conducted for the UK building stock. Moreover, by assessing the feasibility study with the stepwise regression to identify the significant input parameters have been discussed. Results show that stepwise regression method could produce the same results compared to sensitivity analysis. This paper also indicates that stepwise regression is considerably faster and less computationally intensive compared to common sensitivity analysis methods.

Undersökningen syftar till att ge en bild av vilka förutsättningar och möjligheter det finns för uppförande av en försorteringsanläggning där plasten i avfallet kan sorteras ut. Detta sker genom att undersöka ekonomiska besparingar genom minskat behov av utsläppsrätter, identifiera lämplig utsorteringsteknik, utreda hur avsättningen för utsorterad plast kan se ut genom att identifiera potentiella mottagare samt kostnader för avsättning och transport.

Undersökningen tyder på att NIR-teknik är den mest lämpliga för en försorteringsanläggning. Med Svensk Plaståtervinning som mottagare beräknas en framtida försorteringsanläggning kunna minska mängden plast som går till förbränning med 48%. Detta motsvarar en kostnadsbesparing i utsläppsrätter på 7 670 000 kr per år med dagens utsläppsrättspriser och 9 850 000 kronor per år med estimerade värden för framtidens utsläppsrättspriser. En medförd årlig transportkostnad av den utsorterade plasten till mottagare beräknas uppgå på 632 000 kronor per år.

Det finns idag ett flertal potentiella mottagare av den utsorterade plasten men ett pris för denna hantering är svårt att få och kräver vidare utredning och diskussion. Ett ungefärligt europeiskt marknadspris för hantering av utsorterad förpackningsplast är givet till cirka 250 €/ton.

I examensarbetet har inventering och riskklassning enligt MIFO, metodiken för inventering av förorenade områden, genomförts på fyra nedlagda deponier i Älmhults kommun. Förslag på översiktliga åtgärder och rekommendationer på fortsatt arbete på respektive deponi har även tagits fram. Faktorer som har studerats är spridningsförutsättningar, föroreningarnas farlighet, föroreningsnivå, känslighet och skyddsvärde.

Riskklasserna är baserad på hur stor risk det förorenade området utgör för människors hälsa och miljö. Klasserna går från en skala från mycket stor risk till liten risk med tillhörande numrering från 1 till 4. Virestad-deponin har tilldelats riskklass 1, enligt MIFO fas 1 medan Grävlingsrås-deponin, Mesatippen och Delary-deponin har tilldelats riskklass 2.

Naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM), which is present in the oil and gas industry, can pose a risk to the workers engaged in the activities in this field. Nevertheless, to our knowledge, there is no study on NORM presence and NORM measurement in liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel systems and installations. Therefore, the question on whether NORM, particularly radon and radon progeny, can pose a risk to the health of employees, is still open. This study provides the initial base for further investigation and real NORM measurement. In this study, all stages of radon and radon decay products movement and deposition starting from natural gas production till the final destination are analyzed and reviewed. Several techniques for NORM detection and measurement are proposed. In the case if radon levels exceed the reference level, several actions towards radon reduction are proposed.

Solar power systems are one of the major energy sources for spacecrafts and satellites. The first ever satellite was supplied by electricity generated via silicon based solar cells. Thus, solar arrays play integral role for space environment applications. However, space industry encounters various difficulties related to solar cells, and the main challenge is impact of radiation on the performance of solar units. Destructive nature of radiation has adverse effect on solar power systems causing certain damages leading to loss of efficiency and other negative consequences. In addition, there are other issues such as temperature and vacuum environment causing degradation of solar cells which also should be paid particular attention. In this paper, the physics of semiconductors, the history and importance of solar photovoltaics in space industry, the effect of radiation and techniques which can help to reduce or fix the negative impact of radiation, other challenges related to solar power systems, and the future of solar cells are reviewed.

The urge for more sustainable living motivated the Stockholm Tiny House Expo. The project aims to build a floating, sustainable, man-made island for living and working outside of Stockholm. This paper proposes a waste management method with possible energy recovery for the island. It introduces a comprehensive system that integrates decentralized wastewater treatment with energy generation through anaerobic treatment. A by-product of the wastewater treatment process, the sludge, is combined with food waste to generate energy through biogas. The island’s organic waste (wastewater and food waste) is thereby managed sustainably. The results of this report require further research. The energy supply from the biogas reactor was calculated to be 52.19 MWh. The wastewater treatment process was designed with an objective of 90% reduction of BOD5, to comply with the Swedish regulations for wastewater discharge to natural bodies of water, including the ocean. The system's total volume proposed is 11.25 m3, which is the sum of the volumes of all the reactors, or tanks, needed to complete the treatment. 

Gasification is generally acknowledged as one of the technologies that will enable the large-scale production of biofuels and chemicals from biomass and waste. One of the main technical challenges associated to the deployment of biomass gasification as a commercial technology is the cleaning and upgrading of the product gas. The contaminants of product gas from biomass/waste gasification include dust, tars, alkali metals, BTX, sulphur-, nitrogen- and chlorine compounds, and heavy metals. Proper measurement of the components and contaminants of the product gas is essential for the monitoring of gasification-based plants (efficiency, product quality, by-products), as well as for the proper design of the downstream gas cleaning train (for example, scrubbers, sorbents, etc.). In practice, a trade-off between reliability, accuracy and cost has to be reached when selecting the proper analysis technique for a specific application. The deployment and implementation of inexpensive yet accurate gas analysis techniques to monitor the fate of gas contaminants might play an important role in the commercialization of biomass and waste gasification processes.

This special report commissioned by the IEA Bioenergy Task 33 group compiles a representative part of the extensive work developed in the last years by relevant actors in the field of gas analysis applied to(biomass and waste) gasification. The approach of this report has been based on the creation of a team of contributing partners who have supplied material to the report. This networking approach has been complemented with a literature review. The report is composed of a set of 2 documents. Document 1(the present report) describes the available analysis techniques (both commercial and underdevelopment) for the measurement of different compounds of interest present in gasification gas. The objective is to help the reader to properly select the analysis technique most suitable to the target compounds and the intended application. Document 1 also describes some examples of application of gas analysis at commercial-, pilot- and research gasification plants, as well as examples of recent and current joint research activities in the field. The information contained in Document 1 is complemented with a book of factsheets on gas analysis techniques in Document 2, and a collection of video blogs which illustrate some of the analysis techniques described in Documents 1 and 2.

This guideline report would like to become a platform for the reinforcement of the network of partners working on the development and application of gas analysis, thus fostering collaboration and exchange of knowledge. As such, this report should become a living document which incorporates in future coming progress and developments in the field.

Gasification is generally acknowledged as one of the technologies that will enable the large-scale production of biofuels and chemicals from biomass and waste. One of the main technical challenges associated to the deployment of biomass gasification as a commercial technology is the cleaning and upgrading of the product gas. The contaminants of product gas from biomass/waste gasification include dust, tars, alkali metals, BTX, sulphur-, nitrogen- and chlorine compounds, and heavy metals. Proper measurement of the components and contaminants of the product gas is essential for the monitoring of gasification-based plants (efficiency, product quality, by-products), as well as for the proper design of the downstream gas cleaning train (for example, scrubbers, sorbents, etc.). The deployment and implementation of inexpensive yet accurate gas analysis techniques to monitor the fate of gas contaminants might play an important role in the commercialization of biomass and waste gasification processes.

This special report commissioned by the IEA Bioenergy Task 33 group compiles a representative part of the extensive work developed in the last years by relevant actors in the field of gas analysis applied to (biomass and waste) gasification. The approach of this report has been based on the creation of a team of contributing partners who have supplied material to the report. This networking approach has been complemented with a literature review. This guideline report would like to become a platform for the reinforcement of the network of partners working on the development and application of gas analysis, thus fostering collaboration and exchange of knowledge. As such, this report should become a living document which incorporates in future coming progress and developments in the field.