Emission of nitrogen oxides as well as carbon monoxides is an inevitable result of combustion. A Swedish law "Law of environmental fee for emissions of nitrogen oxides as a result of energy production" (lagen om miljöavgift på utsläpp av kväveoxider vid energiproduktion (SFS 1990:613)) controls the emission of NOx from energy production by a system of fees. The system has resulted in a strong approach toward less emissions of NOx among the energy production plants. High emission levels, today exceeding 52 mg/MJsupplied fuel, leads to costs for energy production companies. This paper examines possibilities to reduce the emissions of NOx by optimization of the SNCR-technique in a biofuel fired heat and power plant.

The system tungsten-oxygen has potential of being suitable for decorative coatings since ceramic coatings are often hard and wear resistant, and since modulations in oxygen content or incorporation of small ions could give bright colours. The aim of this report was to investigate the relationship between process parameters and  the properties of the films, with the wear resistance being of special interest.Samples with tungsten to oxygen ratios in the range of 100:0 to 25:75 at% were made using reactive sputter deposition, either with constant gas flow, or gas flow controlled by optical emission of the plasma. The hysteresis of the system, which means that a certain gas flow will cause different pressure and/or target voltage depending on in what way the flow is reached, makes it interesting to control the process where the system makes the steep change from metallic tungsten to ceramic tungsten oxide. This is difficult and thus requires precise control equipment.The samples were analysed using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and an empirical wear test suitable for small components like cell phone cover for example, in order to characterize the structure, composition and wear resistance of the coatings. The results could be divided into three groups: (I) tungsten-like, with very low oxygen content; (II) mixed phase and (III) tungsten oxide like, with oxygen content close to 75 at%.

The requirements for wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) are gradually increasing, partly because of higher incoming loads, which in turn require a more efficient treatment process. In parallel with environmental and economic goals there are also desires to lower energy consumption without compromising the wastewater treatment. Furthermore, there is a demand on WWTP´s to alter eutrophication in aquatic systems through better nitrogen and phosphorus removal. An increasing number of WWTP´s have acquired biological nitrogen and phos-phorus removal. A by-product of this type of biological treatment is the formation of nitrous oxide, which is a potent greenhouse gas.

Energy is an important issue in the current world which significantly affects sustainability and development. Energy generation and use are major sources of CO2 emissions which is one of the most important driving factors in global climate changes. The amount of energy used in house hold section can lead to estimation of the amount of CO2 emitted within this section which subsequently would be a ground to better management and maintaining a sustainable society. This study which is a bachelor?s project in sustainable energy, deals with estimation of CO2 emission from different types of residential houses in Sweden. An extensive literature review on energy use in Sweden by different residential sectors has been conducted.

This thesis was carried out to give some background information to a report of SLU (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) for the Swedish National Rail Administration (Banverket). The requested information was to provide basic data for an environmental impact assessment of the construction of the tunnel through Hallandsås. The aim with the thesis work was to discuss and quantify the leaching of nitrate and the emission of nitrous oxide from the soil at the groundwater level established through the tunnel project. The nitrogen related processes that could be affected were described and discussed. The different areas where a decreased groundwater level can cause changes in the nitrogen processes are the wet and moist areas.

Mankind faces a serious threat. Its activities, for example the burning of fossil fuels, have led to an enhancement of the greenhouse effect - something that has given rise to a global warming. The climate is becoming warmer, a change that has important effects on the nature as well as for humans and their society. Sea level rising, extreme temperatures are becoming more common, glaciers and other ice caps melt and storms becomes more intense when they appear. The main cause is the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere - carbon dioxide in particular.

För att minska utsläppen av koldioxid har länderna inom den europeiska unionen enats om att införa ett system för handel med utsläppsrätter. Handelssystemet infördes 2005 och skall i sin första period pågå fram till 2007. Genom att systemet är marknadsbaserat så bestäms priset på utsläppsrätter genom utbud och efterfrågan på marknaden. Företag som inte innehar tillräckligt med utsläppsrätter måste således köpa utsläppsrätter av andra företag som säljer utsläppsrätter på marknaden. I en tidigare studie anses miljökrav likt handel med utsläppsrätter vara av strategisk natur för företag.

The work covered in this report includes a literature study of the diesel dual fuel technology(hereinafter referred to as DDF). The literature study covers earlier work that has been doneregarding the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) and diesel in a DDF system. Moreover a onecylinder research diesel engine was fitted with a CNG fuel system for experimental testing. Theinstallation of the engine and the test cell is described. Results from the tests are presentedcovering emissions, heat release and pressure traces from the DDF-concept.During the literature study it was found that most research was related to heavy duty dieselengines.

Green public procurement (GPP) can be used as an instrument to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and consideration of environmental aspects within public procurement is becoming more common in Sweden and internationally. Two product groups that have been pointed out as especially important are transports and electricity, where the opportunities for public purchasers to reduce emissions are relatively large. This paper studies GPP which aims at reducing emissions, primarily of carbon dioxide, through environmental requirements within these two product groups. A theoretical analysis of cost-effectiveness, transaction costs and effects on technological development is performed, followed by a closer study of how these aspects appear in practice within GPP. The results indicate that a cost-effective allocation of reductions between the two product groups is most likely to be attained if the main part of emission reduction is achieved through environmental requirements on electricity. The cost for emission reduction within transports is relatively high, especially for heavy transports. For transportation services, more generally focused requirements on emission reductions could probably give greater environmental gains, but the existence of transaction costs steer the environmental requirements towards more technology specific types.

This report contains a study of replacing nuclear power with biofuel. The nuclear plant, OKG north of Oskarshamn in Sweden has been chosen and an extensive literature study about the nuclear plant has been implemented. The main aspect of this report is the availability of biofuels and whether it would be economically sustainable. Sweden?s most common biofuels are examined with regard to scope of use and potential.

Public concern and the need of responsible way of doing business have brought forward the issue of sustainability at the forefront of discussion in the last decade. Even though, food retailers are playing an important role in the economy, they are exposed for criticism by media and consumers for any socially and environmentally irresponsible business practices because, the potential environmental and social impacts from their operations are significant. These impacts need to be recognized and properly addressed. The main objective of this study was to assess the sustainable business management of a cooperative food retail business in Sweden, known as Konsum Värmland (KV). The necessary data and information on history and status of KV, and its practical activities concerning the implementation of sustainable development programs as well as the motivation and challenges encountered by KV during the implementation were gathered via reviewing different documents, research papers and press releases; interviewing decision makers and other personnel in KV and other researchers from Swedish University of Agricultural University who have investigated KV.

Periods of hypoxia are a recurring issue in Brunnsviken. Main factors that trigger hypoxia in Brunnsviken are eutrophication  due to anthropogenic emission of nutrients, stratification in the water column due to salinity and temperature differences  that prevents mixing and a sill inlet that prevents water exchange. As an attempt to improve the oxygen levels, bottom water is pumped from Brunnsviken causing aerated surface water to flow back into the basin.  The objective of this Master?s thesis was to study the change in dissolved oxygen levels due to pumping.

This study concerns the energy future of the county of Stockholm up until 2050 and describes how the energy consumption can be compared to today with the use of scenario methodology. Within energy future studies the backcasting approach is well known and has been put to use in this study. Due to the characteristics of backcasting the study is self-fulfilling, i.e. the future energy scenarios presented in this study satisfy the targets set up in this study. In the light of what may be the largest challenge of our time ? the climate change - the aim of this study is to describe how the energy consumption in a fossil fuel free Stockholm county in the year of 2050 may be.

According to the theory of environmental Kuznets curve there is a relationship between carbon emissions and GDP. The relationship has an inverted U-shape. Carbon emissions rise initially and then decreases once a certain level of GDP is obtained.This essay interprets earlier studies in the field of environmental economics and uses public choice to seek answer on how the population acts on aggregate level. This essay analyses 115 countries in cross-sectional data. The analysis shows that there is a significant relationship between carbon dioxide emissions and GDP that is increasing at first and then decreases for a certain level of GDP.

Testing and analysis of measurement data is a major part of the workday for development engineers within the section Fluid and Emission Treatment to assure the quality of products developed by Scania CV. The ineluctable variation and therefore uncertainty of results can be quantified and discussed with the use of statistical methods.The overall objective of this study is to examine how the competence of development engineers can be improved within the area of statistics. This has been done by relating the concept of competence with the use of statistical methods to analyse experimental data and by investigating which factors that influence the competence of the engineers. Observations of the daily operations, interviews and a focus group with development engineers and a workshop with management personnel, has been used as research methods in this study.The results show that the desired competence, from the perspective of the individual, consists of knowledge, motivation and support. It is important that none of these parts are neglected when the competence of engineers is to be strengthened.