Evaluations of open Ditch status and function, with an assessment of suitability of a conversion to a two stage ditch as a low maintenance alternative. To illustrate Swedish drainage problems this work focused on two agricultural drainage associations assessed in detail with a new method called MADRAS (Minnesota Agricultural Ditch Reach Assessment for Stability). With the assessment of the MADRAS method estimates were made to conclude the ditches operating problems. This was made through measurements of sediment depths, mass bank failures etc. in order to quantify ditch problems and propose practical actions for improved ditch stability and water quality. The MADRAS surveys were conducted in two main ditches that drains 2900 hectares of land on the northern shores of Mälaren. In the study measurements of the ditch cross-sections were also conducted to compare actual profiles with the original map profiles. The evaluation showed that parts of the studied ditch sections were operatively poor; main reason was mass bank failure, undercut channel banks, sediment aggregations and narrowed ditches. The profile survey shows that a majority of the profiles 80 % has sediment accumulations there remains only 64 % of the original profile from the map.

Fjärrvärmebranschen i Sverige har sedan mitten av 1990-talet varit i en stagnationsfas, där mängden producerad och förbrukad energi i stort sett varit konstant, trots stora investeringar i fjärrvärmenätet. Samtidigt har den höga andelen återvinning gjort att det råder brist på avfallsbränsle till energiåtervinning i Sverige. I kombination med hög konkurrens om avfallsbränslet har detta medfört att aktörerna på marknaden tvingats se sig om efter nya vägar att tillfredsställa behovet av bränsle, vilket lett till att det idag importeras stora mängder avfall för energiåtervinning från utlandet. Vid Vattenfalls fjärrvärmeverk i Uppsala har det mellan åren 2006-2013 återvunnits i snitt drygt 360 000 ton avfall per år. En stor del av detta hämtas in från lokala kunder, både kommuner och privata aktörer, men man har på senare tid även behövt börja importera avfall för att tillfredsställa energibehovet.

The purpose of this study is to create a method that can be used to produce decisionsupport data for the climate goals of a municipality. The method should be able to demonstrate the potential for reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions for measures aimed at the stationary energy system in the municipality. It will be used to make longterm projections of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in order to be able to demonstrate the ability to reach climate goals. The aim was also to test the method's applicability by using the municipality of Uppsala and the Uppsala climate protocol project in a case study. Uppsala climate protocol is a project consisting of participants from business, government and organizations that voluntarily want to commit to reducing their carbon footprint by reducing their energy use and thus work to achieve the municipality's overall climate goal. Public reporting of energy use and climate impact has been studied in order to examine the nature of indicators and accounting figures that are commonly used in the field and how long-term forecasts are formulated. In connection to this, the type and sources for the kind of data needed was also examined.

The crucial factor for successful municipal climate work is that there are driving forces. Most importantly is that the senior officials and politicians in the municipality are dedicated to the cause considering that they have the power to influence and make a change. Besides proactive and committed individuals, it is necessary that the work is organized and anchored by clear and concrete documents and control systems. It is also important that the work is continuously monitored and evaluated. To collaborate with other municipalities, authorities or participate in various networks is another factor contributing to the improved climate work in the form of exchange of information, knowledge and experience.A major driving force for municipalities to improve themselves is the distribution of state aid and grants.

Wood has always been an important material for people, and it is used for many applications. As for example, fuel for cooking and heating houses, construction materials and for constructing means of transport. Since wood also is a material that with time biologically degrades due to activity by micro organisms and wood fungi it is important to find ways to protect and further lengthen the life span of the material when in service. One method is to decrease the amount of water in the material by impregnation with an hydrophobic oil. The Linotech method which uses only pure linseed oil is one such possible method. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility to at the same time impregnate and stain/colour wood samples of pine and spruce by using the Linotech method.

The purpose of this study is to create a method that can be used to produce decision supportdata for the climate goals of a municipality. The method should be able to demonstrate the potential for reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions for measures aimed at the stationary energy system in the municipality. It will be used to make long term projections of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in order to be able to demonstrate the ability to reach climate goals. The aim was also to test the method's applicability by using the municipality of Uppsala and the Uppsala climate protocol project in a case study. Uppsala climate protocol is a project consisting of participants from business, government and organizations that voluntarily want to commit to reducing their carbon footprint by reducing their energy use and thus work to achieve the municipality's overall climate goal.

Government regulations and customs duties restrict the import of trucks to some of the markets to which Scania tries to sell their trucks. The distribution problem due to these regulations is solved by the foreign assembly department, KD, at Scania. This means that competence is needed and costs are added not related to Scania's core operations.The aim of this master thesis has been to analyse and to evaluate alternative ways of managing the packing operations considering cost, quality and work organisation. To study and examine the work methods and operations of today and also to present methods measuring the operations effectiveness and productivity.We have used the system approach to maintain totality and to understand the component's relation to this totality. Field studies combined with studies of relevant literature and studies of other companies operations have given us the knowledge and the understanding of the packing operations needed.

People in today?s society are becoming more and more aware of how important it is to use energy as efficiently as possible. This is clearly noticeable by an increase in home produced heat with e.g. solar panels or heat pumps heating systems. These changing customer demands forces district heating technology to be redesigned, which is why there is an ongoing research regarding the next generation of district heating - low temperature district heating (LTDH).

Ethanol for automotive purposes is an issue much debated and researchers disagree about the benefits of bioethanol. Converting energy-rich crops into ethanol suitable as motor fuel is a complex process and continuous development and improvements of processes and material used are important steps in the work of developing environmental friendly fuels. Grain is usually preserved by drying which consumes a lot of energy. Alternative storage of high-moisture grain in airtight storage systems reduce the energy required to produce bioethanol and studies have also shown that ethanol yields are increased more than 10% in ethanol fermentations of moist grain compared to dry. Airtight storage is often not perfectly airtight so biocontrol agents are necessary in order to preserve the grain.

The heating of companies premises is today functional with electrical heating and heating offossil fuel. The energy cost for these kinds of heating in buildings has heavily increased duringthe last years and the influence on the environment has become more visual. This leads to thatenterprises today become more anxious to render energy more effective and find alternativesolutions to their ancient heating systems. This is something that Skandinaviska kraftprodukterAB in Halmstad has become aware of.The purpose with this examination is to find the most cost-efficient and environmental measuresfor the office and workshop premises of SKP AB. Where one of the bigger things is to find agood alternative for their current oil furnace, which was heating the workshop.

A district heating plant has the advantage that it can take advantage of the waste heat from industries and use of cheap fuels to produce heat. But for the long term is competitive requires that energy is also saved in district heating plants. One way to save energy in a district heating system is to increasing cooling to the return temperature. This leads to less power needed to drive the distribution pumps,  and that more energy could be extracted from the same amount of fuel by an improved flue gas condensation.In Karlskoga the return temperature into the district heating plant is high. They would therefore reduce the return temperature in order to extract more energy from the flue gases.

Africa is one of the regions most affected by climate change. However its forests are important carbon sinks for the whole world, and if recognised as a global public good, could be conserved and contribute to green house gas emission reductions. A global mechanism, Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation(REDD+) aims to help developing countries in reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and enhancement of carbon stocks. REDD+ strategies may, however exclude local forest dependent communities from forests in order to conserve and maximise carbon stocks, thus having a severe impact on local livelihoods. Therefore, how local communities can participate and share benefits from REDD+ is a key concern.This study investigates how three forest dependent communities in the Nazinon forest, in Southwest Burkina Faso could financially benefit from a REDD+ project.

AbstractThe purpose of project is to study the possibility for Borås Energy & Environment to build and run a commercial ethanol production facility in Borås. The project also studies the technology for the production of ethanol using renewable energy, e.g. lignocelluloses with focus on two processes, svag-syra hydrolyse and enzymatic hydrolyse. The technology of the process is based of hydrolysation of biomass (hemicelluloses and cellulose) to sugar and extract it to ethanol. These two techniques will compare with each other to determine which of them that it?s more suitable for ethanol production.

An Internet application, VEDAIR, for estimation of air quality in regions with small-scale combustion of bio fuel has been developed by Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute with financing from Swedish Energy Agency and Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. The model contains user interface and a coupled model concept where concentrations of atmospheric pollutions are calculated for regional, urban and local contributions. In this report the model is described and a first study of air quality considering PM10 (particles with a diameter less than 10 µm) in two Swedish municipalities, Vänersborg and Gnosjö, is introduced.According to the result, there are areas with poor air quality even in smaller Swedish municipalities, mostly due to high emission from buildings with older wood heating furnace without hydraulic accumulator.In Vänersborg three areas were analysed in VEDAIR for the year 2003: Vargön, Mariedal and the downtown district. In the whole municipality the upper evaluation threshold for PM10, which is defined as 14 µg/m3 for annual average, was exceeded due to background contribution of particles. In all areas, however, the concentrations of PM10 were less than the environmental quality norms.

Användningen av bränslen med skogligt ursprung har i Sverige ökat stadigt sedan 1980-talet. Tänkbara anledningar till ökningen är en ökad medvetenhet kring enregisystemens miljö- och klimatpåverkan samt att energipriserna stigit och gjort det lönsammare att ta ut bränslesortiment från skogen. De främsta förbrukarna av dessa bränslen är idag den svenska industrisektorn och kraft- och värmeverk. Samtidigt som denna ökning har skett så har stora förändringar gjorts inom det svenska skogsbruket vilket gått från att inom drivningen haft många människor anställda till att idag vara så gått som helt entreprenörsbaserat. Även dagens uttagssystem för skogsbränslen är entreprenörsbaserade och förädlingskedjan för skogsbränslen sköts idag av ett fristående entreprenadföretag som utför de olika processerna i kedjan. Syftet med denna studie är att kartlägga hur uttaget av skogliga bränslesortiment går till idag och hur avtalsförhållandena för de till uttaget och vidareförädlingen kopplade tjänsterna ser ut.