In many developing countries, among them Vietnam, contamination of agricultural land is a major issue that has public health implications. A fast growing population, rapid urbanization and industrialization have led to air and water emissions of potentially toxic elements (PTEs), such as cadmium (Cd). Earlier studies have shown that individuals with low iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) status absorb larger quantities of Cd than those of adequate nutritional status. The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the Fe and Zn intake from the foods consumed by women (15-45 years) in selected households in two agricultural villag-es in the Red River delta in Vietnam. In one of the villages the residents were involved in metal (mainly Fe) recycling activity, whereas in the other village the residents had agricul-tural production as main source of income. Interviews, followed by food intake calcula-tions, were performed.

Large volumes of excavated soil and rock are generated in building- and construction projects. These materials need to be transported longer and longer distances due to the densifications of cities. The transportation affects the environment in terms of noise and emissions, but also makes high demands on road infrastructure. To reduce the transport distances an increased responsibility for the excavated rock generated needs to be taken. Responsibility can be increased through an introduction of means of control.

Scandinavian Biogas is involved in the planning of a combined ethanol and biogas factory in Karlskoga, Sweden. Besides biogas and ethanol large amounts of digester residues will be produced, about 450 000 liquid tonnes residue (~7,3 % Dry Substance( DS)). The objective of this thesis was to investigate possible uses of the residue from the biogas production process ScandgasEthanol developed by Scandinavian Biogas, and to derive a methodological approach how to evaluate and compare handling systems. Three systems where proposed and compared in this thesis; spreading of the untreated residue as fertilizer (system 1), dewatering to a higher DS content to reduce transportation before spreading as fertilizer (system 2) and production of a solid fuel by dewatering and drying the residue (system 3). The general conditions for the proposed systems were investigated in terms of practical viability, economical aspects, environmental impact and energy inputs/outputs.

Increased resource efficiency in an energy system could result in large economic and environmental benefits. Tekniska verken i Linköping AB (Tekniska verken) is responsible for the district heating network in Linköping. Their vision is to create the world?s most resource efficient region. An important step towards this vision is more efficient usage of produced heat, something which could be achieved through integration of a seasonal heat storage in the energy system.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and fluxes in forest ecosystems are influenced by natural and human disturbances. In the tropical regions the highest impacts on disturbance in forest C cycles are related to human activities such as conversion of natural lands to cropland and pasture areas and to forest plantations. The disturbances in the forest C cycles will release CO2 emissions to the atmosphere triggering global warming. In this study the focus was set in subtropical soils in Brazil, south extreme region of Bahia. The aim of the study was to investigate whether reforestation of Eucalyptus plantations under former pasture areas will help mitigate climate change through carbon sequestration.

This is a tale about energy and power. It describes the geographer Halford Mackinder?s geopolitical theories and compares them with current views outlined by Zbigniew Brzezinski and Michael T Klare, among others. With a critical approach it also provides a historical account of a Europe that stands in front of an energy struggle so severe that the current world order seems destined to fall. Oil and natural gas, has since the beginning of the 20th century, been used as a geopolitical tool in order to create dependence, control and even sometimes overthrow empires.

The goal of this master thesis project was to develop computer models of some plausiblepretreatment techniques and to assess the potential benefits/costs of using pretreatment andanaerobic digestion for waste management of organic waste from a system perspective. Forthis purpose a computer program called ORWARE has been used. ORWARE (organic wasteresearch) is a program for making life cycle assessments of waste management. As the mainpart of the project work the ORWARE system has been provided with three new models ofpretreatment techniques. The additions consist of: One model of pretreatment with ultrasound,one model of thermal hydrolysis and one model of a screw press.

I och med samhällets utveckling från ett jordbrukssamhälle till ett industriellt samhälle, och vidare till ett tjänste- och kunskapssamhälle har antalet tjänsteföretag växt, och därmed även miljöpåverkan från denna sektor. Tjänstesektorns miljöpåverkan kan delas upp i två delar, en direkt miljöpåverkan kopplat till kontorsverksamheten, såsom energianvändning, samt en indirekt miljöpåverkan, som är ett resultat av tjänstens framtida nytta och bestående värde. Ett vanligt verktyg som svenska företag, och andra typer av organisationer, använder sig av för att strukturera upp sitt miljöarbete är miljöledningssystem enligt den internationella standarden ISO 14001. Miljöledningssystem är dock inte lika vanligt förekommande i tjänstesektorn som inom tillverkningsindustrin. Syftet med denna uppsats är därför att studera hur indirekt miljöpåverkan hanteras, och kan bli mer hanterbart, inom tjänstesektorn.

The building sector accounted for around a fourth of the total energy usage in Sweden in year 2010 (Energimyndigheten, 2012). Therefore it has become very interesting to achieve a lower energy usage in residential buildings. One way to achieve that is to build so called passive houses. By being very well insulated and have low leakage through the walls, they can reduce the energy usage for heating with a substantial amount. The first passive house was built during the 90?s in Germany; and in Sweden the first passive house was built in Gothenburg 2001.

In order to answer the question in the title, a cross-cultural analysis of two countries was done. Countries chosen were the Republic of Latvia and the Kingdom of Spain. The need for this research was suggested by increased cross-border business activities inside the European Union, and the lack of previous studies involving new Member States. The aim of the research was to see what environmental factors influence advertising adaptation in the European Union, as well as to evaluate the applicability of a standardisation approach. According to the theory, there are three external factors that influence the creation of a global advertising.

Today the milk production per cow is increasing but the milk delivered by the Swedish farmer contains less amounts of fat and protein than earlier. The contents have decreased since 1993. In average the milk contain 4,2 percent fat and 3,4 percent protein. Earlier the fat content in milk was important. Nowadays the dairy?s attention has turned to the milk?s valuable proteins, principally the caseins, which have a considerable nutritional value and are important for several dairy products like cheese and yoghurt.

A couple of hundred years ago half of the earth?s surface was covered by forest. Today, only half remains and every year an area the size of Nepal is disappearing. Deforestation, together with the burning of fossil fuels, is also one of the reasons for the increasing greenhouse effect. Another relatively unknown problem for the world?s forests is the trade with illegally harvested timber.

With a larger awareness of the climate changes and increasing electricity prices, energy efficiency measures in the industry have become more common. By rationalize the activity and by the same time decrease the emission of greenhouse gases the company can both save money and reduce negative environmental impact. For the Swedish industries the electricity price have traditional been relative low, which has resulted in a considerable larger usage than other European countries. By a deregulation of the European electricity market the electricity price will level off between the countries, which will cause a higher electricity price in Sweden than we are use to. To prevent that the Swedish industry don?t lose competitiveness against the other European countries, it will require energy efficiency activities in all different forms.ABB Sweden has decided to decrease their total energy usage with five percent in two years.

Cumulative effects are seldom treated in Swedish Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA). This report treats these questions and which procedures and methods that can be used when assessing cumulative effects in EIA. This report is a literature study where also a case study is a part. The case study shows how existing methods for cumulative effects can be used in practice. The report is concentrated on biology and treats cumulative effects on premises of biodiversity and roads. Cumulative effects include both direct and indirect effects.

The aim of this Master?s thesis was to find out more about the delimiting quality- and shelf-life parameters over time for liquid oat-based products. According to that, to present applicable subjective and objective shelf-life test approaches at accelerated conditions. The study aimed to gain a deeper knowledge concerning the general and accepted way of performing accelerated storage tests. This study focused especially on products, which suffer from quality failure caused by oxidation, such as liquid oat-based products.