Storage of biomass is often associated with problems such as heat development, dry matter losses and reduction of fuel quality. The rise in temperature can potentially cause a risk of self-ignition in the fuel storage. Moreover, emissions from storage piles can cause health problems in the surrounding. The dry matter losses and reduction of fuel quality can have economical effects. The aim of this thesis project is to develop guidelines on how to store large amount of biomass at Vattenfalls heat and power plants in an optimal way.

In developing countries such as Vietnam the population consumes more animal products for example milk and meat than before which requires greater livestock production. Ruminants contributes to more methane emission which creates a dilemma between food production and its environmental impact. By feeding ruminants with nutritive crops which humans can not assimilate the animal performance will increase in terms of better growth and milk production without inpinging on food that can be consumed directly by humans. Increasing animal performance reduces methane emission in terms of amount of methane in kg-1 milk and meat which today is much greater in developing countries than developed countries. The aim of the study was to investigate tropical tannin-rich legumes for their potential as a feed supplement for ruminants made in vitro.

A titania-supported nickel catalyst was prepared and tested in methanation in order to evaluate its catalytic properties (activity, selectivity and specially, activity loss), and compare it with an alumina-supported nickel catalyst.The titania-supported catalyst did not only show higher stability than alumina, but also presented a different cause of deactivation, carbon formation. In addition, a kinetic model was obtained for the titania-supported catalyst, and a study of the effect of different operating conditions (temperature, composition and partial pressures of synthesis gas and water) on the deactivation rate and carbon formation of this catalyst was performed.

Food-poisoning is a major health problem and an estimated half a million Swedes are food-poisoned annually, with acute gastroenteritis as a consequence. One of the major causes of contaminated foods is related to food- and waterborne viruses. To be able to trace back the source of contaminant, the method of detecting viruses must be specific and sensitive. No standardized method for detecting foods for sapovirus exists today. The aim of the work described in this bachelor thesis is to implement and opti-mize a real-time RT-PCR method for the detection of all genogroups of human sapovirus in foods.

Arvika Fastighets AB is a municipal subsidiary tasked with managing all green areas in the municipality, with a strong focus on the City Park and plant beds in the city centre. These areas generate large amounts of green waste, which is currently transported to the municipality's composting area at Lycke. Currently, the material is piled up and turned once a year without using the resulting soil for flowerbeds, lawns, and shrub/tree plantings. The purpose of the study is to determine if Arvika can compost the green waste in a more efficient manner and produce weed-free soil ready to be mixed into various substrates for different purposes. Interviews with the Swedish Church and several municipalities in Sweden have been conducted to learn from their experiences and knowledge of how they make their composting work.

I Barduelva som ligger i norra Norge uppträder ett dämningsproblem från en isdamm, som tidvis orsakar översvämning och produktionbortfall för Statkraft. Isbildning i rinnande vatten domineras av att iskristaller bildas i under- kylt och omblandat vatten, kristallerna växer till sig och successivt utvecklas s.k. kravis. Då vattnet har en hög turbulens når inte kravisen till ytan, utan en del kommer att häfta på bottnen (ankaris), vilket kan vara början till en isdamm. Isdammar av detta slag tender att bildas då bottenlutningen ökar med ökande omblandning och värmeutbyte med atmosfären som följd.

During the 19-century a global warming has been observed, which includes increases in global air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of ice and snow, and rising global sea level. There is a clear connection between emissions of greenhouse gases caused by the human and the increase in temperature. Climatic changes caused by global warming can be stopped trough decreased emission of fossil fuels, for example by an increased use of biogas. Biogas is a renewable energy source which is produced through anaerobic (oxygen free) digestion of organic material. The gas is a mixture of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) and can be among others used as fuel in vehicles.

The building industry consumes approximately 40 % of the total energy consumption in Sweden, where the using stage is dominating with 80 %. There is a lot of work in progress to reduce energy use in the building industry, and the demands from authorities regarding energy use increases. As a part of this work Building and planning department of Sweden has established a requirement that has been applied since 2006, and restricts a maximum energy use for buildings.The requirement includes that an energy simulation must be done in advance to demonstrate that it is possible to meet the demands.Reality is however more complex than an energy simulation program, that frequently underestimates the energy use of buildings. The purpose of this thesisis to study and analyse deviations between estimated and actual energy use in modern apartment buildings. The study includes four apartment buildings in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Jönköping that were built in 2007-2009.

This master thesis is a study of anaerobic thread lockers and is done in cooperation withÖhlins Racing AB, which is a Swedish manufacturer of vehicle suspensions.The suspension in vehicles is constantly exposed to high vibration levels and a suspensionunit has several screw- and cylindrical joints. As an extra safety precaution so that thecomponents in the suspension doesn?t fall apart when using the vehicle, an anaerobicthreadlocker is added in these joints. The handling of these threadlockers is not totallyharmless and could lead to allergic reactions, and therefore there are Swedish laws to limit theuse of these. However, new types of anaerobic threadlockers have recently been launched onthe marked that are not considered under this law.

This study investigates three different methods for evaluating MOE,Modulus of Elasticity, in field measurements. The purpose is toinvestigate the possibility to use dynamic measurement methods infield measurements that hitherto (2010) has been performed with staticmethods. The objects of investigation are 20 glulam beams. The firstfield measurement took place in november 2007 and applied a staticmethod based on the standard SS-EN 408. The second measurement,described in this study, took place during summer 2010, and appliedstatic as well as dynamic methods.The MOE of wood is affected by a range different factors.

During this master thesis, wear and friction properties for the high-temperature alloy Kanthal APMT were studied. The results were also compared to 253MA. The initial tests showed, among other things, that the surface fineness of the muffle tubes matters in real applications like conveyor belts. A 253MA-sample wear-tested against a 253MA-tube showed lowest wear at 900°C while a pre-oxidized APMT-sample wear-tested against a APMT-tube had the lowest mean value of the friction force at 1100°C, compared to all other tests..

The consumer society exploits the earth?s resources more than the earth itself has capability to produce. This over-consumption causes a mass production of products, which mean that more greenhouse gases are being emitted to the atmosphere. This is one of the reasons why the earth?s temperature is rising, where the result of it is worldwide disasters.

SUMMARY Several studies have shown that weaning pigs are in great need of heat. The reason for this is mainly because the pigs are given very little feed just after weaning. Some of the pig producers of today have tried to get along with these problems by building some kind of hut for the pigs. Some of these pig houses have been included in this study.The study has shown shortcoming functions for the pig cottage. The expected heat increase has not occurred.

This report describes an investigation of the indoor climate in two different workspaces. Since we a big part of our lives are staying indoors in artificial environments, and more particularly in our workplaces, we think it would be interesting to do this investigation. The technical solutions for air treatment systems began with simple natural systems without fans and where the thermal rise of the air applied. In modern time is technical air treating systems used to take care of the fresh air supply. This type of units can supply filtered air with the right temperature to the building. Well-functioning ventilation is essential to bring clean fresh air to the room and effectively remove impurities without sound- or draught problems. The indoor climate is relevant for the output capacity.

A titania-supported nickel catalyst was prepared and tested in methanation in order to evaluate its catalytic properties (activity, selectivity and specially, activity loss), and compare it with an alumina-supported nickel catalyst.The titania-supported catalyst did not only show higher stability than alumina, but also presented a different cause of deactivation, carbon formation. In addition, a kinetic model was obtained for the titania-supported catalyst, and a study of the effect of different operating conditions (temperature, composition and partial pressures of synthesis gas and water) on the deactivation rate and carbon formation of this catalyst was performed.