This thesis aims to present the essential background on how to perform climate changeimpact assessments, and to present the results from a climate impact assessment on waterbalance and nitrate leaching for an arable Swedish soil. The soil is a sandy soil in southwesternSweden, grown with spring cereals. This study is meant to be a benchmark example,and cannot be seen as a regional or national assessment for Sweden, rather as an approachto present and analyze the most important parts of these kinds of assessments.A dynamical simulation model (COUP, Jansson and Karlberg, 2004) was used for thisstudy. The model was parameterized and calibrated against data from an experimental site,located in Mellby in Hallands county, south western Sweden. Measurements were carriedout between 1st of April 1988 and 1st of April 1991.

Latent heat storage is a way to store thermal energy when a phase change material undergoes a phase change. The advantage of latent heat storage is the capability to store more energy per mass unit than other heat storage methods. The most commonly used phase change in latent heat storage is the transition between solid and liquid. Phase change materials can be divided into organics, inorganics and eutectics.In the Nordic electricity market the price of electricity is set every hour by Nordpool spot, which leads to price fluctuations because of changes in demand. The main goal of this report is to create a latent heat storage system in a single-family home and investigate the possibility to save money by charging the latent heat storage system when the price of electricity is low, and discharge when the price is high.The thermodynamic model consisted of a ?tube-in-tube? heat exchanger with phase change material in the outer tube and water as the heat transfer fluid in the inner tube.

Den här studien berör några av de miljöpsykologiska grunderna i Alnarps Rehabiliteringsträdgårds uppbyggnad. Den ger förslag på hur karaktären rofylld kan förstärkas och hur säsongen kan förlängas i den restorativa delen av välkomstträdgården med växter som tilltalar flera av våra sinnen. Deltagarna som kommer till trädgården har i regel stressrelaterade åkommor såsom utmattningssyndrom och har varit sjukskrivna en längre tid. De är ofta mycket känsliga på grund av fysisk och psykisk utmattning. Studier visar att deltagarna har behov av en kravlös miljö där de kan få vara ostörda.

This work is a part of the project ?Våtmarker i odlingslandskapet ? uppföljning av miljömålen? (Wetlands in arable land ? following-up of the environmental goals). The main objective with this project is to study nitrogen and phosphorus retention in a constructed wetland by using mass balance calculations. Continuous measurements of nutrients and water flow through the inlet and the outlet of the wetland are made. However, substantial amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus were assumed to reach the wetland with a drain-pipe transporting wastewater from nearby houses (10 persons).

The study was carried out as a time study of five wood chippers placed on trucks,so?called huggbilar. They are trucks with built?in wood chipper, chip bowl and crane pulling a chip trailer. The system is used for chipping wood fuel, transporting, and delivering the chips to heating plants.

In industry applications, such as power supply plants, the issue of interaction between fluid and structure is always presented. More precisely, the fluid flow affects the structure by applying force(s) on it and vice versa. As a result, the structure can move (vibrate) or deform. A good understanding of this problem can help to design the system in term of safety, stability and efficiency.This project aims to optimize and test the Unicorn FSI solver from the FEniCS project [1] to simulate the interaction of fluid and structure in an experiment, which was carried out at Vattenfall Research and Development. The target is to improve the Unicorn FSI solver to cope with a real industrial problem.

The world?s growing need for energy together with a desire to ward off the worst consequences of global climate change has resulted in a never seen desire to invest resources in renewable energy sources. Biogas production through anaerobic digestion is one of those growing energy sources. In Sweden there are over two hundred plants that uses this biological process to break down organic substances while producing carbon dioxide and the energy-rich gas methane.This master?s thesis has focused on development of the mixture of different organic substances that is treated at a specific plant, namely Mosserud biogas plant.

A possible way to reduce pollution and slow down the process of global warming is to increase the usage of renewable energy sources. One of these renewable energy sources is solar power. With the aid of solar panels and solar cells the energy from the sun can be transformed into both heating and electricity. The requirement to use the sun in this fashion is a suitable surface, for example a big roof, an angle between 40-60 degrees and that the surface should be exposed to the south. Almost every farm meets these requirements.

The focus of this project was to characterize the occurrence of ESBL-­?producing bacteria in two irrigation water ponds in Southern Sweden. Samples were taken from two ponds nearby each other, from which analyses were made based on levels of community and individual isolates. Community samples were used for attempts for characterization of resistance patterns in irrigation water using the Omnilog PM-­?plate system. The growth of community microbiota in the presence of the following antibiotic substances was assessed; amikacin, gentamicin, kanamycin, penicillin G, ampicillin, piperacillin, trimethoprim, potassium tellurite and ciprofloxacin. Isolates were pure cultured using semi-­?selective media: LB, Rainbow Agar, mEnterococcus, 0.1 TSA and VRBD. A total of 177 isolates were isolated randomly. Each isolate was identified using the Omnilog GENIII-­?system of biochemical characterization. Further, the isolates were tested on Brilliance ESBL-­?agar for their ability to grow. Out of the total number of isolates, 30 were selected, preferably Enterobacteriaceae or Pseudomonas spp., based on their high similarity to library strain during the identification in the Omnilog-­?system. These were further characterized using Etest-­?sticks. Three selected strains were picked for further analyses using exogenous isolation for attempts to simulate horizontal gene transfer, and Omnilog PM-­?panels containing various antibiotics of interest. Selections of samples were chosen for molecular tests targeting plasmid-­?borne resistance genes CTX-­?M1, CTX-­?M2 and SHV. The method for assessing community-­?resistance patterns showed ambiguous data that was difficult to interpret; further optimization is recommended. For all tested PM-­?plates, generally greatest differences between substances were found among wells with the strongest concentration of antibiotic substance. A total of 175 isolates displayed ability to grow on ESBL-­?agar. Etests confirmed ability of isolates to resist many ?-­?lactam antibiotics and many were clinically resistant to certain substances. No plasmids were transferred during exogenous isolation. During molecular tests, a few matches were found for the CTX-­?M1 gene. Isolates analyzed with Omnilog PM-­?plates showed resistance to most compounds tested. The isolates showed greatest resistance toward penicillin G, ampicillin, amikacin, kanamycin and trimethoprim. In the study, it was established that resistance among bacteria was frequently occurring in the irrigation water, and ?-­?lactamase producing bacteria was very common. Extended studies are needed to assess the frequency-­? and occurrence of horizontal gene transfer (HGF) in this environment. Although some potential corresponding data is found, it is at this point not possible to determine whether the resistances are due to antibiotics used in veterinary medicine, human medicine or one additional reason is travel and trade. in irrigation water using the Omnilog PM-­?plate system. The growth of community microbiota in the presence of the following antibiotic substances was assessed; amikacin, gentamicin, kanamycin, penicillin G, ampicillin, piperacillin, trimethoprim, potassium tellurite and ciprofloxacin. Isolates were pure cultured using semi-­?selective media: LB, Rainbow Agar, mEnterococcus, 0.1 TSA and VRBD. A total of 177 isolates were isolated randomly. Each isolate was identified using the Omnilog GENIII-­?system of biochemical characterization. Further, the isolates were tested on Brilliance ESBL-­?agar for their ability to grow. Out of the total number of isolates, 30 were selected, preferably Enterobacteriaceae or Pseudomonas spp., based on their high similarity to library strain during the identification in the Omnilog-­?system. These were further characterized using Etest-­?sticks. Three selected strains were picked for further analyses using exogenous isolation for attempts to simulate horizontal gene transfer, and Omnilog PM-­?panels containing various antibiotics of interest. Selections of samples were chosen for molecular tests targeting plasmid-­?borne resistance genes CTX-­?M1, CTX-­?M2 and SHV. The method for assessing community-­?resistance patterns showed ambiguous data that was difficult to interpret; further optimization is recommended. For all tested PM-­?plates, generally greatest differences between substances were found among wells with the strongest concentration of antibiotic substance. A total of 175 isolates displayed ability to grow on ESBL-­?agar. Etests confirmed ability of isolates to resist many ?-­?lactam antibiotics and many were clinically resistant to certain substances. No plasmids were transferred during exogenous isolation. During molecular tests, a few matches were found for the CTX-­?M1 gene. Isolates analyzed with Omnilog PM-­?plates showed resistance to most compounds tested. The isolates showed greatest resistance toward penicillin G, ampicillin, amikacin, kanamycin and trimethoprim. In the study, it was established that resistance among bacteria was frequently occurring in the irrigation water, and ?-­?lactamase producing bacteria was very common. Extended studies are needed to assess the frequency-­? and occurrence of horizontal gene transfer (HGF) in this environment. Although some potential corresponding data is found, it is at this point not possible to determine whether the resistances are due to antibiotics used in veterinary medicine, human medicine or one additional reason is travel and trade..

This report concerns the for Sweden foreign tree species hybrid larch, hybrid aspen and poplar, and focuses on the area Kalmar and Mönsterås municipalities. The report shows that there are not only advantages with these species. The larch, the most common of the alien tree species has the greatest problems due to that its timber is difficult to sell in the area but also the Larch´s poor pulp quality and is more likely to be damaged by wildlife than the spruce is. Hybrid Aspen is much easier to sell and is used like regular aspen for match wood and textile pulp. Its disadvantage is the high cost for plants and to prevent damage from wildlife.

Local charges may induce people to change their pattern of consumption by influencing investments and acts in certain directions. Some charges could for example give people incentives to use less natural resources. This study investigates four different local charges and whether they benefit an economical management with natural resources or not. This is carried out by investigating whether there is a polarity between local charges that may influence environmental actions or goods, and effective pollution control set to achieve certain nationally determined environmental goals. The study includes two economic perspectives and investigates on the one hand whether local charges counteract governmental subsidies and on the other hand whether the charges vary between the different municipalities since large differences may lead to cost inefficiency.

Bacteria are a problem that occurs naturally in dishwashers when the dish stands there dirty for an extended period of time. To get rid of the unpleasant smell that the bacteria is causing, the most common solution is to run a regular washingcycle which can cause problems for the environmentally-conscious consumers since this causes unnecessary energy waste and emissions of chemicals in the washwater. To solve the problem in a more environmentally-friendly way by directly attacking the bacteria with an appropriate bacterialreductionmethod can therefore be an attractive feature in a dishwasher. There are many different ways to treat surfaces that have been exposed to the bacteria. Some high-profile methods are UV-radiation, microwaves and oxidant (ozone) that all three have had success in reducing bacteria in different contexts.

Today it becomes more and more important to work with continuous improvements to stay ahead of the competitors. Pfizer in Strängsäs started working with continuous improvements in 2010. By the end of 2012, the company?s goal is to reach 24 improvements per employee at the factory.Their project has two main purposes; to examine the need and possibilities for visualization regarding continuous improvements at the production department and to develop a concept for visualisation of the entire factory?s continuous improvements.To attain the information required to examine the needs at the production department, interviews with relevant employees at the department were conducted. Using interviews as a benchmarking instrument was also helpful in getting different points of views.

During 2007 the City of Stockholm installed five grid connected photovoltaic systems. The aim of this master thesis is to quantify the amount of produced energy and recommend routines to collect and analyse production data, to make production data accessible by the public and to gain experience for future installations.The total amount of produced energy until March 2009 is 227 000 kWh, with an annual rate of 150 000 kWh. The expected annual rate was 148 000 kWh.All system owners are positive about their plants and see economical benefits in scaling up such systems.The installations need very little attendance and maintenance, however it is recommended that an alarm function is installed for automatic feedback in case of a system failure. All future systems should be inspected during full operation to determine if the actual capacity is matching the installed capacity..

The report aims to show how outdoor environments have been shaped with the purpose of experiencing them from the inside of buildings, through an overview perspective. Two Danish gardens are used as examples. One is the Baroque garden in the garden of Frederiksborg castle in Hillerød. The Baroque garden is thus a part of a larger garden. The second garden is the Charlotte Garden, a relatively newly constructed garden within a housing complex in Østerbro in Copenhagen. Both gardens are analyzed on the basis of visual expression and structure. In the report, it is also discussed how the contemporary society have evoked the different ways of shaping the gardens.