Supplier Energy Audits in Thermal Power Plants

This master’s thesis handles an operating model for an electric equipment supplier conducted sale oriented energy audit for pumping, fan and other motor applications at power plants. The study goes through the largest factors affecting internal electricity use at a power plant, finds an energy audit –like approach for the basis of information gathering and presents the information needed for conducting the analysis. The model is tested in practice at a kraft recovery boiler of a chemical pulping mill. Targets chosen represent some of the largest electric motor applications in the boiler itself and in its fuel handling. The energy saving potential of the chosen targets is calculated by simulating the energy consumption of the alternatives for controlling the targets, and thereafter combining the information with the volume flow duration curve. Results of the research are somewhat divaricated, as all the information needed is not available in the automation system. Some of the targets could be simulated and their energy saving potential calculated quite easily. At some of the targets chosen the monitoring was not sufficient enough for this and additional measurements would have been needed to base the calculations on. In traditional energy audits, energy efficiency of pump and fan applications is not necessarily examined. This means that there are good possibilities for developing the now presented targeted energy audit procedure basis further.

Feasibility Study and Market Review of Small Scale Bioenergy Heating Plants in North-West Russia

The paper is focused on feasibility study and market review of small scale bioenergy heating plants in the Russian North-West region. The main focus is effective and competitive usage of low-grade wood for heating purposes in the region. As example of economical feasibility estimation it was chosen the project of reconstruction of small scale boiler plant in Leningrad region that Brofta Oy is planning to implement the nearest time. It includes calculation the payback time with and without interest, the estimation of probable investments, the evaluation of possible risks and research on the potential of small scale heating plants projects. Calculations show that the profitability of this kind of projects is high, but payback time is not very short, because of high level of initial investments. Though, the development of small scale bioenergy heating plants in the region is considered to be the best way to solve the problems of heat supply in small settlements using own biomass resources.

Thermal-Hydraulic Studies on the Safety Of VVER-440 Type Nuclear Power Plants

This thesis includes several thermal hydraulic analyses related to the Loviisa WER 440 nuclear power plant units. The work consists of experimental studies, analysis of the experiments, analysis of some plant transits and development of a calculational model for calculation of boric acid concentrations in the reactor. In the first part of the thesis, in the case of won of boric acid solution behaviour during long term cooling period of LOCAs, experiments were performed in scaled down test facilities. The experimental data together with the results of RELAPS/MOD3 simulations were used to develop a model for calculations of boric acid concentrations in the reactor during LOCAs. The results of calculations showed that margins to critical concentrations that would lead to boric acid crystallization were large, both in the reactor core and in the lower plenum. This was mainly caused by the fact that water in the primary cooling circuit includes borax (Na)BsO,.IOHZO), which enters the reactor when ECC water is taken from the sump and greatly increases boric acid solubility in water. In the second part, in the case of simulation of horizontal steam generators, experiments were performed with PACTEL integral test loop to simulate loss of feedwater transients. The PACTEL experiments, as well as earlier REWET III natural circulation tests, were analyzed with RELAPS/MOD3 Version Sm5 code. The analysis showed that the code was capable of simulating the main events during the experiments. However, in the case of loss of secondary side feedwater the code was not completely capable to simulate steam superheating in the secondary side of the steam generators. The third part of the work consists of simulations of Loviisa VVER reactor pump trip transients with RELAPSlMODI Eur, RELAPS/MOD3 and CATHARE codes. All three codes were capable to simulate the two selected pump trip transients and no significant differences were found between the results of different codes. Comparison of the calculated results with the data measured in the Loviisa plant also showed good agreement.

Regional potential for collaborative implementation of small CHP plants in bioenergy technology

This thesis is a preliminary study targeting South-Eastern Finland. The objective was to find out the financial and functional readiness and willingness of the small and medium-sized enterprises of the region to manufacture and sell distributed bioenergy solutions collaboratively as a business network. In this case these solutions mean small-scale (0.5 - 3 MW) woodchips-operated combined heat and power (CHP) plants. South-Eastern Finland has suffered from a decline in the recent years, mostly due to the problems of the traditionally strong industrial know-how area of the region, the paper industry. Local small and medium-sized companies will have to find new ways to survive the toughening competition. A group of 40 companies from suitable industries were selected and financial and comparative analysis was performed on them. Additionally 19 managing directors of the companies were selected for an interview to find out their views on networking, its requirements, advantages and the general interest in it. The studied companies were found to be generally in fairly good financial condition and in that sense, fit for networking activities. The interviews revealed that the companies were capable of producing all the needed elements for the plants in question, and the managers appeared to be very interested in and have a positive attitude towards such business networks. Thus it can be said that the small and medium-sized companies of the region are capable of and interested in manufacturing small bio-CHP plants as a production network.

Cuticular and Suberin Polymers of Edible Plants. Analysis by Gas Chromatographic-Mass Spectrometric and Solid State Spectroscopic Methods

Cutin and suberin are structural and protective polymers of plant surfaces. The epidermal cells of the aerial parts of plants are covered with an extracellular cuticular layer, which consists of polyester cutin, highly resistant cutan, cuticular waxes and polysaccharides which link the layer to the epidermal cells. A similar protective layer is formed by a polyaromatic-polyaliphatic biopolymer suberin, which is present particularly in the cell walls of the phellem layer of periderm of the underground parts of plants (e.g. roots and tubers) and the bark of trees. In addition, suberization is also a major factor in wound healing and wound periderm formation regardless of the plants��� tissue. Knowledge of the composition and functions of cuticular and suberin polymers is important for understanding the physiological properties for the plants and for nutritional quality when these plants are consumed as foods. The aims of the practical work were to assess the chemical composition of cuticular polymers of several northern berries and seeds and suberin of two varieties of potatoes. Cutin and suberin were studied as isolated polymers and further after depolymerization as soluble monomers and solid residues. Chemical and enzymatic depolymerization techniques were compared and a new chemical depolymerization method was developed. Gas chromatographic analysis with mass spectrometric detection (GC-MS) was used to assess the monomer compositions. Polymer investigations were conducted with solid state carbon-13 cross polarization magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (13C CP-MAS NMR), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and microscopic analysis. Furthermore, the development of suberin over one year of post-harvest storage was investigated and the cuticular layers from berries grown in the North and South of Finland were compared. The results show that the amounts of isolated cuticular layers and cutin monomers, as well as monomeric compositions vary greatly between the berries. The monomer composition of seeds was found to differ from the corresponding berry peel monomers. The berry cutin monomers were composed mostly of long-chain aliphatic ω-hydroxy acids, with various mid-chain functionalities (double-bonds, epoxy, hydroxy and keto groups). Substituted α,ω-diacids predominated over ω-hydroxy acids in potato suberin monomers and slight differences were found between the varieties. The newly-developed closed tube chemical method was found to be suitable for cutin and suberin analysis and preferred over the solvent-consuming and laborious reflux method. Enzymatic hydrolysis with cutinase was less effective than chemical methanolysis and showed specificity towards α,ω-diacid bonds. According to ₁₃C CP-MAS NMR and FTIR, the depolymerization residues contained significant amounts of aromatic structures, polysaccharides and possible cutan-type aliphatic moieties. Cultivation location seems to have effect on cuticular composition. The materials studied contained significant amounts of different types of biopolymers that could be utilized for several purposes with or without further processing. The importance of the so-called waste material from industrial processes of berries and potatoes as a source of either dietary fiber or specialty chemicals should be further investigated in detail. The evident impact of cuticular and suberin polymers, among other fiber components, on human health should be investigated in clinical trials. These by-product materials may be used as value-added fiber fractions in the food industry and as raw materials for specialty chemicals such as lubricants and emulsifiers, or as building blocks for novel polymers.

RF disturbances produced by high-power photovoltaic solar plants

In this thesis, analysis of electromagnetic compatibility of high-power photovoltaic solar plant is made. Current standards suitable for photovoltaic applications are given. Measurements of antenna factor for experimental setup are shown. Also, measurements of common mode disturbance voltages in high-power solar plant are given. Importance of DC-side filter is shown. In the last part of the work, electromagnetic simulations are made. These simulations show influence of several factors to EMC of power plant. Based on these simulations and measurements recommendations are given.

Molecular diagnostics of rare inherited SYNDROMES with a view on diagnostic test development

CHARGE syndrome, Sotos syndrome and 3p deletion syndrome are examples of rare inherited syndromes that have been recognized for decades but for which the molecular diagnostics only have been made possible by recent advances in genomic research. Despite these advances, development of diagnostic tests for rare syndromes has been hindered by diagnostic laboratories having limited funds for test development, and their prioritization of tests for which a (relatively) high demand can be expected. In this study, the molecular diagnostic tests for CHARGE syndrome and Sotos syndrome were developed, resulting in their successful translation into routine diagnostic testing in the laboratory of Medical Genetics (UTUlab). In the CHARGE syndrome group, mutation was identified in 40.5% of the patients and in the Sotos syndrome group, in 34%, reflecting the use of the tests in routine diagnostics in differential diagnostics. In CHARGE syndrome, the low prevalence of structural aberrations was also confirmed. In 3p deletion syndrome, it was shown that small terminal deletions are not causative for the syndrome, and that testing with arraybased analysis provides a reliable estimate of the deletion size but benign copy number variants complicate result interpretation. During the development of the tests, it was discovered that finding an optimal molecular diagnostic strategy for a given syndrome is always a compromise between the sensitivity, specificity and feasibility of applying a new method. In addition, the clinical utility of the test should be considered prior to test development: sometimes a test performing well in a laboratory has limited utility for the patient, whereas a test performing poorly in the laboratory may have a great impact on the patient and their family. At present, the development of next generation sequencing methods is changing the concept of molecular diagnostics of rare diseases from single tests towards whole-genome analysis.

The probabilistic risk analysis of external hazards of an interim storage for spent nuclear fuel

Tässä diplomityössä tehtiin Olkiluodon ydinvoimalaitoksella sijaitsevan käytetyn ydinpolttoaineen allasvarastointiin perustuvan välivaraston todennäköisyysperustainen ulkoisten uhkien riskianalyysi. Todennäköisyysperustainen riskianalyysi (PRA) on yleisesti käytetty riskien tunnistus- ja lähestymistapa ydinvoimalaitoksella. Työn tarkoituksena oli laatia täysin uusi ulkoisten uhkien PRA-analyysi, koska Suomessa ei ole aiemmin tehty vastaavanlaisia tämän tutkimusalueen riskitarkasteluja. Riskitarkastelun motiivina ovat myös maailmalla tapahtuneiden luonnonkatastrofien vuoksi korostunut ulkoisten uhkien rooli käytetyn ydinpolttoaineen välivarastoinnin turvallisuudessa. PRA analyysin rakenne pohjautui tutkimuksen alussa luotuun metodologiaan. Analyysi perustuu mahdollisten ulkoisten uhkien tunnistamiseen pois lukien ihmisen aikaansaamat tahalliset vahingot. Tunnistettujen ulkoisten uhkien esiintymistaajuuksien ja vahingoittamispotentiaalin perusteella ulkoiset uhat joko karsittiin pois tutkimuksessa määriteltyjen karsintakriteerien avulla tai analysoitiin tarkemmin. Tutkimustulosten perusteella voitiin todeta, että tiedot hyvin harvoin tapahtuvista ulkoisista uhista ovat epätäydellisiä. Suurinta osaa näistä hyvin harvoin tapahtuvista ulkoisista uhista ei ole koskaan esiintynyt eikä todennäköisesti koskaan tule esiintymään Olkiluodon vaikutusalueella tai edes Suomessa. Esimerkiksi salaman iskujen ja öljyaltistuksen roolit ja vaikutukset erilaisten komponenttien käytettävyyteen ovat epävarmasti tunnettuja. Tutkimuksen tuloksia voidaan pitää kokonaisuudessaan merkittävinä, koska niiden perusteella voidaan osoittaa ne ulkoiset uhat, joiden vaikutuksia olisi syytä tutkia tarkemmin. Yksityiskohtaisempi tietoisuus hyvin harvoin esiintyvistä ulkoisista uhista tarkentaisi alkutapahtumataajuuksien estimaatteja.

Comparison of Biomass Gasification Technologies for Natural Gas Substitution in Iron Ore Pelletizing Plants

The iron ore pelletizing process consumes high amounts of energy, including nonrenewable sources, such as natural gas. Due to fossil fuels scarcity and increasing concerns regarding sustainability and global warming, at least partial substitution by renewable energy seems inevitable. Gasification projects are being successfully developed in Northern Europe, and large-scale circulating fluidized bed biomass gasifiers have been commissioned in e.g. Finland. As Brazil has abundant biomass resources, biomass gasification is a promising technology in the near future. Biomasses can be converted into product gas through gasification. This work compares different technologies, e.g. air, oxygen and steam gasification, focusing on the use of the product gas in the indurating machine. The use of biosynthetic natural gas is also evaluated. Main parameters utilized to assess the suitability of product gas were adiabatic flame temperature and volumetric flow rate. It was found that low energy content product gas could be utilized in the traveling grate, but it would require burner’s to be changed. On the other hand, bio-SGN could be utilized without any adaptions. Economical assessment showed that all gasification plants are feasible for sizes greater than 60 MW. Bio-SNG production is still more expensive than natural gas in any case.

International Advanced Water Technologies Centre, IAWTC/LADEC and LUT 2013 : Questionnaire Responses from Russian Drinking Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants

In this report, information is published concerning Russian water and wastewater treatment plants. The information is based on a questionnaire sent to 70 water and wastewater treatment plants in 2012-2013. The questionnaire was prepared by the International Advanced Water Technologies Centre (IAWTC) and Lahti Development Company (LADEC). The questions dealt with an assessment of the present state, the need for changes, renovation, investments, and how to improve the efficiency of the operation by training and investments. A significant need to renew the old pipelines, constructions, and processes was clearly evident. The aggregated answers can be utilized in Russia as internal benchmarking in order to arrange training and plant visits, which were requested in many of the answers. Sharing this open report with the respondents can aid networking and awareness of HELCOM requirements which relate to waste water treatment plants discharging their waste water directly or indirectly into the Baltic Sea. The aim of this report is to provide information for Finnish small and medium size companies (SMEs) as regards possible water related exportation to different parts of Russia.

Pp2a: At The Crossroads Between Growth and Defence In Plants

Living organisms manage their resources in well evolutionary-preserved manner to grow and reproduce. Plants are no exceptions, beginning from their seed stage they have to perceive environmental conditions to avoid germination at wrong time or rough soil. Under favourable conditions, plants invest photosynthetic end products in cell and organ growth to provide best possible conditions for generation of offspring. Under natural conditions, however, plants are exposed to a multitude of environmental stress factors, including high light and insufficient light, drought and flooding, various bacteria and viruses, herbivores, and other plants that compete for nutrients and light. To survive under environmental challenges, plants have evolved signaling mechanisms that recognise environmental changes and perform fine-tuned actions that maintain cellular homeostasis. Controlled phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of proteins plays an important role in maintaining balanced flow of information within cells. In this study, I examined the role of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) on plant growth and acclimation under optimal and stressful conditions. To this aim, I studied gene expression profiles, proteomes and protein interactions, and their impacts on plant health and survival, taking advantage of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and the mutant approach. Special emphasis was made on two highly similar PP2A-B regulatory subunits, B’γ and B’ζ. Promoters of B’γ and B’ζ were found to be similarly active in the developing tissues of the plant. In mature leaves, however, the promoter of B’γ was active in patches in leaf periphery, while the activity of B’ζ promoter was evident in leaf edges. The partially overlapping expression patterns, together with computational models of B’γ and B’ζ within trimeric PP2A holoenzymes suggested that B’γ and B’ζ may competitively bind into similar PP2A trimmers and thus influence each other’s actions. Arabidopsis thaliana pp2a-b’γ and pp2a-b’γζ double mutants showed dwarfish phenotypes, indicating that B’γ and B’ζ are needed for appropriate growth regulation under favorable conditions. However, while pp2a-b’γ displayed constitutive immune responses and appearance of premature yellowings on leaves, the pp2a-b’γζ double mutant supressed these yellowings. More detailed analysis of defense responses revealed that B’γ and B’ζ mediate counteracting effects on salicylic acid dependent defense signalling. Associated with this, B’γ and B’ζ were both found to interact in vivo with CALCIUM DEPENDENT PROTEIN KINASE 1 (CPK1), a crucial element of salicylic acid signalling pathway against pathogens in plants. In addition, B’γ was shown to modulate cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolism by controlling the abundance of ALTERNATIVE OXIDASE 1A and 1D in mitochondria. PP2A B’γ and B’ζ subunits turned out to play crucial roles in the optimization of plant choices during their development. Taken together, PP2A allows fluent responses to environmental changes, maintenance of plant homeostasis, and grant survivability with minimised cost of redirection of resources from growth to defence.

Productizing of advanced service for power plants

Työn tavoitteena on kehittää ABB:lle palvelutuote, jota voidaan tarjota voimalaitosasiakkaille. Uuden palvelutuotteen tulee vastata ABB:n uuden strategian linjauksiin. Palvelulla tarjotaan asiakkaille 1.1.2015 voimaan tulleen energiatehokkuuslain määrittelemien pakollisten toimenpiteiden suoritusta. Työssä kerätään, käsitellään ja analysoidaan tietoa voimalaitosasiakkaille suunnatun palvelun tuotteistamisprosessin päätöksenteon tueksi. Palvelutuotteen kehittämistä varten tutkitaan ABB:n nykyisiä palvelutuotteita, osaamista ja referenssi projekteja, energiatehokkuuslakia, voimalaitosten energiatehokkuus-potentiaalia ja erilaisia energiakatselmusmalleja. Päätöksenteon tueksi tehdään referenssiprojektina energia-analyysi voimalaitokselle, jossa voimalaitoksesta tehdään ipsePRO simulointiohjelmalla mallinnus. Mallinnuksen ja koeajojen avulla tutkitaan voimalaitoksen minimikuorman optimointia. Markkinatutkimuksessa selvitetään lainsäädännön vaikutusta, nykyistä markkinatilannetta, potentiaalisia asiakkaita, kilpailijoita ja ABB:n mahdollisuuksia toimia alalla SWOT–analyysin avulla. Tutkimuksen tulosten perusteella tehdään päätös tuotteistaa voimalaitoksille palvelutuote, joka sisältää kaikki toimet energiatehokkuuslain asettamien vaatimusten täyttämiseen yrityksen energiakatselmuksen vastuuhenkilön, energiakatselmuksen ja kohdekatselmuksien teon osalta. Lisäksi työn aikana Energiavirasto myönsi ABB:lle pätevyyden toimia yrityksen energiakatselmuksen vastuuhenkilönä, mikä on edellytyksenä palvelun tarjoamiselle.

An EDTA-β-cyclodextrin adsorbent for the adsorption of rare earth elements and its application in preconcentration of ultratrace rare earth elements from seawater

The objectives of this work were synthesizing an EDTA-β-CD adsorbent and investigating its adsorption potential and applications in preconcentration of REEs from aqueous phase. The adsorption capacity of EDTA-β-CD was investigated. The adsorption studies were performed by batch techniques both in one- and multi-component systems. The effects of pH, contact time and initial concentration were evaluated. The analytical detection methods and characterization methods were presented. EDTA-β-CD adsorbent was synthesized successfully with high EDTA coverage. The maximum REEs uptake was 0.310 mmol g-1 for La(III), 0.337 mmol g-1 for Ce(III) and 0.353 mmol g-1 for Eu(III), respectively. The kinetics of REEs onto EDTA-β-CD fitted well to pseudo-second-order model and the adsorption rate was affected by intra-particle diffusion. The experimental data of one component studies fitted to Langmuir isotherm model indicating the homogeneous surface of the adsorbent. The extended Sips model was applicable for the isotherm studies in three-component system. The electrostatic interaction, chelation and complexation were all involved in the adsorption mechanism. The preconcentration of RE ions and regeneration of EDTA-β-CD were successful. Overall, EDTA-β-CD is an effective adsorbent in adsorption and preconcentration of REEs.

Emission, kinetic and magnetic phenomena in rare-earth and transition metal doped ZnSe single crystals

In this work emission, optical, electrical and magnetic properties of the d- and f- elements doped zinc selenide crystals were investigated within a wide temperature range. Doping was performed in various technological processes: during the growth by chemical vapor transport method; by thermal diffusion from the Bi or Zn melt. Concentration of the doping impurity in the crystals was controlled by amount of the dopant in the source material or by its concentration in the doping media. Special interest in the work was paid to the influence of the different concentrations of Cr and Yb impurities on ZnSe crystals’ properties, correlations between observed effects and similarities with the Ni, Mn and Gd dopants are analysed. Possibility of formation of the excitons bound to the doping d-ions was shown. In contrast to this, it was observed that f-elements do not bound excitons, but prevent formation of excitons bound to some uncontrolled impurities. A mechanism of Cr doping impurity interaction with background impurities and zinc selenide structural defects was proposed based on experimental data. An assumption about resonant energy transfer between double charged chromium ions and complexes based on crystals’ vacancy defects was made. A correlation between emission and magnetic properties of the d- ions doped samples was established. Based on this correlation a mechanism explaining the concentration quench of the emission was proposed. It was found that f-ions bind electrically active shallow and deep donor and acceptor states of background impurity to electrically neutral complexes. This may be observed as “purification” of ZnSe crystals by doping with the rare-earth elements, resulting i tendency of the properties of f-ion doped crystals to the properties of intrinsic crystals, but with smaller concentration of uncontrolled native and impurity defects. A possible interpretation of this effect was proposed. It was shown that selenium substituting impurities decrease efficiency of the Yb doping. Based on this experimental results an attempt to determine ytterbium ion surroundings in the crystal lattice was made. It was shown that co-doping of zinc selenide crystals with the d- and f- ions leads to the combination of the impurities influence on the material’s properties. On the basis of obtained data an interaction mechanism of the d- and f-elements co-dopants was proposed. Guided by the model of the ytterbium ion incorporation in the selenide sublattice of the ZnSe crystals, an assumption about stabilization of single charged chromium ions in the zinc sublattice crystal nodes, by means of formation of the local charge compensating clusters, was made.