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Kirjallisuusarvostelu

Potential of energy and nutrient recovery from biodegradable waste by co-treatment in Lithuania

Biodegradable waste quantities in Lithuania and their potential for the co-treatment in renewable energy and organic fertilizer production are investigated. Two scenarios are formulated to study the differences of the amounts of obtainable energy and fertilizers between different ways of utilization. In the first scenario, only digestion is used, and in the second scenario, other materials than straw are digested, and straw and the solid fraction of sewage sludge digestate are combusted. As a result, the amounts of heat and electricity, as well as the fertilizer amounts in the counties are obtained for both scenarios. Based on this study, the share of renewable energy in Lithuania could be doubled by the co-treatment of different biodegradable materials.

Optimal Recycling Combination of Ash in South-East Finland

The present world energy production is heavily relying on the combustion of solid fuels like coals, peat, biomass, municipal solid waste, whereas the share of renewable fuels is anticipated to increase in the future to mitigate climate change. In Finland, peat and wood are widely used for energy production. In any case, the combustion of solid fuels results in generation of several types of thermal conversion residues, such as bottom ash, fly ash, and boiler slag. The predominant residue type is determined by the incineration technology applied, while its composition is primarily relevant to the composition of fuels combusted. An extensive research has been conducted on technical suitability of ash for multiple recycling methods. Most of attention was drawn to the recycling of the coal combustion residues, as coal is the primary solid fuel consumed globally. The recycling methods of coal residues include utilization in a cement industry, in concrete manufacturing, and mine backfilling, to name few. Biomass combustion residues were also studied to some extent with forest fertilization, road construction, and road stabilization being the predominant utilization options. Lastly, residues form municipal solid waste incineration attracted more attention recently following the growing number of waste incineration plants globally. The recycling methods of waste incineration residues are the most limited due to its hazardous nature and varying composition, and include, among others, landfill construction, road construction, mine backfilling. In the study, environmental and economic aspects of multiple recycling options of thermal conversion residues generated within a case-study area were studied. The case-study area was South-East Finland. The environmental analysis was performed using an internationally recognized methodology — life cycle assessment. Economic assessment was conducted applying a widely used methodology — cost-benefit analysis. Finally, the results of the analyses were combined to enable easier comparison of the recycling methods. The recycling methods included the use of ash in forest fertilization, road construction, road stabilization, and landfill construction. Ash landfilling was set as a baseline scenario. Quantitative data about the amounts of ash generated and its composition was obtained from companies, their environmental reports, technical reports and other previously published literature. Overall, the amount of ash in the case-study area was 101 700 t. However, the data about 58 400 t of fly ash and 35 100 t of bottom ash and boiler slag were included in the study due to lack of data about leaching of heavy metals in some cases. The recycling methods were modelled according to the scientific studies published previously. Overall, the results of the study indicated that ash utilization for fertilization and neutralization of 17 600 ha of forest was the most economically beneficial method, which resulted in the net present value increase by 58% compared to ash landfilling. Regarding the environmental impact, the use of ash in the construction of 11 km of roads was the most attractive method with decreased environmental impact of 13% compared to ash landfilling. The least preferred method was the use of ash for landfill construction since it only enabled 11% increase of net present value, while inducing additional 1% of negative impact on the environment. Therefore, a following recycling route was proposed in the study. Where possible and legally acceptable, recycle fly and bottom ash for forest fertilization, which has strictest requirements out of all studied methods. If the quality of fly ash is not suitable for forest fertilization, then it should be utilized, first, in paved road construction, second, in road stabilization. Bottom ash not suitable for forest fertilization, as well as boiler slag, should be used in landfill construction. Landfilling should only be practiced when recycling by either of the methods is not possible due to legal requirements or there is not enough demand on the market. Current demand on ash and possible changes in the future were assessed in the study. Currently, the area of forest fertilized in the case-study are is only 451 ha, whereas about 17 600 ha of forest could be fertilized with ash generated in the region. Provided that the average forest fertilizing values in Finland are higher and the area treated with fellings is about 40 000 ha, the amount of ash utilized in forest fertilization could be increased. Regarding road construction, no new projects launched by the Center of Economic Development, Transport and the Environment in the case-study area were identified. A potential application can be found in the construction of private roads. However, no centralized data about such projects is available. The use of ash in stabilization of forest roads is not expected to increased in the future with a current downwards trend in the length of forest roads built. Finally, the use of ash in landfill construction is not a promising option due to the reducing number of landfills in operation in Finland.

Corporate green image communication through public disclosures and social media

Today, companies need to mind the environment in all their actions. Policies, regulations and growing pressure from environmentally conscious public are driving corporations to invest increasingly in their green images. Communication plays a key role in forming and maintaining that image. This thesis explores how six selected companies communicate about their environmental efforts and activities, and its linkage to their green images, in annual and sustainability reports and in Facebook. The companies come from the U.S. and Europe and operate in three different industries: ICT, oil and gas, and aerospace & defense. Qualitative and quantitative content analyses are conducted to examine 36 reports and 121 Facebook messages, collected from the period of 2010-2014, and from 2005 for comparison. The results show that although the quality and quantity of environmental disclosure is increasing, there is still room for improvement. Overall, disclosure in the ICT sector is on the highest level. The European companies disclose more and on average have stronger green images than the American ones. Emissions and ways to reduce them is by far the most covered topic in both continents and in all three industry sectors. The messages in Facebook are closer to advertising, and overall the platform is utilized surprisingly little.

Finnish Maritime Personnel's Conceptions on Safety Management and Safety Culture

The purpose of this thesis is to explore Finnish maritime personnel’s conceptions of safety management and its relationship with the concept of safety culture. In addition, the aim is to evaluate the impact of the ISM Code on the prevailing safety culture in the Finnish shipping business. A total of 94 interviewees and seven Finnish shipping companies were involved in this study. Thematic interviews were applied as the main research method for the study. The results were analysed qualitatively. The results indicate that maritime safety culture can simultaneously demonstrate features of integration, differentiation and ambiguity. Basically, maritime personnel have a positive attitude towards safety management systems since they consider safety management beneficial and essential in general. However, the study also found considerable criticism among the interviewees. The interviewed maritime personnel did not criticise the ISM Code as such, yet they criticised the way the ISM Code has been applied in practise. In order to understand the multiple perspectives of safety culture more comprehensively, multiple theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches are needed. This study indicates that safety culture and the impacts of the ISM Code should not be unambiguously studied solely quantitative methods or qualitative methods. By examining safety culture from several methodological and theoretical perspectives, one may gain a more versatile and holistic overview of safety culture.

Common dyslipidemias, high lipoprotein(a) concentrations and endothelial function in the children of the STRIP study families

Extreme lipid values predisposing on illnesses are dyslipidemias. Dyslipidemias evolve in early childhood, but their significance or persistency is not well known. Common dyslipidemias may aggregate in the same families. This thesis is a part of the longitudinal randomized Special Turku coronary Risk factor Intervention Project STRIP, in which 1054 families with six months old children were randomized to a control or to an intervention group. The family lipid data from the first 11 years was used. Fasting samples at the age of five years defined the lipid phenotypes. The dyslipidemias coexisting in the parent and the child were studied. At the age of 11 years 402 children participated artery ultrasound studies. The significance of the childhood dyslipidemias and lipoprotein(a) concentration on endothelial function was evaluated with the flow mediated arterial dilatation test. Frequently elevated non-HDL cholesterol concentration from one to seven-year-old children associated to similar parental dyslipidemia that improved the predictive value of the childhood sample. The familial combinations were hypercholesterolemia (2.3%), hypertriglyceridemia (2.0%), familial combined hyperlipidemia (1.8%), and isolated low HDL-cholesterol concentration (1.4%). Combined hyperlipidemia in a parent predicted most frequently the child’s hyperlipidemia. High lipoprotein(a) concentration aggregated in some families and associated to childhood attenuated brachial artery dilatation. Hypercholesterolemia and high lipoprotein(a) concentration at five years of age predicted attenuated dilatation. This study demonstrated that parental dyslipidemias and high lipoprotein(a) concentration help to find early childhood dyslipidemias. The association of hypercholesterolemia and lipoprotein(a) concentration with endothelial function emphasizes the importance of the early recognition of the dyslipidemias.