Evaluation of methods for estimating energy performance of biogas production

This study focused on identifying various system boundaries and evaluating methods of estimating energy performance of biogas production. First, the output-input ratio method used for evaluating energy performance from the system boundaries was reviewed. Secondly, ways to assess the efficiency of biogas use and parasitic energy demand were investigated. Thirdly, an approach for comparing biogas production to other energy production methods was evaluated. Data from an existing biogas plant, located in Finland, was used for the evaluation of the methods. The results indicate that calculating and comparing the output-input ratios (Rpr1, Rpr2, Rut, Rpl and Rsy) can be used in evaluating the performance of biogas production system. In addition, the parasitic energy demand calculations (w) and the efficiency of utilizing produced biogas (η) provide detailed information on energy performance of the biogas plant. Furthermore, Rf and energy output in relation to total solid mass of feedstock (FO/TS) are useful in comparing biogas production with other energy recovery technologies. As a conclusion it is essential for the comparability of biogas plants that their energy performance would be calculated in a more consistent manner in the future.

Biogas production in regional integrated biodegradable waste treatment – Possibilities for improving energy performance and reducing GHG emissions

The greatest threat that the biodegradable waste causes on the environment is the methane produced in landfills by the decomposition of this waste. The Landfill Directive (1999/31/EC) aims to reduce the landfilling of biodegradable waste. In Finland, 31% of biodegradable municipal waste ended up into landfills in 2012. The pressure of reducing disposing into landfills is greatly increased by the forthcoming landfill ban on biodegradable waste in Finland. There is a need to discuss the need for increasing the utilization of biodegradable waste in regional renewable energy production to utilize the waste in a way that allows the best possibilities to reduce GHG emissions. The objectives of the thesis are: (1) to find important factors affecting renewable energy recovery possibilities from biodegradable waste, (2) to determine the main factors affecting the GHG balance of biogas production system and how to improve it and (3) to find ways to define energy performance of biogas production systems and what affects it. According to the thesis, the most important factors affecting the regional renewable energy possibilities from biodegradable waste are: the amount of available feedstock, properties of feedstock, selected utilization technologies, demand of energy and material products and the economic situation of utilizing the feedstocks. The biogas production by anaerobic digestion was seen as the main technology for utilizing biodegradable waste in agriculturally dense areas. The main reason for this is that manure was seen as the main feedstock, and it can be best utilized with anaerobic digestion, which can produce renewable energy while maintaining the spreading of nutrients on arable land. Biogas plants should be located close to the heat demand that would be enough to receive the produced heat also in the summer months and located close to the agricultural area where the digestate could be utilized. Another option for biogas use is to upgrade it to biomethane, which would require a location close to the natural gas grid. The most attractive masses for biogas production are municipal and industrial biodegradable waste because of gate fees the plant receives from them can provide over 80% of the income. On the other hand, directing gate fee masses for small-scale biogas plants could make dispersed biogas production more economical. In addition, the combustion of dry agricultural waste such as straw would provide a greater energy amount than utilizing them by anaerobic digestion. The complete energy performance assessment of biogas production system requires the use of more than one system boundary. These can then be used in calculating output–input ratios of biogas production, biogas plant, biogas utilization and biogas production system, which can be used to analyze different parts of the biogas production chain. At the moment, it is difficult to compare different biogas plants since there is a wide variation of definitions for energy performance of biogas production. A more consistent way of analyzing energy performance would allow comparing biogas plants with each other and other recovery systems and finding possible locations for further improvement. Both from the GHG emission balance and energy performance point of view, the energy consumption at the biogas plant was the most significant factor. Renewable energy use to fulfil the parasitic energy demand at the plant would be the most efficient way to reduce the GHG emissions at the plant. The GHG emission reductions could be increased by upgrading biogas to biomethane and displacing natural gas or petrol use in cars when compared to biogas CHP production. The emission reductions from displacing mineral fertilizers with digestate were seen less significant, and the greater N2O emissions from spreading digestate might surpass the emission reductions from displacing mineral fertilizers.

Direct-on-line axial flux permanent magnet synchronous generator static and dynamic performance

In distributed energy production, permanent magnet synchronous generators (PMSG) are often connected to the grid via frequency converters, such as voltage source line converters. The price of the converter may constitute a large part of the costs of a generating set. Some of the permanent magnet synchronous generators with converters and traditional separately excited synchronous generators couldbe replaced by direct-on-line (DOL) non-controlled PMSGs. Small directly networkconnected generators are likely to have large markets in the area of distributed electric energy generation. Typical prime movers could be windmills, watermills and internal combustion engines. DOL PMSGs could also be applied in island networks, such as ships and oil platforms. Also various back-up power generating systems could be carried out with DOL PMSGs. The benefits would be a lower priceof the generating set and the robustness and easy use of the system. The performance of DOL PMSGs is analyzed. The electricity distribution companies have regulations that constrain the design of the generators being connected to the grid. The general guidelines and recommendations are applied in the analysis. By analyzing the results produced by the simulation model for the permanent magnet machine, the guidelines for efficient damper winding parameters for DOL PMSGs are presented. The simulation model is used to simulate grid connections and load transients. The damper winding parameters are calculated by the finite element method (FEM) and determined from experimental measurements. Three-dimensional finite element analysis (3D FEA) is carried out. The results from the simulation model and 3D FEA are compared with practical measurements from two prototype axial flux permanent magnet generators provided with damper windings. The dimensioning of the damper winding parameters is case specific. The damper winding should be dimensioned based on the moment of inertia of the generating set. It is shown that the damper winding has optimal values to reach synchronous operation in the shortest period of time after transient operation. With optimal dimensioning, interferenceon the grid is minimized.

Defining a Performance Measurement System for Technology Marketing Team by Using the Balanced Scorecard Method

This thesis was produced for the Technology Marketing unit at the Nokia Research Center. Technology marketing was a new function at Nokia Research Center, and needed an established framework with the capacity to take into account multiple aspects for measuring the team performance. Technology marketing functions had existed in other parts of Nokia, yet no single method had been agreed upon for measuring their performance. The purpose of this study was to develop a performance measurement system for Nokia Research Center Technology Marketing. The target was that Nokia Research Center Technology Marketing had a framework for separate metrics; including benchmarking for starting level and target values in the future planning (numeric values were kept confidential within the company). As a result of this research, the Balanced Scorecard model of Kaplan and Norton, was chosen for the performance measurement system for Nokia Research Center Technology Marketing. This research selected the indicators, which were utilized in the chosen performance measurement system. Furthermore, performance measurement system was defined to guide the Head of Marketing in managing Nokia Research Center Technology Marketing team. During the research process the team mission, vision, strategy and critical success factors were outlined.

Improved order fulfillment in paper production

For the paper mill profitability it is crucial to minimize overproduction and underproduction. Overproduction and underproduction both generate undesired costs and profit losses in paper mill production. This master’s thesis examines paper production order fulfillment subject from paper production level point of view. Research and development approach is selected due to clarification requirements in lately implemented manufacturing execution system. Manufacturing execution systems are generally expected to offer reliable and accurate information about mill production details. However, confusions are likely to occur after implementation of new manufacturing execution system. These confusions are usually harmful and become cumulatively more influential the longer they keep occurring. In this master’s thesis is presented actions to improve order fulfillment at paper mill production level. Central points of the improvement actions are a model for successful order fulfillment in paper mill production and manufacturing execution system catalogue configuration redesign. Improvement actions are implemented in Jokilaakso paper production plant and it is examined as a case study. In the end of this master’s thesis is presented performance measurements which demonstrate order fulfillment from case Jokilaakso.

Kunnossapidon kehitysmalli sanomalehtipainon tuotannon luotettavuuden, tuottavuuden ja tuotteen laadun turvaamiseksi

Diplomityössä käsitellään ne toimet, jotka Esa Lehtipaino Oy:ssä tarvitsee tehdä kunnossapidon kehittämiseksi sanomalehtipainoprosessin kunnossapidossa. Työssä käytettiin luotettavuuskeskeisen ja kokonaisvaltaisen tuottavuuskeskeisen kunnossapidon strategioiden osia sekä PSK Standardisoinnin PSK 5705:2006standardin mukaista menetelmää määrittämään kunnossapidon kannalta tärkeimmät kohteet ja osa-alueet. PSK 5705:2006 on kunnonvalvonnan värähtelymittausten mittaustoiminnan suunnitteluun luotu standardi, jonka perusteella rakennettiin sanomalehtipainoprosessiin sopiva tuotantolaitteiston luokitusjärjestelmä. Luokituksenperusteella kohdennetaan kunnossapidon resurssit tuotantojärjestelmän luotettavuuden kannalta oikeisiin, tuottavimpiin kohteisiin. Tuotantohenkilöstön kunnossapitohenkilökunnalle tekemien vikailmoitusten välitykseen rakennettiin Microsoft Access -pohjainen Vikaloki-lomake. Kunnossapitotoiminnan kehityksen tuloksien seuraamiseksi määritettiin PSK 6201:2003 standardin mukainen tuotannon kokonaistehokkuutta kuvaava KNL-luku. KNL-luvusta luotiin ennuste kunnossapidon kehittämistarpeista regressioanalyysin avulla. Kehitysmalli esittää, että kohdeyrityksessä tulee toiminnan kehittäminen aloittaa päivittämällä tietokonepohjainen toiminnanohjausjärjestelmä, johon lisätään ennakoivat suunnitellut kunnossapitotoimet. Toimet määriteltiin yllämainitun kriittisyysluokituksen perusteella.

Sovellus meteorologisen tiedon tuotantojärjestelmän seurantaan

Työssä käsitellään selainkäyttöliittymää käyttävien oliopohjaisten tietokantasovellusten toteuttamista. Erityisesti keskitytään olio- ja relaatiomallien yhteensovittamiseen ja oliopohjaisten selainkäyttöliittymien toteutukseen Java-servlettien ja JSP-sivujen avulla. Myös hajautetut sovellusarkkitehtuurit käydään läpi ja niiden toteuttamista arvioidaan servlet-sovellusten näkökulmasta. Työssä on toteutettu selainkäyttöliittymän avulla hallittava kaksitasoarkkitehtuuria käyttävä oliopohjainen sovellus Ilmatieteen laitoksen tuotantojärjestelmän seurantaan. Sovellus mahdollistaa mm. tuotantoajojen ja laajempien tuotantoketjujen suoritusaikojen tilastollisen seurannan. Työn tuloksena todettiin Java-servlettien ja JSP-sivujen olevan suorituskykyinen ja monipuolinen ratkaisu selainkäyttöliittymien toteuttamiseen. Olio- ja relaatiomallien väliset erot sekä käyttöliittymän eriyttäminen toimintalogiikasta osoittautuivat ongelmakohdiksi.

KUNNOSSAPIDON SUORITUSKYVYN SEURANTA JA KEHITTÄMINEN

Työn tavoitteena oli kehittää kunnossapitoyritykselle toiminnan tuottavuuden ja tehokkuuden mittausjärjestelmä. Ensin etsittiin teorian avulla ne sopivat suorituskykymittarit ja tekijät, joiden avulla yrityksen suorituskykyä voidaan luotettavasti ja ymmärrettävästi seurata. Apuna työnkulussa käytettiin kunnossapidon henkilökunnalle suunnattuja kirjallisia ja suullisia haastatteluja. Haastatteluiden avulla selvitettiin kunnossapidon suorituskyvyn mittauksen nykytila sekä mahdollisia kehityskohteita. Haastatteluihin ja kirjallisuuteen pohjautuen päätettiin yritykselle rakentaa suorituskykymittaristo. Mittaristoksi valittiin tuottavuus- eli tavoitematriisi, joka on toimiva työkalu mittareiden seurantaan. Se on helppokäyttöinen ja selkeä. Lisäksi matriisi antaa tulosindeksin avulla kokonaiskuvan kunnossapidon tasosta. Tavoitematriisi koostuu eri menestystekijöistä sekä näiden menestystekijöiden tunnusluvuista eli mittareista. Menestystekijöiksi valittiin: taloudellisuus, tuotantojärjestelmän tehokkuus, kustannusrakenne, kunnossapidon suunnittelu sekä häiriönkorjaus. Menestystekijöillä on jokaisella kolmesta kuuteen mittaria. Tavoitematriisin käyttö ja seuranta tapahtuu yksinkertaisen sovellusohjelman avulla. Mittariston kehittäminen on pitkä ja vaativa prosessi. Mittareita, niiden tavoitearvoja sekä menestystekijöitä tulee säännöllisin väliajoin tarkastaa, jotta kehitys on oikean suuntaista. Mittariston käyttöönotto ja käyttö edellyttävät kaikilta työntekijöiltä motivaatiota toiminnan kehitykseen sekä pitkäjänteisyyttä, sillä matriisin tarjoamat hyödyt ovat näkyvissä vasta kuukausien päästä.

Building distributed high availability system

Today’s commercial web sites are under heavy user load and they are expected to be operational and available at all times. Distributed system architectures have been developed to provide a scalable and failure tolerant high availability platform for these web based services. The focus on this thesis was to specify and implement resilient and scalable locally distributed high availability system architecture for a web based service. Theory part concentrates on the fundamental characteristics of distributed systems and presents common scalable high availability server architectures that are used in web based services. In the practical part of the thesis the implemented new system architecture is explained. Practical part also includes two different test cases that were done to test the system's performance capacity.

Design and production of protein nanostructures for biomolecular detection

Particulate nanostructures are increasingly used for analytical purposes. Such particles are often generated by chemical synthesis from non-renewable raw materials. Generation of uniform nanoscale particles is challenging and particle surfaces must be modified to make the particles biocompatible and water-soluble. Usually nanoparticles are functionalized with binding molecules (e.g., antibodies or their fragments) and a label substance (if needed). Overall, producing nanoparticles for use in bioaffinity assays is a multistep process requiring several manufacturing and purification steps. This study describes a biological method of generating functionalized protein-based nanoparticles with specific binding activity on the particle surface and label activity inside the particles. Traditional chemical bioconjugation of the particle and specific binding molecules is replaced with genetic fusion of the binding molecule gene and particle backbone gene. The entity of the particle shell and binding moieties are synthesized from generic raw materials by bacteria, and fermentation is combined with a simple purification method based on inclusion bodies. The label activity is introduced during the purification. The process results in particles that are ready-to-use as reagents in bioaffinity. Apoferritin was used as particle body and the system was demonstrated using three different binding moieties: a small protein, a peptide and a single chain Fv antibody fragment that represents a complex protein including disulfide bridge.If needed, Eu3+ was used as label substance. The results showed that production system resulted in pure protein preparations, and the particles were of homogeneous size when visualized with transmission electron microscopy. Passively introduced label was stably associated with the particles, and binding molecules genetically fused to the particle specifically bound target molecules. Functionality of the particles in bioaffinity assays were successfully demonstrated with two types of assays; as labels and in particle-enhanced agglutination assay. This biological production procedure features many advantages that make the process especially suited for applications that have frequent and recurring requirements for homogeneous functional particles. The production process of ready, functional and watersoluble particles follows principles of “green chemistry”, is upscalable, fast and cost-effective.

Key performance indicators for supplier and assortement evaluation

Tutkimuksen tavoite oli selvittää suorituskyvyn mittaamista, mittareita ja niiden suunnittelua tukku- ja jakeluliiketoiminnassa. Kriittisten menestystekijöiden mittarit auttavat yritystä kohti yhteistä päämäärää. Kriittisten menestystekijöiden mittarit ovat usein yhdistetty strategiseen suunnitteluun ja implementointiin ja niillä on yhtäläisyyksiä monien strategisten työkalujen kun Balanced scorecardin kanssa. Tutkimus ongelma voidaan esittää kysymyksen muodossa. •Mitkä ovat Oriola KD:n pitkänaikavälin tavoitteita tukevat kriittisten menestystekijöiden mittarit (KPIs) toimittajan ja tuotevalikoiman mittaamisessa? Tutkimus on jaettu kirjalliseen ja empiiriseen osaan. Kirjallisuus katsaus käsittelee aikaisempaa tutkimusta strategian, toimitusketjun hallinnan, toimittajan arvioinnin ja erilaisten suorituskyvyn mittaamisjärjestelmien osalta. Empiirinen osuus etenee nykytila-analyysista ehdotettuihin kriittisten menestystekijöiden mittareihin, jotka ovat kehitetty kirjallisuudesta löydetyn mallin avulla. Tutkimuksen lopputuloksena ovat case yrityksen tarpeisiin kehitetyt kriittisten menestystekijöiden mittarit toimittajan ja tuotevalikoiman arvioinnissa.

Tiedonvaihdolla kilpailuetua: Tiedonvaihdon toteuttaminen ostopalvelurajapinnassa

Tutkimus rakentaa konstruktiivisella tutkimusotteella monenkeskisen tie-donvaihdon mallin, missä sovelletaan Toyotan tuotantojärjestelmässään käyttämiä toimittajaohjauksen ja tiedonvaihdon prosesseja, sekä tiedosta ja tiedonvaihdosta käytyä tieteellistä keskustelua ja tutkimuksia. Tutkimuksen teoreettinen osuus selvittää tiedon luonteen vaikutusta tiedon jakamisen ja tiedonvaihdon toteutukseen ja toteaa, että tiedonvaihdon menetelmiin tulee sisältyä muodollisia kanavia eksplisiittisen tiedon ja vastaavasti epämuodollisia kanavia hiljaisen tiedon jakamiseen joko käsitteellistettynä tai hiljaisessa muodossaan. Tutkimuksen empiirinen osa koostuu viiden palveluntuottajaverkostossa toimivan tulos- tai kehitysvastuullisen henkilön haastatteluista. Teemahaastattelut selvittävät konstruktiivisen tutkimusotteen vaatimusten mukaisesti olisiko haastateltava valmis ottamaan konstruktion esittämän mallin käyttöön omalla vastuualueellaan. Tutkimuksen tuloksena Case-yrityksen palveluntuottajaverkostossa voi-daan saada hyötyä toteuttamalla operatiiviseen ongelmanratkaisuun mo-nenkeskisen tiedonvaihdon käytäntöjä. Nykyinen verkoston ohjausmalli ja kilpailutilanne eivät toistaiseksi anna tilaa muille monenkeskisen tiedonvaihdon toimintamalleille.

Performance measurement and management in a collaborative network

This study concerns performance measurement and management in a collaborative network. Collaboration between companies has been increased in recent years due to the turbulent operating environment. The literature shows that there is a need for more comprehensive research on performance measurement in networks and the use of measurement information in their management. This study examines the development process and uses of a performance measurement system supporting performance management in a collaborative network. There are two main research questions: how to design a performance measurement system for a collaborative network and how to manage performance in a collaborative network. The work can be characterised as a qualitative single case study. The empirical data was collected in a Finnish collaborative network, which consists of a leading company and a reseller network. The work is based on five research articles applying various research methods. The research questions are examined at the network level and at the single network partner level. The study contributes to the earlier literature by producing new and deeper understanding of network-level performance measurement and management. A three-step process model is presented to support the performance measurement system design process. The process model has been tested in another collaborative network. The study also examines the factors affecting the process of designing the measurement system. The results show that a participatory development style, network culture, and outside facilitators have a positive effect on the design process. The study increases understanding of how to manage performance in a collaborative network and what kind of uses of performance information can be identified in a collaborative network. The results show that the performance measurement system is an applicable tool to manage the performance of a network. The results reveal that trust and openness increased during the utilisation of the performance measurement system, and operations became more transparent. The study also presents a management model that evaluates the maturity of performance management in a collaborative network. The model is a practical tool that helps to analyse the current stage of the performance management of a collaborative network and to develop it further.

Methyl and ethyl chloride synthesis in microreactors

Methyl chloride is an important chemical intermediate with a variety of applications. It is produced today in large units and shipped to the endusers. Most of the derived products are harmless, as silicones, butyl rubber and methyl cellulose. However, methyl chloride is highly toxic and flammable. On-site production in the required quantities is desirable to reduce the risks involved in transportation and storage. Ethyl chloride is a smaller-scale chemical intermediate that is mainly used in the production of cellulose derivatives. Thus, the combination of onsite production of methyl and ethyl chloride is attractive for the cellulose processing industry, e.g. current and future biorefineries. Both alkyl chlorides can be produced by hydrochlorination of the corresponding alcohol, ethanol or methanol. Microreactors are attractive for the on-site production as the reactions are very fast and involve toxic chemicals. In microreactors, the diffusion limitations can be suppressed and the process safety can be improved. The modular setup of microreactors is flexible to adjust the production capacity as needed. Although methyl and ethyl chloride are important chemical intermediates, the literature available on potential catalysts and reaction kinetics is limited. Thus the thesis includes an extensive catalyst screening and characterization, along with kinetic studies and engineering the hydrochlorination process in microreactors. A range of zeolite and alumina based catalysts, neat and impregnated with ZnCl2, were screened for the methanol hydrochlorination. The influence of zinc loading, support, zinc precursor and pH was investigated. The catalysts were characterized with FTIR, TEM, XPS, nitrogen physisorption, XRD and EDX to identify the relationship between the catalyst characteristics and the activity and selectivity in the methyl chloride synthesis. The acidic properties of the catalyst were strongly influenced upon the ZnCl2 modification. In both cases, alumina and zeolite supports, zinc reacted to a certain amount with specific surface sites, which resulted in a decrease of strong and medium Brønsted and Lewis acid sites and the formation of zinc-based weak Lewis acid sites. The latter are highly active and selective in methanol hydrochlorination. Along with the molecular zinc sites, bulk zinc species are present on the support material. Zinc modified zeolite catalysts exhibited the highest activity also at low temperatures (ca 200 °C), however, showing deactivation with time-onstream. Zn/H-ZSM-5 zeolite catalysts had a higher stability than ZnCl2 modified H-Beta and they could be regenerated by burning the coke in air at 400 °C. Neat alumina and zinc modified alumina catalysts were active and selective at 300 °C and higher temperatures. However, zeolite catalysts can be suitable for methyl chloride synthesis at lower temperatures, i.e. 200 °C. Neat γ-alumina was found to be the most stable catalyst when coated in a microreactor channel and it was thus used as the catalyst for systematic kinetic studies in the microreactor. A binder-free and reproducible catalyst coating technique was developed. The uniformity, thickness and stability of the coatings were extensively characterized by SEM, confocal microscopy and EDX analysis. A stable coating could be obtained by thermally pretreating the microreactor platelets and ball milling the alumina to obtain a small particle size. Slurry aging and slow drying improved the coating uniformity. Methyl chloride synthesis from methanol and hydrochloric acid was performed in an alumina-coated microreactor. Conversions from 4% to 83% were achieved in the investigated temperature range of 280-340 °C. This demonstrated that the reaction is fast enough to be successfully performed in a microreactor system. The performance of the microreactor was compared with a tubular fixed bed reactor. The results obtained with both reactors were comparable, but the microreactor allows a rapid catalytic screening with low consumption of chemicals. As a complete conversion of methanol could not be reached in a single microreactor, a second microreactor was coupled in series. A maximum conversion of 97.6 % and a selectivity of 98.8 % were reached at 340°C, which is close to the calculated values at a thermodynamic equilibrium. A kinetic model based on kinetic experiments and thermodynamic calculations was developed. The model was based on a Langmuir Hinshelwood-type mechanism and a plug flow model for the microreactor. The influence of the reactant adsorption on the catalyst surface was investigated by performing transient experiments and comparing different kinetic models. The obtained activation energy for methyl chloride was ca. two fold higher than the previously published, indicating diffusion limitations in the previous studies. A detailed modeling of the diffusion in the porous catalyst layer revealed that severe diffusion limitations occur starting from catalyst coating thicknesses of 50 μm. At a catalyst coating thickness of ca 15 μm as in the microreactor, the conditions of intrinsic kinetics prevail. Ethanol hydrochlorination was performed successfully in the microreactor system. The reaction temperature was 240-340°C. An almost complete conversion of ethanol was achieved at 340°C. The product distribution was broader than for methanol hydrochlorination. Ethylene, diethyl ether and acetaldehyde were detected as by-products, ethylene being the most dominant by-product. A kinetic model including a thorough thermodynamic analysis was developed and the influence of adsorbed HCl on the reaction rate of ethanol dehydration reactions was demonstrated. The separation of methyl chloride using condensers was investigated. The proposed microreactor-condenser concept enables the production of methyl chloride with a high purity of 99%.

Asiakaslähtöisen paikkatiedon hyödyntäminen automaattisessa karttatuotantojärjestelmässä

In this work a system to add customers own geographic information on a map was developed. After the objects are added the map is produced completely automatically. Adding the objects does not add any extra work when maps are printed. Simple drawing tools to add the objects were implemented. Tools to import geometry data from some geographic information files were also added. The objects are stored in a spatial database so they can be viewed and edited later. The added objects are passed to the map production system as a SVG-file.