Chromatographic recovery of chemicals from acidic biomass hydrolysates

Lignocellulosic biomasses (e.g., wood and straws) are a potential renewable source for the production of a wide variety of chemicals that could be used to replace those currently produced by petrochemical industry. This would lead to lower greenhouse gas emissions and waste amounts, and to economical savings. There are many possible pathways available for the manufacturing of chemicals from lignocellulosic biomasses. One option is to hydrolyze the cellulose and hemicelluloses of these biomasses into monosaccharides using concentrated sulfuric acid as catalyst. This process is an efficient method for producing monosaccharides which are valuable platforn chemicals. Also other valuable products are formed in the hydrolysis. Unfortunately, the concentrated acid hydrolysis has been deemed unfeasible mainly due to high chemical consumption resulting from the need to remove sulfuric acid from the obtained hydrolysates prior to the downstream processing of the monosaccharides. Traditionally, this has been done by neutralization with lime. This, however, results in high chemical consumption. In addition, the by-products formed in the hydrolysis are not removed and may, thus, hinder the monosaccharide processing. In order to improve the feasibility of the concentrated acid hydrolysis, the chemical consumption should be decreased by recycling of sulfuric acid without neutralization. Furthermore, the monosaccharides and the other products formed in the hydrolysis should be recovered selectively for efficient downstream processing. The selective recovery of the hydrolysis by-products would have additional economical benefits on the process due to their high value. In this work, the use of chromatographic fractionation for the recycling of sulfuric acid and the selective recovery of the main components from the hydrolysates formed in the concentrated acid hydrolysis was investigated. Chromatographic fractionation based on the electrolyte exclusion with gel type strong acid cation exchange resins in acid (H+) form as a stationary phase was studied. A systematic experimental and model-based study regarding the separation task at hand was conducted. The phenomena affecting the separation were determined and their effects elucidated. Mathematical models that take accurately into account these phenomena were derived and used in the simulation of the fractionation process. The main components of the concentrated acid hydrolysates (sulfuric acid, monosaccharides, and acetic acid) were included into this model. Performance of the fractionation process was investigated experimentally and by simulations. Use of different process options was also studied. Sulfuric acid was found to have a significant co-operative effect on the sorption of the other components. This brings about interesting and beneficial effects in the column operations. It is especially beneficial for the separation of sulfuric acid and the monosaccharides. Two different approaches for the modelling of the sorption equilibria were investigated in this work: a simple empirical approach and a thermodynamically consistent approach (the Adsorbed Solution theory). Accurate modelling of the phenomena observed in this work was found to be possible using the simple empirical models. The use of the Adsorbed Solution theory is complicated by the nature of the theory and the complexity of the studied system. In addition to the sorption models, a dynamic column model that takes into account the volume changes of the gel type resins as changing resin bed porosity was also derived. Using the chromatography, all the main components of the hydrolysates can be recovered selectively, and the sulfuric acid consumption of the hydrolysis process can be lowered considerably. Investigation of the performance of the chromatographic fractionation showed that the highest separation efficiency in this separation task is obtained with a gel type resin with a high crosslinking degree (8 wt. %); especially when the hydrolysates contain high amounts of acetic acid. In addition, the concentrated acid hydrolysis should be done with as low sulfuric acid concentration as possible to obtain good separation performance. The column loading and flow rate also have large effects on the performance. In this work, it was demonstrated that when recycling of the fractions obtained in the chromatographic fractionation are recycled to preceding unit operations these unit operations should included in the performance evaluation of the fractionation. When this was done, the separation performance and the feasibility of the concentrated acid hydrolysis process were found to improve considerably. Use of multi-column chromatographic fractionation processes, the Japan Organo process and the Multi-Column Recycling Chromatography process, was also investigated. In the studied case, neither of these processes could compete with the single-column batch process in the productivity. However, due to internal recycling steps, the Multi-Column Recycling Chromatography was found to be superior to the batch process when the product yield and the eluent consumption were taken into account.

Customer Driven Order-to-Delivery Process

This thesis was made for a large forest industry company’s business segment. The purpose of the study was to improve the performance of the order-to-delivery process of the business segment. The study proceeded in three phases. The first phase was to define customer expectations in the market. The second phase was to analyse the performance and the operations of the order-to-delivery process, and to define any challenges or problems in serving the customers. The third and final phase was improving the performance of the order-to-delivery process, within the scope defined by the first two phases. The analysis showed that the delivery reliability is an essential but a challenging issue in the case company’s markets. On delivery reliability standpoint, the most challenging factors were the detected information flow distortions within the company as well as in the whole supply chain, and the lack of horizontal control over the multi-stage process.

Save Consumers Time and Money: Thou Shall Not Forget Digital Native Big Data Consumers

Poster at Open Repositories 2014, Helsinki, Finland, June 9-13, 2014

Advanced analysis and design methods for preparative chromatographic separation processes

Preparative liquid chromatography is one of the most selective separation techniques in the fine chemical, pharmaceutical, and food industries. Several process concepts have been developed and applied for improving the performance of classical batch chromatography. The most powerful approaches include various single-column recycling schemes, counter-current and cross-current multi-column setups, and hybrid processes where chromatography is coupled with other unit operations such as crystallization, chemical reactor, and/or solvent removal unit. To fully utilize the potential of stand-alone and integrated chromatographic processes, efficient methods for selecting the best process alternative as well as optimal operating conditions are needed. In this thesis, a unified method is developed for analysis and design of the following singlecolumn fixed bed processes and corresponding cross-current schemes: (1) batch chromatography, (2) batch chromatography with an integrated solvent removal unit, (3) mixed-recycle steady state recycling chromatography (SSR), and (4) mixed-recycle steady state recycling chromatography with solvent removal from fresh feed, recycle fraction, or column feed (SSR–SR). The method is based on the equilibrium theory of chromatography with an assumption of negligible mass transfer resistance and axial dispersion. The design criteria are given in general, dimensionless form that is formally analogous to that applied widely in the so called triangle theory of counter-current multi-column chromatography. Analytical design equations are derived for binary systems that follow competitive Langmuir adsorption isotherm model. For this purpose, the existing analytic solution of the ideal model of chromatography for binary Langmuir mixtures is completed by deriving missing explicit equations for the height and location of the pure first component shock in the case of a small feed pulse. It is thus shown that the entire chromatographic cycle at the column outlet can be expressed in closed-form. The developed design method allows predicting the feasible range of operating parameters that lead to desired product purities. It can be applied for the calculation of first estimates of optimal operating conditions, the analysis of process robustness, and the early-stage evaluation of different process alternatives. The design method is utilized to analyse the possibility to enhance the performance of conventional SSR chromatography by integrating it with a solvent removal unit. It is shown that the amount of fresh feed processed during a chromatographic cycle and thus the productivity of SSR process can be improved by removing solvent. The maximum solvent removal capacity depends on the location of the solvent removal unit and the physical solvent removal constraints, such as solubility, viscosity, and/or osmotic pressure limits. Usually, the most flexible option is to remove solvent from the column feed. Applicability of the equilibrium design for real, non-ideal separation problems is evaluated by means of numerical simulations. Due to assumption of infinite column efficiency, the developed design method is most applicable for high performance systems where thermodynamic effects are predominant, while significant deviations are observed under highly non-ideal conditions. The findings based on the equilibrium theory are applied to develop a shortcut approach for the design of chromatographic separation processes under strongly non-ideal conditions with significant dispersive effects. The method is based on a simple procedure applied to a single conventional chromatogram. Applicability of the approach for the design of batch and counter-current simulated moving bed processes is evaluated with case studies. It is shown that the shortcut approach works the better the higher the column efficiency and the lower the purity constraints are.

Metsäteollisuuslaitoksen puuhuollon ja puutavaran tehdasmittauksen tehokkuus

Työssä pyritään kehittämään mittaristo mittauksen kohteelle, kokoamaan mittausaineisto kohteesta ja etsimään vertailukumppani sekä suorittamaan vertailu yksiköiden välillä. Työn teoriaosa rakennetaan suorituskyvyn mittauksen ja benchmarkingin periaatteista Niiden avulla kehitellään malli mittariston rakentumisesta ja vertailujen suorittamisesta Käytännön osuudessa esitellään case organisaatiot, valitaan ja arvioidaan mittareita, analysoidaan suorituskykyerojen syitä ja tehdään päätelmiä niistä. Suorituskyvyn mittaamisen periaatteita voidaan hyvin yhdistellä muihin kehittämisen työkaluihin. Käytännössä mittariston kehittäminen on laaja projekti ja vaatisi lähes aina työryhmän panoksen. Keskeisen ongelman muodostaa se, että eri yritysten välille on vaikea löytää vertailtavuutta. Vertailujen suorittaminen jäi tässä työssä ainoastaan periaatteiden varaan, koska vertailuaineistoa ei saatu analyysiin.

Sales lead management in a global enterprise

Many companies today struggle with problems they face around sales lead management. They are suffering from inconsistent quality of leads, they miss clear sales opportunities and even cannot handle well their internal marketing lists. Meanwhile customers are better and better equipped with means to easily initiate contact via internet, via call centers etc. Investing in lead generation activities that are built on a bad process is not a good idea. Better than asking how to get more leads, companies should ask how to get better quality leads and invest in improving lead management. This study looks sales lead management as a multi step process where a company generates leads in controlled environment, qualifies them and hands over to the sales cycle. As a final step, organization needs to analyze the incomes and successes of different lead sources. Most often in sales lead management a process improvement requires setting up additional controls to enable proper tracking of all leads. A sales lead management process model for the case company is built based on the findings. Implementing the new model involves changes and improvements in some key areas of current process. Starting from the very beginning, these include redefining a bit the lead definition and revising the criteria set for qualified lead. There are some improvements to be done in the system side to enable the proposed model. Lastly a setting for responsible roles is presented.

Partnering in the Dynamic Environment: The Role of Trust in Asymmetric Technology Partnership Formation

The purpose of this study was to increase the understanding of the role and nature of trust in asymmetric technology partnership formation. In the knowledge-based "learning race" knowledge is considered as a primary source for competitive advantage. In the emerging ICT sector the high pace of technological change, the convergence of technologies and industries as well as the increasing complexity and uncertainty have forced even the largest players to seek cooperation for complementary knowledge and capabilities. Small technology firms need the complementary resources and legitimacy of the large firms to grow and compete in the global market place. Most of the earlier research indicates, however, that partnerships with asymmetric size, managerial resources and cultures have failed. A basic assumption supported by earlier research was that trust is a critical factor in asymmetric technology partnership formation. Asymmetric technology partnership formation is a dynamic and multi-dimensional process, and consequently a holistic research approach was selected. Research issue was approached from different levels: the individual decision-maker, the firm and the relationship between the parties. Also the impact of the dynamic environment and technology content was analyzed. A multitheoretical approach and a qualitative research method with in-depth interviews in five large ICT companies and eight small ICT companies enabled a holistic and rich view of the research issue. Study contributes on the scarce understanding on the nature and evolution of trust in asymmetric technology partnership formation. It sheds also light on the specific nature of asymmetric technology partnerships. The partnerships were found to be tentative and the diverse strategic intent of small and large technology firms appeared as a major challenge. The role of the boundary spanner was highlighted as a possibility to match the incompatible organizational cultures. A shared vision was found to be a pre-condition for individual-based fast trust leading to intuitive decision-making and experimentation. The relationships were tentative and they were continuously re-evaluated through the key actors' sense making of the technology content, asymmetry and the dynamic environment. A multi-dimensional conceptualization for trust was created and propositions on the role and nature of trust for further research are given. The purpose of this study was to increase the understanding of the role and nature of trust in asymmetric technology partnership formation. In the knowledge-based "learning race" knowledge is considered as a primary source for competitive advantage. In the emerging ICT sector the high pace of technological change, the convergence of technologies and industries as well as the increasing complexity and uncertainty have forced even the largest players to seek cooperation for complementary knowledge and capabilities. Small technology firms need the complementary resources and legitimacy of the large firms to grow and compete in the global market place. Most of the earlier research indicates, however, that partnerships with asymmetric size, managerial resources and cultures have failed. A basic assumption supported by earlier research was that trust is a critical factor in asymmetric technology partnership formation. Asymmetric technology partnership formation is a dynamic and multi-dimensional process, and consequently a holistic research approach was selected. Research issue was approached from different levels: the individual decision-maker, the firm and the relationship between the parties. Also the impact of the dynamic environment and technology content was analyzed. A multitheoretical approach and a qualitative research method with in-depth interviews in five large ICT companies and eight small ICT companies enabled a holistic and rich view of the research issue. Study contributes on the scarce understanding on the nature and evolution of trust in asymmetric technology partnership formation. It sheds also light on the specific nature of asymmetric technology partnerships. The partnerships were found to be tentative and the diverse strategic intent of small and large technology firms appeared as a major challenge. The role of the boundary spanner was highlighted as a possibility to match the incompatible organizational cultures. A shared vision was found to be a pre-condition for individual-based fast trust leading to intuitive decision-making and experimentation. The relationships were tentative and they were continuously re-evaluated through the key actors' sense making of the technology content, asymmetry and the dynamic environment. A multi-dimensional conceptualization for trust was created and propositions on the role and nature of trust for further research are given.

Immediate Decision-Making and Information Needs in Intensive Care Coordination

The aim of this study was to develop a theoretical model for information integration to support the deci¬sion making of intensive care charge nurses, and physicians in charge – that is, ICU shift leaders. The study focused on the ad hoc decision-making and immediate information needs of shift leaders during the management of an intensive care unit’s (ICU) daily activities. The term ‘ad hoc decision-making’ was defined as critical judgements that are needed for a specific purpose at a precise moment with the goal of ensuring instant and adequate patient care and a fluent flow of ICU activities. Data collection and research analysis methods were tested in the identification of ICU shift leaders’ ad hoc decision-making. Decision-making of ICU charge nurses (n = 12) and physicians in charge (n = 8) was observed using a think-aloud technique in two university-affiliated Finnish ICUs for adults. The ad hoc decisions of ICU shift leaders were identified using an application of protocol analysis. In the next phase, a structured online question¬naire was developed to evaluate the immediate information needs of ICU shift leaders. A national survey was conducted in all Finnish, university-affiliated hospital ICUs for adults (n = 17). The questionnaire was sent to all charge nurses (n = 515) and physicians in charge (n = 223). Altogether, 257 charge nurses (50%) and 96 physicians in charge (43%) responded to the survey. The survey was also tested internationally in 16 Greek ICUs. From Greece, 50 charge nurses out of 240 (21%) responded to the survey. A think-aloud technique and protocol analysis were found to be applicable for the identification of the ad hoc decision-making of ICU shift leaders. During one day shift leaders made over 200 ad hoc decisions. Ad hoc decisions were made horizontally, related to the whole intensive care process, and vertically, concerning single intensive care incidents. Most of the ICU shift leaders’ ad hoc decisions were related to human resources and know-how, patient information and vital signs, and special treatments. Commonly, this ad hoc decision-making involved several multiprofessional decisions that constituted a bundle of immediate decisions and various information needs. Some of these immediate information needs were shared between the charge nurses and the physicians in charge. The majority of which concerned patient admission, the organisation and management of work, and staff allocation. In general, the information needs of charge nurses were more varied than those of physicians. It was found that many ad hoc deci-sions made by the physicians in charge produced several information needs for ICU charge nurses. This meant that before the task at hand was completed, various kinds of information was sought by the charge nurses to support the decision-making process. Most of the immediate information needs of charge nurses were related to the organisation and management of work and human resources, whereas the information needs of the physicians in charge mainly concerned direct patient care. Thus, information needs differ between professionals even if the goal of decision-making is the same. The results of the international survey confirmed these study results for charge nurses. Both in Finland and in Greece the information needs of charge nurses focused on the organisation and management of work and human resources. Many of the most crucial information needs of Finnish and Greek ICU charge nurses were common. In conclusion, it was found that ICU shift leaders make hundreds of ad hoc decisions during the course of a day related to the allocation of resources and organisation of patient care. The ad hoc decision-making of ICU shift leaders is a complex multi-professional process, which requires a lot of immediate information. Real-time support for information related to patient admission, the organisation and man¬agement of work, and allocation of staff resources is especially needed. The preliminary information integration model can be applied when real-time enterprise resource planning systems are developed for intensive care daily management

Building Dynamic Data Centers for Fast Delivery of New Data and Data Updates

Poster at Open Repositories 2014, Helsinki, Finland, June 9-13, 2014

Computational studies for the design of process equipment with complex geometries

This study combines several projects related to the flows in vessels with complex shapes representing different chemical apparata. Three major cases were studied. The first one is a two-phase plate reactor with a complex structure of intersecting micro channels engraved on one plate which is covered by another plain plate. The second case is a tubular microreactor, consisting of two subcases. The first subcase is a multi-channel two-component commercial micromixer (slit interdigital) used to mix two liquid reagents before they enter the reactor. The second subcase is a micro-tube, where the distribution of the heat generated by the reaction was studied. The third case is a conventionally packed column. However, flow, reactions or mass transfer were not modeled. Instead, the research focused on how to describe mathematically the realistic geometry of the column packing, which is rather random and can not be created using conventional computeraided design or engineering (CAD/CAE) methods. Several modeling approaches were used to describe the performance of the processes in the considered vessels. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used to describe the details of the flow in the plate microreactor and micromixer. A space-averaged mass transfer model based on Fick’s law was used to describe the exchange of the species through the gas-liquid interface in the microreactor. This model utilized data, namely the values of the interfacial area, obtained by the corresponding CFD model. A common heat transfer model was used to find the heat distribution in the micro-tube. To generate the column packing, an additional multibody dynamic model was implemented. Auxiliary simulation was carried out to determine the position and orientation of every packing element in the column. This data was then exported into a CAD system to generate desirable geometry, which could further be used for CFD simulations. The results demonstrated that the CFD model of the microreactor could predict the flow pattern well enough and agreed with experiments. The mass transfer model allowed to estimate the mass transfer coefficient. Modeling for the second case showed that the flow in the micromixer and the heat transfer in the tube could be excluded from the larger model which describes the chemical kinetics in the reactor. Results of the third case demonstrated that the auxiliary simulation could successfully generate complex random packing not only for the column but also for other similar cases.

Conflict-based Method for Conceptual Process Synthesis

The changing business environment demands that chemical industrial processes be designed such that they enable the attainment of multi-objective requirements and the enhancement of innovativedesign activities. The requirements and key issues for conceptual process synthesis have changed and are no longer those of conventional process design; there is an increased emphasis on innovative research to develop new concepts, novel techniques and processes. A central issue, how to enhance the creativity of the design process, requires further research into methodologies. The thesis presentsa conflict-based methodology for conceptual process synthesis. The motivation of the work is to support decision-making in design and synthesis and to enhance the creativity of design activities. It deals with the multi-objective requirements and combinatorially complex nature of process synthesis. The work is carriedout based on a new concept and design paradigm adapted from Theory of InventiveProblem Solving methodology (TRIZ). TRIZ is claimed to be a `systematic creativity' framework thanks to its knowledge based and evolutionary-directed nature. The conflict concept, when applied to process synthesis, throws new lights on design problems and activities. The conflict model is proposed as a way of describing design problems and handling design information. The design tasks are represented as groups of conflicts and conflict table is built as the design tool. The general design paradigm is formulated to handle conflicts in both the early and detailed design stages. The methodology developed reflects the conflict nature of process design and synthesis. The method is implemented and verified through case studies of distillation system design, reactor/separator network design and waste minimization. Handling the various levels of conflicts evolve possible design alternatives in a systematic procedure which consists of establishing an efficient and compact solution space for the detailed design stage. The approach also provides the information to bridge the gap between the application of qualitative knowledge in the early stage and quantitative techniques in the detailed design stage. Enhancement of creativity is realized through the better understanding of the design problems gained from the conflict concept and in the improvement in engineering design practice via the systematic nature of the approach.

Studies on coordination of systems development process

This thesis examines coordination of systems development process in a contemporary software producing organization. The thesis consists of a series of empirical studies in which the actions, conceptions and artifacts of practitioners are analyzed using a theory-building case study research approach. The three phases of the thesis provide empirical observations on different aspects of systemsdevelopment. In the first phase is examined the role of architecture in coordination and cost estimation in multi-site environment. The second phase involves two studies on the evolving requirement understanding process and how to measure this process. The third phase summarizes the first two phases and concentrates on the role of methods and how practitioners work with them. All the phases provide evidence that current systems development method approaches are too naïve in looking at the complexity of the real world. In practice, development is influenced by opportunity and other contingent factors. The systems development processis not coordinated using phases and tasks defined in methods providing universal mechanism for managing this process like most of the method approaches assume.Instead, the studies suggest that managing systems development process happens through coordinating development activities using methods as tools. These studies contribute to the systems development methods by emphasizing the support of communication and collaboration between systems development participants. Methods should not describe the development activities and phases in a detail level, butshould include the higher level guidance for practitioners on how to act in different systems development environments.

Fischer-Tropsch Slurry Bubble Column Reactor Modeling

The literature part of the work reviews overall Fischer-Tropsch process, Fischer-Tropsch reactors and catalysts. Fundamentals of Fischer-Tropsch modeling are also presented. The emphasis is on the reactor unit. Comparison of the reactors and the catalysts is carried out to choose the suitable reactor setup for the modeling work. The effects of the operation conditions are also investigated. Slurry bubble column reactor model operating with cobalt catalyst is developed by taking into account the mass transfer of the reacting components (CO and H2) and the consumption of the reactants in the liquid phase. The effect of hydrostatic pressure and the change in total mole flow rate in gas phase are taken into account in calculation of the solubilities. The hydrodynamics, reaction kinetics and product composition are determined according to literature. The cooling system and furthermore the required heat transfer area and number of cooling tubes are also determined. The model is implemented in Matlab software. Commercial scale reactor setup is modeled and the behavior of the model is investigated. The possible inaccuraries are evaluated and the suggestions for the future work are presented. The model is also integrated to Aspen Plus process simulation software, which enables the usage of the model in more extensive Fischer-Tropsch process simulations. Commercial scale reactor of diameter of 7 m and height of 30 m was modeled. The capacity of the reactor was calculated to be about 9 800 barrels/day with CO conversion of 75 %. The behavior of the model was realistic and results were in the right range. The highest uncertainty to model was estimated to be caused by the determination of the kinetic rate.

Design and manufacture of a microdistillation column

Aim of this thesis was to design and manufacture a microdistillation column. The literature review part of this thesis covers stainless steels, material processing and basics about engineering design and distillation. The main focus, however, is on the experimental part. Experimental part is divided into five distinct sections: First part is where the device is introduced and separated into three parts. Secondly the device is designed part by part. It consists mostly of detail problem solving, since the first drawings had already been drawn and the critical dimensions decided. Third part is the manufacture, which was not fully completed since the final assembly was left out of this thesis. Fourth part is the test welding for the device, and its analysis. Finally some ideas for further studies are presented. The main goal of this thesis was accomplished. The device only lacks some final assembly but otherwise it is complete. One thing that became clear during the process was how difficult it is to produce small and precise steel parts with conventional manufacturing methods. Internal stresses within steel plates and thermal distortions can easily ruin small steel structures. Designing appropriate welding jigs is an important task for even simple devices. Laser material processing is a promising tool for this kind of steel processing because of the flexibility, good cutting quality and also precise and low heat input when welding. Next step in this project is the final assembly and the actual distillation tests. The tests will be carried out at Helsinki University of Technology.

Intercultural bridges in teenagers' theatrical events : performing self and constructing cultural identity through a creative drama process

The overriding aim of this drama educational case study is to deepen the understanding of meaning making in a creative intercultural youth theatre process and to examine it in the context of the 10th European Children's TheatreEncounter. The research task is to give a theoretical description of some key features of a creative drama process as the basis for theory about meaning makingin physical theatre. The first task is to illuminate the culture-historical connections of the multilayered practice of the EDERED-association. The second taskis to analyse and interpret theatrical meaning making. The ethnographical research site is regarded as a theatrical event. The analysis of the theatrical eventis divided into four segments: cultural contexts, contextual theatricality, theatrical playing and playing culture. These segments are connected with four research questions: What are the cultural contexts of a creative drama process? How can the organisation of the Encounter, genres, aesthetic codes and perception ofcodes be seen to influence the lived experiences of the participants? What are some of the key phases and characteristics in a creative practice? What kind of cultural learning can be interpreted from the performance texts? The interpretative question concerns identity and community (re)construction. How are the categories, `community´ and `child´ constructed in the Encounter culture? In this drama educational case study the research material (transcribed interviews, coded questionnaire answers, participant drawings, videotaped process text and performance texts) are examined in a multi-method analysis in the meta-theoretical framework of Dewey's naturalistic pragmatism. A three-dimensional research interest through a combination of lived experiences, social contexts and cultural-aesthetical practices compared with drama-educational practices required the methodological project of cultural studies. Furthermore, the critical interpretation of cultural texts is divided into three levels of analyses which are called description, structural analysis and theoretical interpretation. Dialogic validity (truthfulness, self-reflexivity and polyvocality) is combined with contextual validity (sensitivity to social context and awareness of historicity) and with deconstructive validity (awareness of the social discourses). My research suggests that itis possible, by means of physical theatre, to construct symbolic worlds where questions about intercultural identity and multilingual community are examined and where provisional answers are constructed in social interaction.