Potentials of process intensification in the Finnish petrochemical industry

This research was motivated by the need to examine the potential application areas of process intensification technologies in Neste Oil Oyj. According to the company’s interest membrane reactor technology was chosen and applicability of this technology in refining industry was investigated. Moreover, Neste Oil suggested a project which is related to the CO2 capture from FCC unit flue gas stream. The flowrate of the flue gas is 180t/h and consist of approximately 14% by volume CO2. Membrane based absorption process (membrane contactor) was chosen as a potential technique to model CO2 capture from fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit effluent. In the design of membrane contactor, a mathematical model was developed to describe CO2 absorption from a gas mixture using monoethanole amine (MEA) aqueous solution. According to the results of literature survey, in the hollow fiber contactor for laminar flow conditions approximately 99 % percent of CO2 can be removed by using a 20 cm in length polyvinylidene fluoride (PDVF) membrane. Furthermore, the design of whole process was performed by using PRO/II simulation software and the CO2 removal efficiency of the whole process obtained as 97 %. The technical and economical comparisons among existing MEA absorption processes were performed to determine the advantages and disadvantages of membrane contactor technology.

Venäjän tehtaan toimintamallin kehittäminen puusepänteollisuuden yrityksessä

Rakennusteollisuus on ollut kasvava teollisuudenala Venäjällä, joka on kasvattanut kysyntää myös ikkunateollisuudessa. Vuoden 2008 syksyllä alkanut maailmanlaajuinen talouskriisi vaikutti merkittävästi myös Venäjän talouteen, jonka seurauksena rakennusala oli Venäjällä vaikeuksissa. Asuntojen kysyntä Venäjällä on kuitenkin lähtenyt kasvuun uudelleen vuoden 2009 loppupuolella ja markkinatilanne on paranemaan päin. Suomalaiset rakennusalan yritykset toimivat pääasiassa Pietarin ja Moskovan alueella, jonka vuoksi Fenestra Oy on suunnitellut ikkunatehtaan perustamista Pietarin lähistölle. Työssä esitellään Venäjän ikkunamarkkinat sekä Fenestra Oy:n lähtökohdat ja suunnitelmat kokoonpanotehtaan perustamiseksi. Ikkunoiden puiset komponentit on tarkoitus valmistaa Suomessa, josta ne kuljetetaan kasattaviksi Venäjällä sijaitsevaan kokoonpanotehtaaseen. Työn tarkoituksena on kuvata Venäjän tehtaan toimintamalli prosessikuvauksien avulla, selvittää tullauskäytäntö Venäjälle vietäessä sekä määrittää toimintamalliin sisältyvät riskit. Teolliseen toimintaan ja varsinkin Venäjälle suuntautuvaan toimintaan liittyy riskejä, joiden toteutumiseen on mahdollista varautua riskienhallinnan avulla. Riskien tunnistamiseksi on käytetty vaarojentunnistusmenetelmää, HAZOP –poikkeamatarkastelumenetelmää. Menetelmässä nimettiin mahdolliset poikkeamat, niiden syyt ja seuraukset. Poikkeamat luokiteltiin eri luokkiin niiden vakavuuden ja todennäköisyyden perusteella. Lisäksi tarkastelussa annettiin ehdotuksia varautumiseen ja toimenpiteiksi poikkeaman estämiseksi tai riskien pienentämiseksi.

The effect of the birth hospital and the time of birth on the outcome of Finnish very preterm infants

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the birth hospital and the time of birth on mortality and the long-term outcome of Finnish very low birth weight (VLBW) or very low gestational age (VLGA) infants. This study included all Finnish VLBW/VLGA infants born at <32 gestational weeks or with a birth weight of ≤1500g, and controls born full-term and healthy. In the first part of the study, the mortality of VLBW/VLGA infants born in 2000–2003 was studied. The second part of the study consisted of a five-year follow-up of VLBW/VLGA infants born in 2001–2002. The study was performed using data from parental questionnaires and several registers. The one-year mortality rate was 11% for live-born VLBW/VLGA infants, 22% for live-born and stillborn VLBW/VLGA infants, and 0% for the controls. In live-born and in all (including stillbirths) VLBW/VLGA infants, the adjusted mortality was lower among those born in level III hospitals compared with level II hospitals. Mortality rates of live-born VLBW/VLGA infants differed according to the university hospital district where the birth hospital was located, but there were no differences in mortality between the districts when stillborn infants were included. There was a trend towards lower mortality rates in VLBW/VLGA infants born during office hours compared with those born outside office hours (night time, weekends, and public holidays). When stillborn infants were included, this difference according to the time of birth was significant. Among five-year-old VLBW/VLGA children, morbidity, use of health care resources, and problems in behaviour and development were more common in comparison with the controls. The health-related quality of life of the surviving VLBW/VLGA children was good but, statistically, it was significantly lower than among the controls. The median and the mean number of quality-adjusted life-years were 4.6 and 3.6 out of a maximum five years for all VLBW/VLGA children. For the controls, the median was 4.8 and the mean was 4.9. Morbidity rates, the use of health care resources, and the mean quality-adjusted life-years differed for VLBW/VLGA children according to the university hospital district of birth. However, the time of birth, the birth hospital level or university hospital district were not associated with the health-related quality of life, nor with behavioural and developmental scores of the survivors at the age of five years. In conclusion, the decreased mortality in level III hospitals was not gained at the expense of long-term problems. The results indicate that VLBW/VLGA deliveries should be centralized to level III hospitals and the regional differences in the treatment practices should further be clarified. A long-term follow-up on the outcome of VLBW/VLGA infants is important in order to recognize the critical periods of care and to optimise the care. In the future, quality-adjusted life-years can be used as a uniform measure for comparing the effectiveness of care between VLBW/VLGA infants and different patient groups

Resources and capabilities approach to online strategy – Multiple-case study of Finnish magazines' online services

Most Finnish periodical magazines have a website, often an online service. The objective of this thesis is to understand the magazines’ resources and capabilities and match them with online strategies’ goals and objectives. The thesis’ theoretical part focuses on explaining and classifying resources, capabilities, goals and objectives, and applying everything into Finnish magazine publishing context. In the empirical part, there is a comparative case study of four magazines. The findings indicate that with cooperating, advertising and community hosting capabilities magazines may utilize their human, brand, content and customer base resources. The resources can be further addressed to reach profitability, customer-centricity and brand congruency goals.

Applications and Markets of Linear Motors

A steady increase in practical industrial applications has secured a place for linear motors. They provide high dynamics and high positioning accuracy of the motor, high reliability and durability of all components of the system. Machines with linear motors have very big perspectives in modern industry. This thesis enables to understand what a linear motor is, where they are used and what situation there is on their market nowadays. It can help to understand reasonability of applying linear motors on manufacture and benefits of its application.

Energy Supply of Detached Houses in Russia and Finland

The problem of choosing the heating system is always relevant when building new houses. Type of energy source (solid fuel, liquid fuel, gas, electricity, alternative sources) is the main issue in choosing the heating system. The work gives a comprehensive overview of heating methods, determines their advantages and disadvantages taking into account economical and ecological situations in Finland and Russia. Quantitative contribution of single Finnish and Russian detached houses in the overall level of carbon dioxide emissions is estimated when using each method. Comparison of Russian and Finnish energy markets and their impact on electricity pricing is made in the work. The influence of air pollution on environmental offsets according to Russian and Finnish legislative and normative acts is determined.

Stress testing practices in risk management - Empirical evidence from the Finnish banking and insurance sectors

The main purpose of this study was to analyze how stress tests are used in risk management in the Finnish banking and insurance sectors. In order to enhance understanding of the topic, stress testing was explored in the context of corporate governance and regulato-ry implications of Basel II and Solvency II on stress testing were examined. In addition, the effects of the global financial crisis on stress testing were mapped and the differences in stress testing practices between the banking and insurance sector were discussed. The research method was qualitative case study and it was conducted by interviewing risk managers from ten institutions and a representative from FIN-FSA. Findings pointed out that stress testing practices vary significantly between different institutions. Interesting observations were made in terms of stress testing practices in the banking and insurance sectors. The increasing importance and use of stress tests were recognized as a result of the financial crisis. Stress testing was even considered more like art than science given the amount of challenges it involves. In general, improvements in stress tests were suggested, with an emphasis on stress concentration between different types of risks.