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.

The use of confocal laser scanning microscopy to analyze the process of parasitic protozoon-host cell interaction

In this communication we review the results obtained with the confocal laser scanning microscope to characterize the interaction of epimastigote and trypomastigote forms of Trypanosoma cruzi and tachyzoites of Toxoplasma gondii with host cells. Early events of the interaction process were studied by the simultaneous localization of sites of protein phosphorylation, revealed by immunocytochemistry, and sites of actin assembly, revealed by the use of labeled phaloidin. The results obtained show that proteins localized in the interaction sites are phosphorylated. The process of formation of the parasitophorous vacuole was monitored by labeling the host cell surface with fluorescent probes for lipids (PKH26), proteins (DTAF) and sialic acid (FITC-thiosemicarbazide) before interaction with the parasites. Evidence was obtained indicating transfer of components of the host cell surface to the parasite surface in the beginning of the interaction process. We also analyzed the distribution of cytoskeletal structures (microtubules and microfilaments visualized with specific antibodies), mitochondria (visualized with rhodamine 123), the Golgi complex (visualized with C6-NBD-ceramide) and the endoplasmic reticulum (visualized with anti-reticulin antibodies and DIOC6) during the evolution of intracellular parasitism. The results obtained show that some, but not all, structures change their position during evolution of the intracellular parasitism.

Leukocyte adhesion - a fundamental process in leukocyte physiology

Leukocyte adhesion is of pivotal functional importance. The adhesion involves several different adhesion molecules, the most important of which are the leukocyte ß2-integrins (CD11/CD18), the intercellular adhesion molecules, and the selectins. We and others have extensively studied the specificity and binding sites in the integrins and the intercellular adhesion molecules for their receptors and ligands. The integrins have to become activated to exert their functions but the possible mechanisms of activation remain poorly understood. Importantly, a few novel intercellular adhesion molecules have been recently described, which seem to function only in specific tissues. Furthermore, it is becoming increasingly apparent that changes in integrins and intercellular adhesion molecules are associated with a number of acute and chronic diseases.

Chromium mass balance in sodium chlorate process

Kuudenarvoista kromia käytetään natriumkloraatin valmistuksessa prosessin tuotantotehokkuuden ja turvallisuuden parantamiseksi. Kromia kuitenkin poistuu prosessista muutamaa reittiä pitkin. Koska kuuudenarvoisella kromilla on syöpää aiheuttavia, mutageenisiä sekä lisääntymiselle myrkyllisiä ominaisuuksia, olisi tärkeää ymmärtää, miten kromi kulkeutuu prosessin eri osiin, ja kuinka paljon sitä poistuu prosessista. Tämä on tärkeää, jotta osataan hallita kromin käytöstä aiheutuvat riskit, sekä toisaalta myös tehostaa kromin käyttöä prosessissa. Työn tarkoituksena oli tuottaa tietoa kromin käytöstä natriumkloraattiprosessissa. Työssä tutkittiin kromitasetta prosessin keskeisimmissä yksikköoperaatioissa. Myös kromin saostumista katodien pinnalle arvioitiin määrällisesti. Eri prosessinäytteistä tutkittiin lisäksi kromin hapetusasteita. Edellä mainittuja tutkimuskohteita varten määritettiin prosessinäytteiden kromipitoisuus. Eri prosessioperaatioille suoritettiin lisäksi taselaskelmat. Työn tuloksena esitettiin kromitase sekä yksikköoperaatioille että koko prosessille. Erinäisten epätarkkuustekijöiden vuoksi tasetta ei kuitenkaan pystytty määrittämään halutulla tarkkuudella, ja siksi työssä esitettyä tasetta voidaan pitää vain suuntaa antavana laskelmana. Katodien pinnalle saostunutta kromin määrää pidettiin kuitenkin oikean suuruusluokan tuloksena. Prosessinäytteiden hapetusasteita ei voitu arvioida, sillä saadut kokonaiskromitulokset eivät olleet täysin luotettavia. Huolimatta tulosten epätarkkuudesta, työ tuotti tärkeää tietoa prosessin toiminnasta kromin suhteen. Työtä voidaan hyödyntää jatkossa monin tavoin prosessin kromitaseen seurannassa.

Designing sustainable industrial ecosystems : the case of a biogas-for-traffic solution

This thesis focuses on the development of sustainable industrial architectures for bioenergy based on the metaphors of industrial symbiosis and industrial ecosystems, which imply exchange of material and energy side-flows of various industries in order to improve sustainability of those industries on a system level. The studies on industrial symbiosis have been criticised for staying at the level of incremental changes by striving for cycling waste and by-flows of the industries ‘as is’ and leaving the underlying industry structures intact. Moreover, there has been articulated the need for interdisciplinary research on industrial ecosystems as well as the need to extend the management and business perspectives on industrial ecology. This thesis addresses this call by applying a business ecosystem and business model perspective on industrial symbiosis in order to produce knowledge on how industrial ecosystems can be developed that are sustainable environmentally and economically. A case of biogas business is explored and described in four research papers and an extended summary that form this thesis. Since the aim of the research was to produce a normative model for developing sustainable industrial ecosystems, the methodology applied in this research can be characterised as constructive and collaborative. A constructive research mode was required in order to expand the historical knowledge on industrial symbiosis development and business ecosystem development into the knowledge of what should be done, which is crucial for sustainability and the social change it requires. A collaborative research mode was employed through participating in a series of projects devoted to the development of a biogas-for-traffic industrial ecosystem. The results of the study showed that the development of material flow interconnections within industrial symbiosis is inseparable from larger business ecosystem restructuring. This included a shift in the logic of the biogas and traffic fuel industry and a subsequent development of a business ecosystem that would entail the principles of industrial symbiosis and localised energy production and consumption. Since a company perspective has been taken in this thesis, the role of an ecosystem integrator appeared as a crucial means to achieve the required industry restructuring. This, in turn, required the development of a modular and boundary-spanning business model that had a strong focus on establishing collaboration among ecosystem stakeholders and development of multiple local industrial ecosystems as part of business growth. As a result, the designed business model of the ecosystem integrator acquired the necessary flexibility in order to adjust to local conditions, which is crucial for establishing industrial symbiosis. This thesis presents a normative model for the development of a business model required for creating sustainable industrial ecosystems, which contributes to approaches at the policy-makers’ level, proposed earlier. Therefore, this study addresses the call for more research on the business level of industrial ecosystem formation and the implications for the business models of the involved actors. Moreover, the thesis increases the understanding of system innovation and innovation in business ecosystems by explicating how business model innovation can be the trigger for achieving more sustainable industry structures, such as those relying on industrial symbiosis.

From emerging opportunities to successful business networks – evidence from bioenergy

Increasing renewable energy utilization is a challenge that is tried to be solved in different ways. One of the most promising options for renewable energy is different biomasses, and the bioenergy field offers numerous emerging business opportunities. The actors in the field have rarely all the needed know-how and resources for exploiting these opportunities, and thus it is reasonable to seize them in cooperation. Networking is not an easy task to carry out, however, and in addition to its advantages for the firms engaged, it sets numerous challenges as well. The development of a network is a result of several steps firms need to take. In order to gain optimal advantage of their networks, firms need to weigh out with whom, why and how they should cooperate. In addition, everything does not depend on the firms themselves, as several factors in the external environment set their own enablers and barriers for cooperation. The formation of a network around a business opportunity is thus a multiphase process. The objective of this thesis is to depict this process via a step-by-step analysis and thus increase understanding on the whole development path from an entrepreneurial opportunity to a successful business network. The empirical evidence has been gathered by discussing the opportunities of animal manure refinement to biogas and forest biomass utilization for heating in Finland. The thesis comprises two parts. The first part provides an overview of the study, and the second part includes five research publications. The results reveal that it is essential to identify and analyze all the steps in the development process of a network, and several frameworks are used in the thesis to analyze these steps. The frameworks combine the views of theory and practical experiences of empirical study, and thus give new multifaceted views for the discussion on SME networking. The results indicate that the ground for cooperation should be investigated adequately by taking account of the preconditions in all the three contexts in which the actors operate: the social context, the region and the institutional environment. In case the project advances to exploitation, the assets and objectives of the actors should be paired off, which sets a need for relationships and sub-networks differing in breadth and depth. Different relationships and networks require different kinds of maintenance and management. Moreover, the actors should have the capability to change the formality or strategy of the relationships if needed. The drivers for these changes come along with the changing environment, which causes changes in the objectives of the actors and this way in the whole network. Bioenergy as the empirical field of the study represents well an industrial field with many emerging opportunities, a motley group of actors, and sensitivity for fast changes.

Successful IFRS standard change implementation process after the initial IFRS implementation

The main objective of the study was to form a strategic process model and project management tool to help IFRS change implementation projects in the future. These research results were designed based on the theoretical framework of Total Quality Management and leaning on the facts that were collected during the empirical case study of IAS 17 change. The us-age of the process oriented approach in IFRS standard change implementation after the initial IFRS implementation is rationalized with the following arguments: 1) well designed process tools lead to optimization of resources 2) With the help of process stages and related tasks it is easy to ensure the efficient way of working and managing the project as well as make sure to include all necessary stakeholders to the change process. This research is following the qualitative approach and the analysis is in describing format. The first part of the study is a literature review and the latter part has been conducted as a case study. The data has been col-lected in the case company with interviews and observation. The main findings are a process model for IFRS standard change process and a check-list formatted management tool for up-coming IFRS standard change projects. The process flow follows the main cornerstones in IASB’s standard setting process and the management tool has been divided to stages accordingly.

Designing of Balanced Performance Measurement System to Purchasing Process

The performance measurement produces information about the operation of the business process. On the basis of this information performance of the company can be followed and improved. Balanced performance measurement system can monitor performance of several perspectives and business processes can be led according to company strategy. Major part of the costs of a company is originated from purchased goods or services are an output of the buying process emphasising the importance of a reliable performance measurement of purchasing process. In the study, theory of balanced performance measurement is orientated and framework of purchasing process performance measurement system is designed. The designed balanced performance measurement system of purchasing process is tested in case company paying attention to the available data and to other environmental enablers. The balanced purchasing performance measurement system is tested and improved during the test period and attention is paid to the definition and scaling of objectives. Found development initiatives are carried out especially in the scaling of indicators. Finally results of the study are evaluated, conclusions and additional research areas proposed.

Analysis and modelling of chemical looping combustion process with and without oxygen uncoupling

Effective control and limiting of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in energy production are major challenges of science today. Current research activities include the development of new low-cost carbon capture technologies, and among the proposed concepts, chemical combustion (CLC) and chemical looping with oxygen uncoupling (CLOU) have attracted significant attention allowing intrinsic separation of pure CO₂ from a hydrocarbon fuel combustion process with a comparatively small energy penalty. Both CLC and CLOU utilize the well-established fluidized bed technology, but several technical challenges need to be overcome in order to commercialize the processes. Therefore, development of proper modelling and simulation tools is essential for the design, optimization, and scale-up of chemical looping-based combustion systems. The main objective of this work was to analyze the technological feasibility of CLC and CLOU processes at different scales using a computational modelling approach. A onedimensional fluidized bed model frame was constructed and applied for simulations of CLC and CLOU systems consisting of interconnected fluidized bed reactors. The model is based on the conservation of mass and energy, and semi-empirical correlations are used to describe the hydrodynamics, chemical reactions, and transfer of heat in the reactors. Another objective was to evaluate the viability of chemical looping-based energy production, and a flow sheet model representing a CLC-integrated steam power plant was developed. The 1D model frame was succesfully validated based on the operation of a 150 kWth laboratory-sized CLC unit fed by methane. By following certain scale-up criteria, a conceptual design for a CLC reactor system at a pre-commercial scale of 100 MWth was created, after which the validated model was used to predict the performance of the system. As a result, further understanding of the parameters affecting the operation of a large-scale CLC process was acquired, which will be useful for the practical design work in the future. The integration of the reactor system and steam turbine cycle for power production was studied resulting in a suggested plant layout including a CLC boiler system, a simple heat recovery setup, and an integrated steam cycle with a three pressure level steam turbine. Possible operational regions of a CLOU reactor system fed by bituminous coal were determined via mass, energy, and exergy balance analysis. Finally, the 1D fluidized bed model was modified suitable for CLOU, and the performance of a hypothetical 500 MWth CLOU fuel reactor was evaluated by extensive case simulations.

A biolistic process for in vitro gene transfer into chicken embryos

Chicken embryos kept in culture medium were bombarded using a high helium gas pressure biolistic device. To optimize the factors that affect transformation efficiency, the lacZ gene under control of the human cytomegalovirus immediate early enhancer/promoter was used as a reporter gene. There was an inverse relationship between survival rate and transformation efficiency. The best conditions obtained for high embryo survival and high transformation efficiency were achieved with 800 psi helium gas pressure, 500 mmHg vacuum, gold particles, an 8 cm DNA-coated microparticle flying distance to the embryo and embryo placement 0.5 cm from the center of the particle dispersion cone. Under these conditions, transformation efficiency was 100%, survival rate 25% and the number of expression units in the embryo body cells ranged from 100 to 1,000. Expression of green fluorescent protein was also detected in embryos bombarded under optimal conditions. Based on the results obtained, the biolistic process can be considered an efficient method for the transformation of chicken embryos and therefore can be used as a model system to study transient gene expression and tissue-specific promoters.

Development of category planning process in construction business

The aim of this thesis was to develop the category planning process in the case company operating in construction industry. As the interest in the field of research has just recently started to emerge towards the benefits of category management and planning, the theoretical background was derived from literature of subjects with a relation to category planning i.e. procurement strategy, purchasing portfolio model, information flow management and cost analysis. The background for the development of category planning process was derived from retail industry, to where the category planning is more researched. The empirical study was executed with mixed method approach: quantitative data of the categories was analyzed and qualitative data was gathered through semi-structured interview and discussions within the case company. As a result, the category planning process was critically analyzed and development proposals addressed for improving the process description. Additionally a tool was developed based on the empirical study to support the category planning process of the case company.

Business-Oriented IT Tool Development For Service Delivery Process

The target of this thesis is to evaluate a bid, project and resource management IT tool for service delivery process via proof-of-concept (POC) project to assess, if the tested software is an appropriate tool for the Case Company’s business requirements. Literature suggests that IT projects implementation is still a grey area in scientific research. Also, IT projects have a notably high rate of failure, one significant reason for this being insufficient planning. To tackle this risk, the Case Company decided to perform a POC project, which involved a hands-on testing period of the assessed system. End users from the business side feel that current, highly tailored project management tool is inflexible, difficult to use, and sets unnecessary limitations for the business. Semi-structured interviews and a survey form are used to collect information about current business practices and business requirements related to the IT tool. For the POC project, a project group involving members from each of the Case Company’s four business divisions was established to perform the hands-on testing. Based on data acquired during the interviews and the hands-on testing period, a target state was defined and a gap analysis was carried out by comparing the features provided by the current tool and the tested tool to the target state, which are, together with the current state description, the most important result of the thesis.

Slöjd som process och produkt : Talking Tools som dokumentations- och utvärderingsverktyg

Syftet med denna studie är att granska hur användningen av smarttelefoner kan stöda elevens reflektion av sin egen slöjdprocess och samtidigt se hur eleven dokumenterar sin slöjdprocess med hjälp av Talking Tools (TT). Fokus i denna studie ligger på dokumentation av elevens slöjdprocess, men jag behandlar även presentation av slöjdprodukter och olika möjligheter till och sätt på hur eleverna använder TT på en smarttelefon i slöjdundervisningen. En förändring i hur informations- och kommunikationsteknik (IKT) används sker och kommer även att ske i fortsättningen i grundskolan. Då en ny läroplan för den grundläggande utbildningen tas i bruk år 2016 kommer IKT att ha en avsevärt större roll. Denna förändring lägger press på lärare och på skolan överlag för att skapa ändamålsenliga metoder i användningen av IKT. Studien baserar sig på intervjuer med elever som använt TT under ett arbetsområde i slöjden. Elva elever presenterade först sina slöjdprodukter för forskaren varefter eleverna intervjuades. Eleverna hade tillgång till sina slöjdbloggar gjorda i TT under intervjutillfällena. Intervjuerna filmades och lades ihop med bloggarna för att förenkla analysen av materialet. I den här undersökningen framkom att dokumentationen av slöjdprocessen bidrog till en reflektion av när bilder och texter från bloggarna användes under presentationerna. Då kraven på dokumenteringen av arbetet i skolan blir högre i och med läroplanen 2016 tror jag att Talking Tools kan vara ett hjälpmedel för elever och lärare i förverkligandet av bland annat användningen av IKT i arbetet i skolan. Detta förutsätter att eleverna ges tid för användningen samt att tekniken fungerar.

The demand-supply balancing process in supply chain management - case mining & metals industry equipment

The aim of this thesis is to search how to match the demand and supply effectively in industrial and project-oriented business environment. The demand-supply balancing process is searched through three different phases: the demand planning and forecasting, synchronization of demand and supply and measurement of the results. The thesis contains a single case study that has been implemented in a company called Outotec. In the case study the demand is planned and forecasted with qualitative (judgmental) forecasting method. The quantitative forecasting methods are searched further to support the demand forecast and long term planning. The sales and operations planning process is used in the synchronization of the demand and supply. The demand forecast is applied in the management of a supply chain of critical unit of elemental analyzer. Different meters on operational and strategic level are proposed for the measurement of performance.

Maximizing of water recovery in nanofiltration of mine process waters by using antiscalants

Reverse osmosis and nanofiltration are among the most effective and widely used desalination and water softening technologies. They can also be used to treat mining wastewaters and are capable of producing water of extremely high purity, regardless of the high concentrations of toxic heavy metals and extreme pH and salinity. However, challenges with recovering the salts and metals from mining wastewaters in exploitable form, as well as problems with scaling still limit the process efficiency and the ratio of purified water recoverable from process waters. To address the problem of membrane scaling caused by calcium sulfate, batch filtration experiments with the Desal-5 DL nanofiltration membrane, three commercial antiscalants and actual mine process water from a copper mine were performed. The aim of these experiments was to find process conditions where maximum water recovery would be achieved before significant scaling or irreversible membrane fouling would occur and to further improve water recovery by addition of antiscalants. Water recovery of 70 % was reached with the experimental setups by optimizing process conditions. PC-504T antiscaling agent was determined to be the most effective of the three antiscalants used and the addition of 5 ppm of PC-504T allowed the water recovery to be further increased from 70 % to 85 % before major scaling was observed. In these conditions 92 % calcium rejection was achieved.