From waste to opportunity : ethanol in Sweden during the first half of the 20th century

At the beginning of the 20th century the pulp industry in Sweden faced major problems with waste. Pine and spruce contain at the best 40 % cellulose. The remainder was released into the air and water, causing major environmental problems. In 1909 two Swedish engineers patented a method to ferment sulphite lye into alcohol. Apart for consumption, the alcohol could be used as fuel. The rest of the lye, reduced of it’s saccariferous contents, was expected to become the basis of a new chemical industry, producing dyestuffs etc. Within two years three sulphite alcohol factories were established in Sweden and the method was also used in other countries. There was just one problem. In Sweden, ever since the beginning of the 17th century, the production of liquor had been intensely regulated by the state. And the law concerning the production was adapted to agrarian interests, producing alcohol from products like corn or potatoes. Organized temperance and the agrarians acted against the pulp producers and argued that it’s better to use “natural” products instead of dirty lye. Then came the First World War and the import of petrol decreased. At the same time food supply became critical. It seemed unreasonable to produce alcohol out of food, but reasonable to compensate the lack of petrol with sulphite alcohol- The number of plants producing sulphite alcohol grew rapidly and an industry producing car engines fuelled by sulphite alcohol was emerging. This came to an end after the war when the price of imported petrol gave sulphite alcohol problems to compete and agrarian and temperance interests once again acted against the production. But the story was repeated during the Second World War and is also of contemporary interest since many countries and companies are trying to substitute oil for ethanol, bio-alcoho

Snöupplag för säsongslagring av kyla

Internrapport, avdelningen för Vattenteknik</p

Industrial cleaning with Qlean Water : a case study of printed circuit boards

Many manufacturing companies are looking for ways to substitute environmentally problematic cleaning methods for surface treatments with more environmentally friendly ones. In this paper, one potential solution is described. The Qlean method, based on cleaning with highly pure water (in this paper defined as Qlean Water), is a novel cleaning method. This method, now utilized at one plant at a leading major international electronic company, has substituted previous chemical-based methods for cleaning printed circuit boards prior to lacquering. This paper presents, based on that company's primary data, a comparative study using environmental analysis and economic life cycle cost review between cleaning with Qlean Water and conventional cleaning. The focus is on the environmental and economic performance of the two alternatives. The conclusion is that Qlean Water offers both a significant economic and environmental cost reduction and a better product. This is the case even though all identified economic benefits derived from using Qlean Water, e.g. that the quality and technical lifetime have been extended for the printed circuit boards with the Qlean Water cleaning method, are not considered in the economic analysis

Nationellt vårdprogram för adrenala incidentalom : Programmet har harmoniserats med europeiska riktlinjer – ger förenklad handläggning av patienter

Adrenal incidentalomas are seen in about five percent of abdominal CT examinations, and in most cases represent non-hormone-producing adrenocortical adenomas, but hormone-producing or malignant lesions occur. Revised Swedish guidelines for the evaluation and management of adrenal incidentalomas based on recently published European guidelines are presented. The importance of a thorough radiological, clinical and biochemical initial evaluation is emphasized. Longterm biochemical follow-up is not recommended and use of CT contrast medium »washout« calculation is omitted. No radiological evaluation or follow-up indicated for adrenal incidentalomas <1 cm size. For patients with diagnosed lipid rich adenomas (≤ 10 HU) 1-4 cm in size no radiological follow-up is suggested after initial evaluation

Singlet Fission and Electron Injection from the Triplet Excited State in Diphenylisobenzofuran–Semiconductor Assemblies : Effects of Solvent Polarity and Driving Force

Singlet fission has emerged as a promising way to overcome the Shockley–Queisser limit in solar energy conversion devices, and a few studies have claimed proof-of-principle results using dye-sensitized photoelectrodes. However, a detailed understanding of what factors govern the fate of the excited state on mesoporous surfaces is still lacking. Here, we have studied how the excitation progresses into singlet fission, electron injection, or formation of molecular charge separated states in diphenylisobenzofuran derivatives with flexible carbon linkers attached to nanocrystalline mesoporous ZrO2, TiO2, and SnO2 thin films. We show that singlet fission occurs for the molecule attached to ZrO2 films when the assembly is immersed in nonpolar solvents, and that singlet fission is hampered by the formation of a molecular charge separated state in more polar solvents. On TiO2 surfaces, direct electron injection from the singlet excited state outcompetes the singlet fission. Instead, triplet formation occurs via charge recombination from the conduction band of TiO2 in nonpolar solvents. When the molecule is attached to SnO2 films, singlet fission partly outcompetes electron injection from the singlet excited state and the two processes occur in parallel. Subsequent to singlet fission on SnO2, triplet injection into the conduction band of SnO2 is observed. The results presented here provide a detailed picture of the singlet fission dynamics in molecules attached to mesoporous semiconductor surfaces, demonstrating that both the semiconductor substrate as well as the environment around the molecules have a large impact, which can be useful in the design of future devices