Journal Staff

A life cycle assessment (LCA) of a low energy / passive house in northern Sweden, including building materials and energy use is reported. The case study building is semi detached house for two families situated in Östersund (lat. 63°N), Sweden. Each apartment having a floor space of 160 m2 divided on two floors. The building was constructed during 2010 with a design meeting the requirements for Swedish passive houses as defined by the Forum for energy efficiency buildings (FEBY) and the Swedish center for zero energy houses (SCNH).When it comes to more sustainable buildings, energy use in the build environment has been in focus for some time. The life cycle assessment in this study reveals that the building materials can contribute significantly to environmental burdens of a residential building in northern Sweden. Energy efficiency, efficient use of good building materials and issues of appropriate design need to be discussed in the same context to move toward a more sustainable built environment.For energy efficient buildings in a energy system with renewably based energy carriers, building materials might give rise to a significant or even dominating part of the life cycle impact of a building. This give rise to considerations regarding choices of building materials as well as design of buildings to minimize such impact; while not forgetting social aspects impacted by building design

Changing from petroleum to wood-based materials: critical review of how product sustainability characteristics can be assessed and compared

This paper reports on a literature survey on available approaches for the assessment of product sustainability, with a specific focus on assessing the replacement of non-renewable petroleum-based materials with renewable wood-based materials in absorbent hygiene products. The results are contrasted to needs in a specific material development project. A diverse number of methods exist that can help in assessing different product sustainability characteristics for parts of or whole product lifecycles. None of the assessment methods found include guidelines for how to make a case-specific interpretation of sustainability and there is a general lack of assessment parameters that can describe considerations in the comparison between the use of wood or petroleum as main raw material. One reason for this is lack of knowledge and/or consensus on how to describe and assess impacts of land and water use, e.g. on ecosystem services, different types of resource depletion and social impacts

Инструменты менеджмента качества для повышения результативности деятельности библиотеки в информационно-образовательной среде университета

ОБРАЗОВАНИЕ МЕДИЦИНСКОЕУНИВЕРСИТЕТ 3.0БИБЛИОТЕКИБИБЛИОТЕКИ /ТЕНДБИБЛИОТЕКИ МЕДИЦИНСКИЕТЕХНОЛОГИИ ВЕБ 3.0ТЕХНОЛОГИИ WEB 3.0МЕНЕДЖМЕНТ КАЧЕСТВАИНФОРМАЦИОННО-ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНАЯ СРЕД

TURNING WASTE INTO A RESOURCE FOR REMEDIATION OF CONTAMINATED SOIL IN TROPICAL DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

ABSTRACT Contaminated soil from industrial or agricultural activities poses a health threat to animals and humans and can also have a detrimental effect on economic systems by making land unsuitable for agriculture and other economic purposes. This problem is of particular concern in tropical developing countries where agriculture is the economic base. Traditional methods for soil remediation are often expensive and energy consuming. In-situ bioremediation has been proposed as a cheaper alternative to conventional methods in areas where remediation would otherwise not be implemented. Despite encouraging results in the laboratory, the practice of in-situ bioremediation is limited, partially due to its inefficiency at low temperatures. The objective of this study is to provide an inventory of some waste products that potentially can be used as amendments for in-situ bioremediation in developing countries in tropical climate. Emphasis has been given to map efficient methods that are appropriate to economically marginalised people in such countries. Waste from livestock operations, crop residues and processing waste constitute the major waste flows in many developing countries. A number of organic by-products can potentially be used to stimulate microbial activity for bioremediation purposes. Three amendments; whey, pyroligneous acid and compost teas were selected to be studied in detail due to their liquid nature and documented capacity to stimulate microorganisms with capacity to degrade pollutants. Experiments are needed to determine their potential for in-situ bioremediation in developing countries in tropical climate

Проволочные антенны, решетки и рассеиватели. Численное моделирование и новые конструкции

Автореферат диссертации на соискание ученой степени доктора технических наук

Air source heat pumps and their role in the Swedish energy system

Abstract Newly produced air source heat pumps can provide heat energy from outdoor air at temperature as low as -20°C. As a result they could be utilized during most days of the year even in the cold Nordic climates. The drawback of air source heat pumps is the reduction in efficiency as the outdoor air become colder, resulting in lower heat supply in times when it is most needed. Despite its inverse relationship between efficiency and outdoor temperature, air source heat pumps were installed in 57000 detached houses in Sweden during 2010 alone, which is 3% of the total detached houses stock. That makes air source heat pumps the most sold heating technology for detached houses in Sweden during 2010, 1.6 times more than the number of installations of ground source heat pump and 3 times more than the number of connections of detached houses to district heating during the same year. Similar trends can be found in other Nordic countries. This study compares the use of an air source heat pump with other existing commercial technologies in detached houses and analyzes the impacts on primary energy use, on final energy use, on electricity production and on costs benefits for house owners. It was found that converting existing electric heated Swedish detaches houses to district heating with biomass based CHP or bed-rock heat pump could reduce the use of resources, which could benefit Sweden as a society. Converting electric heated Swedish detaches houses to district heating or pellets stove could reduce power demand and level out the power demand load curve. That would benefit utilities of power supply as it could secure power supply. However cost effectiveness in one of most important drivers for house owners of detached houses to choose energy efficiency measures. For that reason house owners may most likely benefit by the installation of air-source heat pumps