Process simulation and optimization of biomass fast pyrolysis

Die intensive Nutzung fossiler Brennstoffe für die Energie-, Kraftstoff- und Rohstoffproduktion hat globale und langanhaltende ökologische, politische und wirtschaftliche Auswirkungen, von denen ärmere Bevölkerungsschichten und Länder ohne einfachen Zugang zu diesen Rohstoffen außerordentlich stark betroffen sind. Jedem ist klar, denn ein Übergang zu erneuerbaren Energiequellen ist notwendig, der keine vollständige Reform des heutigen Energiesystems erfordert. Biomasse, insbesondere forstwirtschaftliche und pflanzliche Rückstände, ist eine wenig erforschte Energiequelle, deren Nutzung zur weiteren Aufwertung der ländlichen Wirtschaft beitragen kann, indem ein Nebenprodukt von geringem wirtschaftlichem Interesse verwendet wird. Unter den konkurrierenden Möglichkeiten ist Schnellpyrolyse ein thermochemischer Umwandlungspfad, der aus biogenem Material energiereiche Produkte und Produkte mit Mehrwert erzeugen kann. Die Pyrolyse kann Produkte in drei verschiedenen Zuständen erzeugen: gasförmig, flüssig und fest. Dies ist ein wichtiger Vorteil gegenüber traditionellen Verfahren, die nur eine oder zwei dieser Phasen oder überhaupt nur Wärme erzeugen. Alle erzeugten Produkte sind sofort für die Energieerzeugung nutzbar und weisen eine vergleichbare oder höhere Energiedichte als Rohbiomasse auf; sie können auch zu höherwertigen Produkten weiterverarbeitet werden, darunter Wasserstoff, Kraftstoffe, Zwischenprodukte und Feinchemikalien. Dies ist die Hauptmotivation für das bioliq®-Projekt. Dieses Promotionsprojekt konzentriert sich auf die Erstellung eines rigorosen und vielseitig verwendbaren Schnellpyrolysemodells, das auf einer realen Materialisation des bioliq®-Projekts im industriellen Pilotmaß- stab basiert. Das Modell basiert auf den Eigenschaften von lignozellulosehaltiger Biomasse, verwendet eine Reihe von Reaktoren zur Abbildung des realen Biomasseabbaus und bietet strenge Simulationen der Abschreckungsschleifen, die für eine zweistufige Flüssigproduktgewinnung verwendet werden. Bei der Initialisierung des Modells wurde Weizenstroh als Modellbiomasse verwendet, eine ungewöhnliche Wahl aufgrund seines hohen Aschegehalts, der katalytische Effekte begünstigt. In diesem Sinne wurde Thermogravimetrie für die Charakterisierung des Biomasseabbaus, die Schätzung des Lignozellulosegehalts und der Pyrolysekinetik für dieses Ausgangsmaterial verwendet. Um die Vielseitigkeit des Modells in Bezug auf die Eingabedaten zu gewährleisten, wurden mehrere in der Literatur verfügbare Reaktionsnetzwerke, die die lignozellulosehaltige Zusammensetzung der Biomasse in die Endprodukte umwandeln, analysiert und angepasst; die Zusammensetzung des erzeugten Kondensats wurde durch Sekundär- und Alterungsreaktionen auf die experimentellen Daten angepasst. Die Zusammensetzung der Kondensate wurde gestrafft, um die Modellierung zu erleichtern, und die definierten chemischen Spezies wurden im Hinblick auf ihre thermophysikalischen Eigenschaften vollständig charakterisiert. Für einige der ausgewählten Spezies mangelt experimentelle Charakterisierung, und es wurden bestehende Schätzmethoden implementiert, deren Ergebnisse in dieser Arbeit zur Verfügung gestellt wurden. Die abschließenden Tests berücksichtigten die Variation des Feuchtigkeitsgehalts im Weizenstroh und ergaben Ergebnisse, die mit den experimentellen Daten übereinstimmen. Nachfolgende Modelle, die verschiedene lignozellulosehaltige Biomassen berücksichtigten, bestätigten die Vielseitigkeit des entwickelten Modells bei der Vorhersage der Produktverteilung und der Zusammensetzung des Kondensats. Das endgültige Modell ist eigenständig voll funktionsfähig und kann im Hinblick auf Prozessspezifikationen und vor- und nachgeschaltete Implementierungen weiter angepasst werden

Ontology-Driven Geographic Information Systems

Information integration is the combination of different types of information in a framework so that it can be queried, retrieved, and manipulated. Integration of geographic data has gained in importance because of the new possibilities arising from the interconnected world and the increasing availability of geographic information. Many times the need for information is so pressing that it does not matter if some details are lost, as long as integration is achieved. To integrate information across computerized information systems it is necessary first to have explicit formalizations of the mental concepts that people have about the real world. Furthermore, these concepts need to be grouped by communities in order to capture the basic agreements that exist within different communities. The explicit formalization of the mental models within a community is an ontology. This thesis introduces a framework for the integration of geographic information. We use ontologies as the foundation of this framework. By integrating ontologies that are linked to sources of geographic information we allow for the integration of geographic information based primarily on its meaning. Since the integration may occurs across different levels, we also create the basic mechanisms for enabling integration across different levels of detail. The use of an ontology, translated into an active, information-system component, leads Ontology-Driven Geographic Information Systems. The results of this thesis show that a model that incorporates hierarchies and roles has the potential to integrate more information than models that do not incorporate these concepts. We developed a methodology to evaluate the influence of the use of roles and of hierarchical structures for representing ontologies on the potential for information integration. The use of a hierarchical structure increases the potential for information integration. The use of roles also improves the potential for information integration, although to a much lesser extent than did the use of hierarchies. The combined effect of roles and hierarchies had a more positive effect in the potential for information integration than the use of roles alone or hierarchies alone. These three combinations (hierarchies, roles, roles and hierarchies) gave better results than the results using neither roles nor hierarchies

Play as the Way Out of the Newspeak-Tower of Babel Dilemma in Data Modeling

A data modeler, when faced with different interpretations of a given reality within an organization, may opt to create a standard model for the whole company (the Newspeak solution). On the other hand, allowing multiple, and sometimes incompatible, models to coexist may lead to what some researchers call the Tower of Babel problem. The clash between these two possibilities creates a fundamental design problem for IS. We argue that the concept of play in Gadamer can be seen as the “place” where differences and similarities among various perspectives are expressed and discussed. Based on Gadamer’s Truth and Method (1960) and on Heidegger’s Being and Time (1962), we review the concepts of horizon, fusion of horizons, play, application, and the hermeneutic circle, and show some applications to information systems. Following Hirschheim et al. (1995), who consider that “the role of a data models should be seen in a similar light as the role of a theory for a scientific community,” we turn to the debate between objectivism and relativism in philosophy of science in order to discover a way of negotiating the clash between the Newspeak and Tower of Babel possibilities in Information Systems. We introduce an historical example of hermeneutical play—the Popper/Kuhn debate in the philosophy of science—which directly addresses the problems and possibilities associated with communication among people holding incommensurable perspectives. We show how this situation informed their hermeneutic play in the philosophy of science. Finally, we argue that a similar play, in conjunction with the dimension of application, is the way beyond the either/or of the Tower of Babel versus Newspeak dilemma

A Meta-Model Ontology based on Scenarios

This paper describes a proof-of-concept designed to test a meta-model ontology based on scenarios for representing the procedural knowledge of a given domain. The research was conducted as part of a study on methodologies to build ontologies for Information Systems. The frequent use of scenarios in the initial steps of the methodologies motivated us to investigate its use in the process of building ontologies for IS modeling. This research proposes the use of the components of scenarios as constructs of a meta-model ontology. With this approach, the process of building scenarios about a domain is mingled with the process of building domain ontologies

Learning The Differences Between Ontologies and Conceptual Schemas Through Ontology-Driven Information Systems.

In the traditional systems modeling approach, the modeler is required to capture a user\u27s view of some domain in a formal conceptual schema. The designer\u27s conceptualization may or may not match with the user\u27s conceptualization. One of the reasons for these conflicts is the lack of an initial agreement among users and modelers concerning the concepts belonging to the domain. Such an agreement could be facilitated by means of an ontology. If the ontology is previously constructed and formalized so that it can be shared by the modeler and the user in the development process, such conflicts would be less likely to happen. Following up on that, a number of investigators have suggested that those working on information systems should make use of commonly held, formally defined ontologies that would constrain and direct the design, development, and use of information systems - thus avoiding the above mentioned difficulties. Whether ontologies represent a significant advance from the more traditional conceptual schemas has been challenged by some researchers. We review and summarize some major themes of this complex discussion. While recognizing the commonalities and historical continuities between conceptual schemas and ontologies, we think that there is an important emerging distinction that should not be obscured and should guide future developments. In particular, we propose that the notions of conceptual schemas and ontologies be distinguished so as to play essentially different roles for the developers and users of information systems. We first suggest that ontologies and conceptual schemas belong to two different epistemic levels. They have different objects and are created with different objectives. Our proposal is that ontologies should deal with general assumptions concerning the explanatory invariants of a domain - those that provide a framework enabling understanding and explanation of data across all domains inviting explanation and understanding. Conceptual schemas, on the other hand, should address the relation between such general explanatory categories and the facts that exemplify them in a particular domain (e.g., the contents of the database). In contrast to ontologies, conceptual schemas would involve specification of the meaning of the explanatory categories for a particular domain as well as the consequent dimensions of possible variation among the relevant data of a given domain. Accordingly, the conceptual schema makes possible both the intelligibility and the measurement of those facts of a particular domain. The proposed distinction between ontologies and conceptual schemas makes possible a natural decomposition of information systems in terms of two necessary but complementary epistemic functions: identification of an invariant background and measurement of the object along dimensions of possible variation. Recognition of the suggested distinction represents, we think, a natural evolution in the field of modeling, and significant principled guidance for developers and users of information systems

How to promote and enhance communication between a big retailer's after-sales department and its suppliers

W is the biggest electronic goods retailer in Portugal accounting with almost fifty percent of market share in its area. During the last years, many small W suppliers had to close their doors, and many others are in huge troubles. Among the reason for this situation, the huge bargaining power of W in the relationship seems crucial. The focus of the directed research will be in the after sales department where I did an internship from September 2014 to January 2015

Modeling fast pyrolysis of waste biomass: Improving predictive capability

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Perfil do autor de descumprimento de medida protetiva de urgência no município de Curitiba (Paraná)entre janeiro de 2018 e junho de 2019

Despite advances concerning domestic and family violence against women, especially after the enactment of Law 11340/2006, Maria da Penha Law in Brazil, there is a long way to be traced by the government for mitigation of problems related to this topic. This paper used the literature of scientific review articles in order to create a consistent theoretical framework for understanding and, uses the observation of a Criminal Analysis Report, issued by the Coordination of Analysis and Strategic Planningin Paraná state of Brazil, which was to data source the police report Unified, we obtained information that has worked from the descriptive and inferential statistics, enabling demonstrate some features of the author of the protective measure of breach crime.Apesar dos avanços concernentes à violência doméstica e familiar contra a mulher, sobretudo após a promulgação da Lei 11340/2006, Lei Maria da Penha, observa-se um longo caminho a ser traçado pelo poder público para amenização dos problemas relativos ao tema. Este trabalho utilizou-se da revisão bibliográfica de artigos científicos, a fim de criar um referencial teórico consistente para o seu entendimento e, com a observação de um Relatório de Análise Criminal, emitido pela Coordenadoria de Análise e Planejamento Estratégico do Paraná, que teve como fonte de dados o Boletim de Ocorrência Unificado (BOU), obtiveram-se informações que foram trabalhadas a partir da estatística descritiva e inferencial, possibilitando comprovar algumas características do autor do crime de descumprimento de medida protetiva

Comparação de métodos analíticos na quantificação do teor de Gapapentina em diversas cápsulas de diversos laboratórios

Dissertação de mestrado, Ciências Farmacêuticas, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, 2014A presente monografia possui um elevado conteúdo experimental e pretende abordar a aplicabilidade de vários métodos analíticos na quantificação de gabapentina em formulações farmacêuticas sólidas. O seu principal objetivo é a comparação dos métodos, utilizando parâmetros de avaliação analítica. A aplicação destes métodos na quantificação da gabapentina em cápsulas foi também discutida tendo em conta o teor médio obtido por laboratório. Para atingir os objetivos propostos, o doseamento da gabapentina foi efetuado por volumetria, espetroscopia de absorção e espetroscopia de emissão (fluorimetria). O doseamento de gabapentina por medição da quantidade de radiação absorvida na gama espectral UV-vis (ao máximo de absorção) foi feito por análise de soluções de gabapentina: aquosa (método Direto, análise a 192 nm), etanólica (método Etanol/Água, análise a 194 nm) e em meio ácido (método HCl 0,1 M, análise a 206 nm). Numa tentativa de aumentar a sensibilidade e especificidade da análise, por métodos espetrofotométricos, foram utilizadas técnicas de derivatização, em que foi promovida a reação da gabapentina com um agente derivatizante. Foram induzidas as reações da gabapentina com p-benzoquinona (produto da reação com máximo de absorção a 350 nm), Vanilina (produto analisado a 392 nm) e Hipoclorito (absorção máxima a 588 nm). O doseamento por fluorescência foi possível após reação da gabapentina com 4-cloro-7-nitrobenzo-2-oxo-1,3-diazole (NBD-Cl), uma vez que a molécula não apresenta fluorescência intrínseca. O produto da reação foi analisado utilizando ao comprimento de onda de excitação de 464 nm e de emissão 542 nm. Os métodos volumétricos usados na determinação da gabapentina foram a titulação com NaOH e HCl. Os métodos volumétricos obtiveram recuperações relativas às cápsulas de gabapentina entre 94,95 e 106,71 %. Os métodos espetrofotométricos apresentaram gamas de linearidade diferentes, o método Hipoclorito foi o que apresentou maior gama dinâmica (nomeadamente 14,85), apresentando linearidade entre 2,50 e 73,68 ppm. A sensibilidade de cada método foi discutida tendo por base o declive das respetivas retas de calibração, tendo-se concluído que o método com maior sensibilidade é o método NBD-Cl, com valor de declive da reta de calibração de 1,779±0,040 ppm-1. Por último os métodos espetroscópicos obtiveram recuperações para as cápsulas de gabapentina entre 97,9±2,1 e 101,5±1,1 %, tendo o melhor método (o método NBD-Cl) obtido uma recuperação média de 100,0±1,1 %

NEOINDIVÍDUO: Questões sobre a liberdade na modernidade líquida

 A liberdade é tema motor da ação do indivíduo desde tempos imemoriais, a liberdade inspira e representa a morada e o repouso da alma humana, mas, primeiramente, deve-se tomar consciência da sua condição de servidão, para depois refletir sobre a liberdade que se vive. A contemporaneidade líquida promove e incentiva, mais do que nunca, a liberdade individual, contudo a verdadeira e legítima liberdade pode ser muito prejudicial aos projetos neoliberais de controle e dominação, por isso, uma avaliação regional, estruturada nas intensas teorias sociais de Bauman, pode nos revelar que a liberdade perdeu ou transformou seu significado básico e vive, efetivamente, sob a égide da ideologia dominante, que delibera sobre o futuro econômico e cultural do mundo e sobre a conduta dos indivíduos. E, os neoindivíduos, por se fecharem acriticamente na sua hiper-individualidade egoísta, misturaram-se, como engrenagens, nessa ideologia totalitária, e acabam contribuindo com a situação opressora, encontrando-se longe de se libertarem pela razão e pela crític