O segmento farmacêutico demonstra um crescente interesse no processo de peletização, o qual consiste na aglomeração por via úmida de pós finos compostos de ativos e excipientes em pequenas unidades esféricas, com excelentes vantagens tecnológicas e terapêuticas. O objetivo do presente trabalho envolve o estudo de processos de incorporação de suspensões em péletes inertes, compostas de ativos e excipientes, utilizando dois tipos de processos: 1. Drageadeira Modificada e 2. Leito Fluidizado nas configurações top spray e bottom spray. Os ativos utilizados foram besilato de anlodipino nas concentrações de 2.5% e 5% em massa, e cloridrato de benazepril em 15% em massa, presentes nas formulações das suspensões e aplicadas em quantidades iguais nos dois processos, em um total de 9 lotes. Os indicadores de desempenho de processo utilizados para incorporação do ativo nos péletes inertes foram tempo de aplicação da suspensão (min) e taxa de aplicação da suspensão (g/min). Os péletes finais obtidos foram avaliados por meio das análises das propriedades físico-químicas: teor de umidade (%), teor de princípio ativo (%), uniformidade de conteúdo (%) e dissolução (%). Dentre os lotes testados, os processos em drageadeira e leito pelo sistema bottom spray apresentaram o menor tempo de aplicação (120 min) para a suspensão com o ativo anlodipino na concentração de 2.5%, enquanto que pelo sistema top spray apresentou um tempo de aplicação de 300 min, uma vez que este sistema foi projetado originalmente para processo de granulação. O processo em drageadeira apresentou a maior taxa real de aplicação, igual a 6.24 g/min, seguida pelo sistema bottom spray com 4.91 g/min, e o sistema top spray com 1.62 g/min, para suspensão com o ativo benazepril na concentração de 15%. Para os processos em drageadeira e leito pelo sistema bottom spray, todas as propriedades físico-químicas dos péletes deste estudo se apresentaram dentro dos padrões recomendados pela indústria farmacêutica, o que não aconteceu para o sistema top spray com relação à propriedade teor de princípio ativo (benazepril), cujo valor apresentado ficou em 12.90%, abaixo do limite inferior de 13.50%; o que não garantirá a eficácia do fármaco de acordo com a ação esperada. Os resultados apresentados ratificam os processos de peletização em drageadeira e leito pelo sistema bottom spray como os ideais pela técnica de incorporação de princípio ativo em péletes inertes. / The pharmaceutical industry has shown a growing interest in pelletization process, which consists of wet agglomeration of fine powders composed of active ingredients and excipients into small spherical unities, with excellent technological and therapeutic advantages. The objective of this work involves the study of processes of incorporation of suspensions in inert pellets, composed of active ingredients and excipients, using two types of processes: 1. Modified Coating Pan and 2. Fluid Bed in top spray and bottom spray systems. The active ingredients used were amlodipine besylate in concentrations of 2.5% and 5% by mass, and benazepril hydrochloride 15% by mass, included in the formulations of suspensions and applied in equal amounts in both processes, in a total of 9 batches. The process performance indicators used for incorporation of the active ingredient in inert pellets were time of application of the suspension (min) and rate of application of the suspension (g/min). The final pellets were evaluated by means of analyses of the physicochemical properties: water content (%), assay of active ingredient (%), uniformity content (%) and dissolution (%). Among the batches tested, the processes in coating pan and fluid bed by bottom spray system had the shortest application time (120 min) for the suspension with amlodipine besylate active with concentration of 2.5%, while the top spray system had an application time of 300 min, since this system was originally designed for granulation process. The process in coating pan showed the highest real rate of application, equal to 6.24 g/min, followed by the bottom spray system with 4.91 g/min, and the top spray system with 1.62 g/min to the suspension with benazepril hydrochloride with concentration of 15%. For the processes in coating pan and fluid bed by the bottom spray system, all physicochemical properties of the pellets of this study are presented within the standards recommended by the pharmaceutical industry, which has not happened for the top spray system with respect to property "assay of active ingredient (benazepril), whose value present was in 12.90%, below the lower limit of 13.50%, which does not guarantee the efficacy of the drug according to the expected action. The results presented confirm the processes of pelletization in coating pan and fluid bed by the bottom spray system as the ideal technique for incorporation of the active ingredient in inert pellets.

Submitted by RODRIGO OTTOBRINI SUCENA RASGA (rodrigorasga@columbia.com.br) on 2013-06-18T18:31:11Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_ FINAL RRASGA.pdf: 6689774 bytes, checksum: 8cb0d78dc8ca4d78b43cc0368e686639 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Suzinei Teles Garcia Garcia (suzinei.garcia@fgv.br) on 2013-06-18T19:01:39Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_ FINAL RRASGA.pdf: 6689774 bytes, checksum: 8cb0d78dc8ca4d78b43cc0368e686639 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-06-18T19:04:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_ FINAL RRASGA.pdf: 6689774 bytes, checksum: 8cb0d78dc8ca4d78b43cc0368e686639 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-05-15 / The use of wood pellets is widespread in developed countries, particularly in Europe, and its demand is increasing for the production of electric and thermal power, including residential heating. Brazil has the indisputable ability to generate different biomass in high amounts, given the competitive advantage of its soil and climate conditions, its territorial extension and having low production costs. This research points out the conditions of market, logistics, regulation, tax incentives and economic environment, with which the country can consolidate itself as a major producer and consumer of this source of clean and renewable energy. This study presents the best known techniques to sell for to small and medium consumers and to produce wood pellets efficiently and in high volume, in São Paulo State. It discusses the necessity of having planted forests for the sole purpose of being transformed into pellets. In recent years, prices of wood waste rose in the domestic market, practically excluding it as a source of raw material, in a long-term scenario. The ultimate goal of this dissertation is to present the main economic and financial aspects that influence the scenarios that would permit wood pellets to replace the BPF-A1 in the regional market, therefore discussing whether the pellet manufacturing will prove itself attractive and reliable for potential investors. For the financial feasibility evaluation, key methods are used, Payback, Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Return, and a sensitivity analysis of the identified key variables. The main results show a Payback of 47 months, a NPV of R $ 10,942,127 and an IRR of 25.18% p.y. in real terms for the base scenario and identify the price of the raw material and production scale as the most sensitive variables. Keywords: pellets, wood pellets, biomass, wood waste, economic and financial viability. / A utilização de pellets de madeira é bastante difundida nos países desenvolvidos, em particular na Europa, e apresenta demanda crescente para a produção de energia elétrica e térmica, incluindo a calefação residencial. O Brasil apresenta capacidade indiscutível para a geração de diferentes biomassas e em quantidades expressivas, dada à vantagem competitiva de suas condições edafo-climáticas, sua extensão territorial e de ter baixos custos de produção. Apontar-se-á neste trabalho as condições mercadológicas, logísticas, normativas, de incentivos fiscais e de ambiente econômico, com as quais o país poderá se consolidar como um grande produtor e consumidor desta fonte de energia limpa e renovável. Este estudo apresenta as melhores técnicas conhecidas para a venda a pequenos e médios consumidores e para a produção, eficiente e com escala, de pellets de madeira, dentro do Estado de São Paulo. É discutida a necessidade de se ter florestas plantadas com o único propósito de serem transformadas em pellets. Nos últimos anos, os preços dos resíduos de madeira subiram no mercado interno, praticamente os excluindo como fonte de matéria-prima, num cenário de longo prazo. O objetivo final desta dissertação é apresentar os principais aspectos econômico-financeiros que influenciam os cenários para que os pellets de madeira possam substituir o óleo BPF-A1 no mercado regional, e assim discutindo se sua produção se mostrará atraente e confiável para potenciais investidores. Para a avaliação da viabilidade financeira, são utilizados os métodos-chave, Payback, Valor Presente Líquido e Taxa Interna de Retorno, e uma análise de sensibilidade das principais variáveis identificadas. Os principais resultados revelam um Payback de 47 meses, um NPV de R$10.942.127 e uma IRR de 25,18% a.a. em termos reais, para o cenário-base, além de identificar o preço da matéria-prima e a escala de produção como as variáveis mais sensíveis.

Idag när den globala uppvärmningen är ett faktum behöver en omställning ske ifrån fossila energikällor till förnybara energikällor. Biomassa kan ersätta fossila bränslen såsom kol och olja vid förbränningsprocesser. Ett sätt att hantera biomassa är genom pelletering till pellets. Pellets produceras till största del av sågspån som är en rest ifrån sågverk. Ett problem för producenter av pellets idag är att det finns svårigheter med att pelletera sågspån av olika träslag eller färskhet i samma utrustning.En annan rest ifrån sågverk och annan trähantering är en mix av avbarkningsrester. Användningsområdet för denna mix av rester är idag begränsat och eldas för det mesta upp. Mixen kan på grund av sin kemiska komposition potentiellt användas som inblandning vid pelletering.Studien syftar till att lösa svårigheterna med att pelletera sågspån av olika färskhet genom att utöka kunskapen kring pelleteringsegenskaper hos avbarkningsrester. Det huvudsakliga målet med studien är att en blandning av lagrat furuspån och avbarkningsmixen ska kunna pelleteras i samma matris som färskt furuspån med en pelletskvalité som uppfyller 97,5% hållfasthet. Även pelletens hårdhet ska utvärderas i huvudmålet. Som delmål ska pelleteringsegenskaperna kompressionsenergi, backpressure och friktionsenergi kartläggas vid olika fukthalter hos mixen, mixens olika barksorter samt lagrat och färskt furuspån, dessutom ska studien utvärdera om backpressure och friktionsenergi fungerar som uppskalningsparametrar från singelpellet press till labbpress.Studien genomfördes i två delar där den första delen bestod i att pelletera furubark, björkbark, granbark, mix av avbarkningsrester, färskt furuspån och lagrat furuspån vid olika fukthalter i en enpetarpress. Under pelleteringen mättes kompressionsenergi, backpressure och friktionsenergi. I andra delen utformades två testmatriser utifrån första delens resultat som sen testades i en labbpress. Pelletskvalitén hos pressade pellets i båda delarna utvärderades genom att testa hållfasthet och hårdhet.Resultaten av studien visar att mixen av avbarkningsrester kan blandas med lagrat furuspån och pelleteras i samma matris som färskt furuspån. Enligt enpetartesterna hade mixen låg kompressionsenergi, backpressure och friktionsenergi i förhållande till mixens beståndsdelar separat. Enpetartesterna visade också att den största skillnaden mellan färskt och lagrat furuspån ligger i kompressionsenergin. Vidare studier rekommenderas där användandet av kompressionsenergi som uppskalningsparameter från enpetarpress undersöks. 30% inblandning av mix resulterade i 95,5% hållfasthet vilket var högre än vid 20 och 40% inblandning som hade 77,3% respektive 94,7%.Backpressure fungerade inte som en uppskalningsparameter mellan enpetarpress och labbpress. Friktionsenergi fungerade som en uppskalningsparameter i den här studien men behöver verifieras av vidare studier. Ingen av de testade blandningarna av avbarkningsrester och lagrat furuspån uppnådde hållfasthets kravet på 97,5% men de kunde pelleteras i samma matris som färskt furuspån. / Today, when global warming is a fact, a shift needs to take place from fossil-based energy sources towards renewable energy sources. Biomass can replace fossil fuels such as coal and oil in combustion processes. One way to handle biomass is by pelletizing it into pellets. Pellets are mostly produced from sawdust, which is a residue from sawmills. A problem for pellet producers today is that there are difficulties in pelletizing sawdust of different types of wood or age of sawdust in the same equipment.Another residue from sawmills and other wood handling is a mix of debarking residues. The area of use for this mix of residues is today limited and is most often burnt to produce heat. Due to its chemical composition, the mix can potentially be used as an additive when pelletizing.The study aims to solve the difficulties of pelletizing sawdust of different freshness by expanding the knowledge about pelletizing properties of debarking residues. The main goal of the study is that a mixture of stored pine shavings and the debarking mix should be able to be pelletized in the same matrix as fresh pine shavings with a pellet quality that meets 97.5% strength. The hardness of the pellet will also be evaluated in the main target. As a sub-goal, the pelletizing properties compression energy, backpressure and friction energy will be mapped at different moisture contents of the mix, the mix's different bark types and stored and fresh pine shavings, in addition the study will evaluate whether backpressure and friction energy function as upscaling parameters from single pellet press to labpress.The study was carried out in two parts where the first part consisted of pelletizing pine bark, birch bark, spruce bark, mix of debarking residues, fresh pine shavings and stored pine shavings at different moisture contents in a single-press. During the pelletization, compression energy, backpressure and friction energy were measured. In the second part, two test matrices were designed based on the results of the first part, which were then tested in a lab press with the same die. The pellet quality of pressed pellets in both parts was evaluated by testing strength and hardness.The results of the study show that the mix of debarking residues can be mixed with stored pine shavings and pelleted in the same die as fresh pine shavings.According to the single-press tests, the mix of debarking residues had low compression energy, backpressure and frictional energy in relation to the components of the mix separately. The single-press tests also showed that the biggest difference between fresh and stored pine shavings lies in the compression energy. Further studies are recommended where the use of compression energy as a scaling parameter from a single-press is investigated. A blend with 30% mix resulted in 95.5% strength which was higher than with 20 and 40% mix which had 77.3% and 94.7% respectively.Backpressure did not work as an upscaling parameter. Friction energy served as an upscaling parameter in this study but needs to be verified by further studies. None of the tested mixtures of debarking residues and stored pine shavings achieved the strength requirement of 97.5%, but they could be pelletized in the same die as fresh pine shavings.

This thesis deals with the alternative pellets and the means of production from raw material to final customer. The theoretical part deals with different techniques and manufacturing technologies used. Furthermore, the work deals with Czech and European legislation in the field of fuel pellets. The practical part deals with measuring and comparing the properties of selected standard pellets.

This thesis describes the characteristics, treatment and processing of biomass into a form shaped solid biofuels. It contains an overview of the requirements for pellets quality, possible means of improving the quality of pellets and methods of processing materials in order to achieve the desired quality of pellets. This thesis has shaped economic production of biofuels and shaped the recommendations for the design of pelletizing production line alternative pellets.

[pt] Pelo presente trabalho, buscou-se desenvolver uma ferramenta capaz de analisar e otimizar o uso de pelotas de minério de ferro em processos tradicionais de redução direta do tipo forno cuba. A criação de um modelo termoquímico do processo MIDREX foi proposta e elaborada dentro da PUC-Rio, levando-se também em conta alguns aspectos cinéticos relativos à redução dos minérios e à carburização do ferro-esponja, bem como alguns parâmetros operacionais. Este modelo foi subseqüentemente adaptado para interagir com um segundo modelo termoquímico de forno elétrico a arco da RS Consultants, representando assim a cadeia de fabricação de aço líquido primário pela rota redução direta - forno elétrico a arco. Para o gerenciamento computacional do processo de otimização e interação com os dois modelos acima citados, desenvolveu-se, adicionalmente, um terceiro modelo, o qual foi designado neste trabalho como modelo GESTOR. Um máximo uso de ferro-esponja ― e de pelotas, conseqüentemente ― é objetivado sempre que possível, sob determinadas condições operacionais pré-estabelecidas. A avaliação econômica destes processos foi embasada em conceitos de valor de uso. Alguns resultados são apresentados neste trabalho, para demonstrar a efetividade e o poder de análise da ferramenta e espera-se que os profissionais da Samarco possam fazer uso deste instrumento de trabalho, dando o devido suporte à tomada de decisão à comercialização e ao desenvolvimento de produtos existentes ou novos. / [en] The study at issue searched for developing an innovative tool able to effectively analyze and optimize the industrial usage of iron ore pellets undergoing traditional gas-based direct reduction processes. The creation of a thermochemical model for MIDREX process was proposed and carried out by PUC-Rio, taking into account relevant characteristics related to DRI carburization and reduction kinetics, as well as some important operating parameters. Subsequently, this model was adapted in order to interact with a second thermo-chemical model owned by RS Consultants and able to represent an electric arc furnace operation. In this sense, it has been possible to represent thereby the iron and steelmaking route based on direct reduction and electric arc furnace. For the computational management of the optimization methodology and interaction involving the two models above-mentioned, a third model was developed and referred to as GESTOR model. It was built to maximize the DRI usage ¯ and pellets utilization, consequently ¯ respecting certain operating conditions previously established. Economic assessments shall be made premised upon value in use concepts. Some results are shown in this study, based on a hypothetical scenario, aiming at proving the effectiveness of this tool. Its adoption by Samarco´s experts is expected as an important supportive methodology to help them to make decisions properly concerning both marketing strategies and product development activities.

Luossavaara Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag (LKAB) är ett av Sveriges äldsta industriföretag som bedriver världens två största underjordsgruvor för järnmalmsbrytning och deras huvudprodukt är järnmalmspellets. Hög och stabil kvalitet är av stor vikt för LKAB, därav är kvalitetskontroll en av deras nyckelaktiviteter. För att fastställa kvaliteten på de produkter som levereras till företagets kunder görs en provtagning och analys av alla båtlaster som lämnar företagets hamnar. Provtagning sker löpande i samband med lastning, där flera primära prov tas ut i en provtagningsanläggning. De primära proven delas systematiskt ned i mindre mängder, blandas och genererar ett leveransprov. Leveransprovet används för att analysera lastens kemiska, metallurgiska och fysikaliska parametrar, där järnhalten ligger till grund för den specifika lastens slutpris. LKAB:s provtagningsanläggningar har designats enligt ISO 3082, där produktens kvalitetsvariation tillsammans med önskad provtagningsprecision ligger till grund för hur omfattande provtagningen bör vara. Om produktens kvalitetsvariation inte är känd ska den fastställas experimentellt med ISO 3084. Ett sådant försök har inte tidigare utförts av LKAB. I stället har företaget gjort egna antaganden kring kvalitetsvariation utifrån deras mångåriga erfarenhet av produkterna och ingenjörsmässiga bedömningar med utgångspunkt i historiska leveransdata. För att säkerställa att provtagningen sker i enlighet med ISO 3082 krävs en utvärdering av produkternas faktiska kvalitetsvariation. Utifrån produktens fastställda kvalitetsvariation kan därefter provtagningens befintliga precision bestämmas. Arbetet syftar till att besvara följande två frågeställningar:   1.    Hur stor är kvalitetsvariationen hos LKAB:s järnmalmspellets KPRS som lastas i Narviks hamn? 2.    Hur stor är precisionen vid provtagning i LKAB:s provtagningsanläggning Kai 7 i Narviks hamn? Försöket utförs på järnmalmspelletstyp KPRS med analyserna ISO 4700, ISO 11256, KTH 950, XRF, Fe HCl samt siktanalys. KPRS är en pellets avsedd för ståltillverkning med metoden direktreduktion. För de kvalitetsparametrar där variationens magnitud kan klassificeras i de ISO-standardiserade kategorierna liten, mellan eller stor, visar LKAB:s pellets på en liten variation. Variationen är till och med mycket liten och långt under klassifikationsgränserna. LKAB saknar interna krav för minsta accepterade precision vid provtagning, vilket inte gör det möjligt att bedöma den befintliga provtagningens duglighet. Som fortsatt arbete bör företaget därav fastställa interna krav på provtagningsprecision och även utvärdera befintlig precision för provberedning och mätning i enlighet med ISO 3085. / Luossavaara Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag (LKAB) is one of Sweden’s oldest industrial companies which operates the world’s two biggest iron ore underground mines, and their main product is iron ore pellets. High and stable quality is of high importance for LKAB, that is why quality control is one of their key activities. To determine the quality of the products delivered to their customers, sampling and analysis is conducted on all vessels leaving the company’s ports. Several primary samples are taken during the loading process by a sampling facility. The primary samples are systematically divided in smaller portions and mixed, called a shipment sample. The shipment sample is used to determine the lot’s chemical, metallurgical and physical quality characteristics and the iron content determines that specific lot’s price. The sampling facility and sampling scheme is designed according to the international standard ISO 3082. According to ISO 3082 the product’s quality variation together with desired sampling precision should determine the number of primary samples to be taken. If the quality variation is unknown, it should be determined in accordance with another standard: ISO 3084. A determination like this have not previously been made by LKAB. Instead, the company have made own assumptions about the quality variation based on their long experience of pellet production and historical delivery data. To reassure that the number of primary samples is collected in accordance with ISO 3082 an evaluation of the actual quality variation is needed. When the quality variation is determined, the current sampling precision can be defined. The master thesis aims to answer the two research questions:  1.    How big is the quality variation for LKAB: s iron ore pellets KPRS which are loaded at the port of Narvik? 2.    How good is the current sampling precision in Kai 7 at the port of Narvik? The attempt is made on iron ore pellet type KPRS with the analyzes ISO 4700, ISO 11256, KLH 950, XRF, Fe HCl and sieving. KPRS is a pellet made for steel manufacturing with the method direct reduction. For the quality characteristics where the variations’ magnitude can be classified into ISO 3082’s categories small, medium, or large, LKAB’s pellets turn out to have a small variation. The variation is actually very small and far below the standard’s classification limits. LKAB lack internal limits for sampling precision, which makes it impossible to determine the current sampling scheme’s capability. As future work, LKAB should therefore decide upon sampling precision limits. An evaluation of precision for sample preparation and measurement should also be made in accordance with ISO 3085.

As more data is being gathered in industrial production facilities, the interest in applying machine learning models to the data is growing. This includes the iron ore mining industry, and in particular the build-up of slag in grate-kiln furnaces. Slag is a byproduct in the pelletizing process within these furnaces, that can cause production stops, quality issues, and unplanned maintenance. Previous studies on slag build-up have been done mainly by chemists and process engineers. Whilst previous research has hypothesized contributing factors to slag build-up, the studies have mostly been conducted in simulation environments and thus have not used real sensor data utilizing machine learning models. Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag (LKAB) has provided data from one of their grate-kiln furnaces, a time-series data of sensor readings, that compressed before storage.  A Scala package was built to ingest and interpolate the LKAB data and make it ready for machine learning experiments. The estimation of slag within the kiln was found too arbitrary to make accurate predictions. Therefore, three quality metrics, tightly connected to the build-up of slag, were selected as target variables instead. Independent and identically distributed (IID) units of data were created by isolating fuel usage, product type produced and production rate. Further, another IID criterion was created, adjusting the time for each feature in order to be able to compare feature values for a single pellet in production. Specifically, the time it takes for a pellet to go from the feature sensor to the quality test was added to the original timestamp. This resulted in a table where each row represents multiple features and quality measures for the same small batch of pellets. An IID unit of interest was then used to find the most contributing features by using principal component analysis (PCA) and lasso regression. It was found that using the two mentioned methods, the number of features could be reduced to a smaller set of important features. Further, using decision tree regression with the subset of features, selected from the most important features, it was found that decision tree regression had a similar performance with the subset of features as the lasso regression. Decision tree and lasso regression were chosen for interpretability, which was important in order to be able to discuss the contributing factors with LKAB process engineers. / Idag genereras allt mer data från industriella produktionsanläggningar och intresset att applicera maskininlärningsmodeller på denna data växer. Detta inkluderar även industrin för utvining av järnmalm, i synnerhet uppbyggnaden av slagg i grate-kiln ugnar. Slagg är en biprodukt från pelletsproduktionen som kan orsaka produktionsstopp, kvalitetsbrister och oplanerat underhåll av ugnarna. Tidigare forskning kring slagguppbyggnad har i huvudsak gjorts av kemister och processingenjörer och ett antal bidragande faktorer till slagguppbyggnad ha antagits. Däremot har dessa studier främst utförts i simulerad experimentmiljö och därför inte applicerat maskininlärningsmodeler på sensordata från produktion. Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag (LKAB) har till denna studie framställt och försett data från en av deras grate-kiln ugnar, specifikt tidsseriedata från sensorer som har komprimerats innan lagring. Ett Scala-paket byggdes för att ladda in och interpolera LKAB:s data, för att sedan göra den redo och applicerbar för experiment med maskininlärningsmodeller. Direkta mätningar för slagguppbyggnad och slaggnivå upptäcktes vara för slumpartade och bristfälliga för prediktion, därför användas istället tre kvalitetsmätningar, med tydligt samband till påföljderna från slagguppbyggnad, som målvariabler. Independent and identically distributed (IID) enheter skapades för all data genom att isolera bränsleanvändning, produkttyp och produktionstakt. Vidare, skapades ytterligare ett kriterie för IID:er, en tidsjustering av varje variabel för att göra det möjligt att kunna jämföra variabler inbördes för en enskild pellet i produktion. Specifikt, användes tiden det tar för en pellet från att den mäts av en enskild sensor till att kvalitetstestet tas. Tidsskillnaden adderas sedan till sensormätningens tidsstämpel. Detta resulterade i en tabell där varje rad representerade samma lilla mängd av pellets. En IID enhet av intresse analyserades sedan för att undersöka vilka variabler som har störst varians och påverkan genom en principal komponentsanalys (PCA) och lassoregression. Genom att använda dessa metoder konstaterades det att antalet variabler kunde reduceras till ett mindre antal variabler och ett nytt, mindre, dataset av de viktigaste variablerna skapades. Vidare, genom regression av beslutsträd med de viktigaste variablerna, konstaterades att beslutträdsregression och lassoregression hade liknande prestanda när data med de viktigaste variablerna användes. Beslutträdsregression och lassoregression användes för att experimentens resultat skulle ha en hög förklaringsgrad, vilket är viktigt för att kunna diskutera variabler med högst påverkan på slagguppbyggnaden och ge resultat som är tolkbara och användbara för LKAB:s processingenjörer.

Recent improvements in genetic analyses have paved the way in using molecular data to answer questions regarding evolutionary history, genetic structure, and demography. Key deer are a federally endangered subspecies assumed to be genetically unique (based on one allozyme study), homogeneous, and have a female-biased population of approximately 900 deer. I used 985bp of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and 12 microsatellite loci to test two hypotheses: 1) if the Moser Channel is a barrier to gene flow, I should expect that Key deer are differentiated and have reduced diversity compared to mainland deer and (2) if isolation on islands leads to a higher probability of extinction, I should expect that Key deer exhibit a small population size and a high risk of extinction. My results indicate that Key deer are genetically isolated from mainland white-tailed deer and that there is a lack of genetic substructure between islands. While Key deer exhibit reduced levels of genetic diversity compared to their mainland counterparts, they contain enough diversity of which to uniquely identify individual deer. Based on genetic identification, I estimated a census size of around 1,000 individuals with a heavily skewed female-biased adult sex ratio. Furthermore, I combined genetic and contemporary demographic data to generate a species persistence model of the Key deer. Sensitivity tests within the population viability analysis brought to light the importance of fetal sex ratio and female survival as the primary factors at risk of driving the subspecies to extinction.

Trichoderma atroviride SC1 (SC1) was isolated from hazelnut wood and it is effective in the biocontrol of soil-borne pathogens. However, its effectiveness decreases as its population declines in the soil over time. To improve its persistency in the soil, lignocellulosic materials (wood pellets) were tested to be used as carriers to sustain the population of SC1 and facilitate its incorporation into the soil. A method was developed to coat wood pellets of fir, beech, and chestnut with a conidial suspension to reach a preset concentration (i.e. 10^4, 10^5, and 10^6 cfu/ g of wood). The growth of SC1 on each type of wood was compared. Chestnut pellets were excluded from further experiments because they had low counts of colony-forming units (cfu) of SC1. Beech pellets were preferred over fir pellets for showing more suitable physicochemical characteristics for soil application. In addition, for the same wood type, increased initial coating concentrations did not impact the final colony counts of SC1 and no significant difference was observed between the counts of 10^4, 10^5, and 10^6 cfu/g of wood at the end of the experiment. The addition of small quantities of nitrogen increased the final cfu on all types of wood pellets. The growth of SC1 on beech pellets was then tested by adding cheap nitrogen sources namely, soy flour, soy protein isolates, and proteins that originated from animal wastes. The best results were obtained with soy protein isolates (1 g/L) and the population of SC1 reached 10^9 cfu/ g of beech wood. Finally, this carrier of coated beech pellets with soy protein isolates was tested in the soil under controlled conditions, in an experimental greenhouse at 25°C and 60% of soil humidity. The pellets were coated to reach a final concentration of 5×10^5 cfu/ g of beech and 10 g of beech coated pellets were mixed with 1 kg of soil in plastic pots to reach the final concentration of 5×10^3 cfu/ g of soil. The carrier increased the bacterial richness and diversity of the soil and decreased the fungal ones. The total Trichoderma population persisted in the first month and then declined after three months with competition from other bacteria such as Massilia spp. and fungi such as Stachybotrys spp. and Mortierella spp.