In today’s paper and board production, quality control is made on a single cross direction (CD)sample from each tambour. As several different properties are analysed, only a limited number of measurement results are obtained for one property. Therefore, the measurement results might not be representative for the properties of the entire width of the tambour. The first objective of the project was to investigate variations of thickness, surface roughness and mechanical properties with a much higher resolution and number of measurements. The results of the measurement were compared with the routine quality control of the mill. The second objective of the project was to evaluate the influence of the wire shake unit in the centreply on the properties of the produced board. The measurements were performed on Iggesundpaperboard samples.The high-resolution measurements were performed using the STFI structural thicknessmeasurement device, an OptiTopo topography measurement device and a modified Autolinedevice at RISE Bioeconomy. The statistical evaluation of the results was performed in Matlab.Standard deviation, local variance and a frequency analysis were calculated for the thicknessmeasurements. Only standard deviation was considered for the topography data. For the mechanical properties, the distribution was evaluated using the Weibull distribution, since theresults had a single-sided distribution. In addition, the properties were analysed as a function of their location, for example to identify deterministic deviations in cross direction.The results of the first part of the project showed that the everyday control conducted in Iggesund is sufficient for most of the properties. Greatest difference was found at the edges ofthe samples, where Iggesund standard quality control does not detect a major variation inproperties, as no measurements are performed that close to the edge of the web. For example,at one edge, the high frequent measurements showed a significant drop in thickness which were not detected with the everyday quality control.In the second part of the project, the effect of a shake unit on the paper properties was evaluated. Here it was seen that the thickness variation were reduced, which also can be interpreted as an improvement of formation in the centre ply of the paperboard. As for thesurface roughness a slight improvement was found. Also for the mechanical properties, the shake unit appeared to improve the uniformity of the product / I dagens pappers-och kartongproduktion görs kvalitetskontroll på en enda tvärremsa (CD) från varje tambour. Eftersom flera olika egenskaper analyseras, erhålls endast ett begränsat antal mätresultat för en egenskap. Därför är informationen begränsad och kanske inte representativ för hela bredden av tambours egenskaper. Projektets första mål var att undersöka variationer i tjocklek, ytjämnhet och mekaniska egenskaper med mycket högre upplösning och antal mätningar. Resultaten av mätningen jämfördes med brukets rutinmässiga kvalitetskontroll.Det andra syftet med projektet var att utvärdera effekten av viraskaken på egenskaperna hos den producerade kartongen. Samtliga mätningar utfördes på kartongprover från IggesundsBruk.Mätningarna med hög upplösning utfördes med hjälp av en STFI-mätare för strukturtjocklek,en OptiTopo-enhet och en modifierad L&W Autoline-enhet. Den statistiska utvärderingen avresultaten utfördes i Matlab. Standardavvikelse, lokal variation och en frekvensanalys beräknades för tjockleksmätningarna. Endast standardavvikelse utvärderades för ytråhetsdata.För de mekaniska egenskaperna utvärderades fördelningen med hjälp av Weibullfördelningen,eftersom resultaten visade ett ensidigt beteende. Dessutom analyserades egenskaperna som en funktion av deras placering, till exempel för att identifiera deterministiska avvikelser i tvärriktningen.Resultaten av projektets första del visade att den dagliga kontrollen i Iggesund är tillräcklig för de flesta egenskaperna. Den största skillnaden hittades vid provets kanter, där Iggesundsstandardkvalitetskontroll Missar stora variationer för vissa egenskaper, eftersom inga mätningar utförs i det området på produkten. Vid ena sidan av nätverket visade de högfrekventa mätningarna en betydande minskning av tjockleken.I den andra delen av projektet utvärderades effekten av en skakningsenhet på pappersegenskaperna. Här såg man att variansen i tjockleksmätningarna indikerar en förbättring av formationen i kartongens mittskikt. När det gäller ytråheten konstaterades en liten förbättring. För de mekaniska egenskaperna föreföll viraskaken förbättra produktenslikformighet.

In order to extend the applications of aluminium, organic coatings may be applied on sheet materials, for instance for corrosion protection or aesthetic surface finish purposes in the automotive and construction industries, or on foil materials in the flexible packaging industry. The most common mechanisms for deterioration and structural failure of organically coated aluminium structures are triggered by exposures to the surrounding environment. Despite the great importance to elucidate the influence of exposure parameters on a buried aluminium/polymer interface, there is still a lack of knowledge regarding the mechanisms that destabilise the structure. It is generally believed that a detailed in situ analysis of the transport of corroding species to the buried interface, or of surface processes occurring therein, is most difficult to perform at relevant climatic and real-time conditions. In this work, Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) in the Kretschmann-ATR configuration was successfully applied to in situ studies of the transport of water and ionic species through polymer films to the aluminium/polymer interface upon exposure to ultra pure deionised water and to a 1 M sodium thiocyanate (NaSCN) model electrolyte. Other main processes distinguished were the formation of corrosion products on the aluminium surface and swelling of the surface-near polymer network. Hence, in situ ATR-FTIR was capable to separate deterioration-related processes from each other. To perform more unambiguous interpretations, a spectro-electrochemical method was also developed for in situ studies of the buried aluminium/polymer interface by integrating the ATR-FTIR technique with a complementary acting technique, Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). While transport of water and electrolyte through the polymer film to the aluminium/polymer interface and subsequent oxidation/corrosion of aluminium could be followed by ATR-FTIR, the protective properties of the polymer as well as of processes at the aluminium surface were simultaneously studied by EIS. The integrated set-up provided complementary information of the aluminium/polymer sample investigated, with ATR-FTIR being sensitive to the surface-near region and EIS being sensitive to the whole system. While oxidation/corrosion and delamination are difficult to distinguish by EIS, oxide formation could be confirmed by ATR-FTIR. Additionally, while delamination and polymer swelling may be difficult to separate with ATR-FTIR, EIS distinguished swelling of the polymer network and also identified ultimate failure as a result of delamination. The capability of the integrated ATR-FTIR / EIS in situ technique was explored by studying aluminium/polymer systems of varying characteristics. Differences in water and electrolyte ingress could be monitored, as well as metal corrosion, polymer swelling and delamination. / QC 20101124

Grafenoxid (GO) ar en lovande kandidat som nano-tillsats i medicinska byggnadsstallningar for benregenerering. GO kan forbattra den biologiska kompatibiliteten och osteogena prestandan hos polymerbaserade byggstallningar, och ocksa vasentligt bidra till forbattringen av materialets mekaniska egenskaper. I detta arbete ympades nano-grafenoxid (nGO) kovalent pa ytan av poly (e-kaprolakton) (PCL) genom att fdrst modifiera polymerytan via aminolys. Med anvandning av 1,6-hexandiamin / isopropanol infordes fria amingrupper framgangsrikt pa PCL-ytan for efterfoljande immobilisering av nGO. En optimerad ympningsprocess utvecklades via en losningsmedelsassisterad metod med vatten som losningsmedel for att kovalent binda nGO pa ytan av PCL byggnadsstallningar. De initiala nGO koncentrationerna var 0,5 och 1 mg / ml. fourier-transform infrarodspektroskopi (FTIR) och termogravimetrisk analys (TGA) verifierade bindningen mellan de funktionella gruppema pa nGO och de fria aminema. Svepelektronmikroskopi (SEM) visade en homogen fordelning av nGO pa ytan av de porosa byggnadsstallningarna. De mekaniska testema som utfordes demonstrerade · en 50 och 21 % okning av kompressionsstyrkan :for byggnadsstallningarna ympade med de initiala nGO-koncentrationema pa 0,5 och 1 mg / ml. In vitro-mineraliseringstester visade bildandet av mineralfallningar pa ytan av byggnadsstallningama som okade i storlek med hogre nGO-halt. A ven nGO: s potential som nano-barare av ett antibiotikum studerades i detta arbete. Pa grund av sitt overflod av kemiska funktionaliteter kan nGO effektivt adsorbera foreningar genom olika sekundara interaktioner. I denna studie optimerades dessa sekundara interaktioner genom att reglera losningens pH for maximal adsorption av ciprofloxacin, ett bredspektrum antibiotikum som anvands vid behandling av osteomyelit. Ciprofloxacin befanns kunna adsorberas starkast i sin katjonform vid pH 5, dar 1t-1t elektron­donatoracceptor (EDA) -interaktioner dominerar. Sammanfattningsvis bekraftar de resultat som presenteras i detta arbete potentialen hos nGO som egenskapsforbattrare och lakemedelsbarare i applikationer inom vavnadsregenerering. / Graphene oxide (GO) is a promising candidate as nano-filler material in scaffolds for bone regeneration. It has been demonstrated to enhance the biological compatibility and osteogenic performance of polymer-based scaffolds, aside from its substantial contribution to the improvement of the material's mechanical properties. In this work, nano-graphene oxide (nGO) was covalently grafted to the surface of poly( e-caprolactone) (PCL) by first modifying the polymer surface via aminolysis. Using 1,6-hexanediamine/isopropanol, free amine groups were successfully introduced to the PCL surface for the subsequent immobilization of nGO. An optimized grafting pathway, which implements the solvent-assisted method and uses water as a solvent, was developed to covalently attach nGO using initial concentrations of 0.5 and 1 mg/mL. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) both verified the successful attachment of nGO through the free amines. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) depicts a homogeneous dispersion of nGO over the polymer matrix. Mechanical tests were performed and demonstrate a 50 and 21 % increase in compressive strength for the scaffolds grafted using initial nGO concentrations of 0.5 and 1 mglmL. In vitro mineralization tests showed the formation of mineral precipitates on the surface of the scaffolds that increased in size with higher nGO content. The potential of nGO as a nano-carrier of an antibiotic drug was also explored in this work. As it comprises of an abundance of chemical functionalities, nGO is able to efficiently adsorb compounds through various secondary interactions. In this study, these secondary interactions were optimized by controlling the solution pH for the maximum adsorption of ciprofloxacin, a broad-spectrum antibiotic used in the treatment of osteomyelitis. Ciprofloxacin was found to be adsorbed most strongly in its cationic form at pH 5, in which 1t-1t electron-donor acceptor (EDA) interactions predominate. Overall, the results presented in this work validate the potential of nGO as nano-enhancer and drug carrier in tissue engineering scaffold applications.

Although gas and liquid chromatography have emerged as dominant separation techniques in environmental analytical chemistry, these methods do not allow for the concurrent analysis of chemically diverse groups of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). There are also a small number of compounds which are not easily amenable to either of these traditional separation techniques. The main objective of this thesis was to address these issues by demonstrating the applicability of packed column supercritical fluid chromatography (pSFC) coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) in various aspects of environmental chemistry. First, pSFC/MS analytical methods were developed for legacy POPs (PCDDs, PCDFs, and PCBs) as well as the emerging environmental contaminant Dechlorane Plus (DP), and issues relating to the ionization of target analytes when pSFC was coupled to MS were explored. Novel APPI and APCI reagents (fluorobenzene and triethylamine) were optimized and real samples (water and soil) were analyzed to demonstrate environmental applicability. The possibility of chiral and preparative scale pSFC separations was then demonstrated through the isolation and characterization of thermally labile hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) stereoisomers. The analytical pSFC separation of the α-, β-, and γ-HBCDD enantiomers as well as the δ and ε meso forms was shown to be superior to results obtained using a published LC method. Finally, technical mixtures of phosphorus flame retardants (RBDPP, BPA-BDPP, and DOPO; a group of related compounds which are challenging to analyze concurrently) were examined using multiple analytical techniques and pSFC was found to be the only method which facilitated the accurate determination of the components of all 3 mixtures. This thesis confirms the potential of pSFC/MS as a fast, green, and cost effective means of separating and analyzing environmental contaminants.

Nedbrytning av organiskt material är en nyckelfaktor som påverkar omvandlingar av de många grundämnen som utgör eller är associerade till just organiskt material. En stor del av nedbrytningen av akvatiskt organiskt material (OM) sker i gränsskiktet mellan sediment och vatten. Eftersom så många biogeokemiska cykler styrs av nedbrytningen av OM är det viktigt att ha kunskap om processer och påverkansfaktorer både på mikro- och makronivå. Mineraliseringshastigheten av OM är en vanligt förekommande mätparameter, men vanligtvis inkluderar mätningarna inte de naturliga processer som kan påverka nedbrytnings-hastigheterna, t.ex. fysiska krafter. Syftet med den här studien är att studera mineraliseringshastigheten av det OM som finns naturligt i ytsediment i söt- och brackvatten när det utsätts för fysiska krafter som orsakar förändringar i redox-förhållanden, resuspension eller advektivt porvattenflöde. Fem laborativa experiment har utförts för att belysa syftet: Åldrat ytsediment från en sötvattens å utsattes för olika redox förhållanden där oxisk respiration, sulfatreduktion respektive metanogenes gynnades. Resultaten visade ingen skillnad i mineraliseringshastighet beroende på behandling. Detta motsäger studier utförda i marina miljöer, där anoxiska förhållanden ger en lägre mineraliseringshastighet än oxiska. Vidare gjordes två studier på brackvattensediment där effekten av resuspension var i centrum. Den ena studien fokuserade på frekvens och varaktighet av resuspensionstiderna, den andra på olika typer av sediment. Studierna visade att väldigt korta resuspensionstider med upp till 48 timmars stillhet mellan varje resuspension ökade mineraliseringstakten med fem gånger jämfört med diffusivt utbyte, och mer än dubblerades i jämförelse med kontinuerlig resuspension eller resuspension i långa perioder. Resuspensionen under kort tid var troligen gynnande då resuspension fysiskt stör bildningen av stabila bakteriesamhällen. Mineraliseringshastigheterna i sediment som domineras av väldigt fin, fin eller medium sand visade lika hastigheter, medan grov sand visade en signifikant lägre mineraliseringshastighet. Likheterna mellan de tre första sedimenttyperna kan dock ha påverkats av tillgång på lättnedbrytbart OM då sediment och vatten hämtades in under en algblomning. Till sist studerades effekten på mineraliseringshastigheten av advektivt porvattenflöde. Detta gjordes på åldrat sediment dels från en sötvattensbäck dels från en brackvattenstrand. Inget av de två sedimenttyperna visade någon skillnad i mineraliseringshastighet i jämförelse med diffusivt styrda system. Det är i motsats till tidigare marina studier, men är i linje med den första studien, där mineraliseringshastigheten var oberoende av redox-förhållande. Den generella slutsatsen från den här studien är nödvändigheten att studera samma aspekter i olika typer av akvatiska system, eftersom responsen verkar vara annorlunda beroende på system, t.ex. söt- brack- och saltvatten. Faktorer som kan förklara de här skillnaderna finns ännu inte, vilket gör att småskaliga studier och modeller blir viktiga verktyg för att utreda detta. / Organic matter mineralisation is a key parameter that affects most other element transformations associated with organic matter. A substantial part of aquatic organic matter (OM) mineralisation takes place at the interface between sediment and water. Understanding OM mineralisation is important at both the micro and macro scales, since it drives many biogeochemical cycles. OM mineralisation rates are widely measured, but generally not all the natural factors possibly affecting the rates, such as physical forcing, are considered. This thesis examines the mineralisation rates of indigenous OM in fresh and brackish surface sediments, subjected to different physical forces inducing changed redox conditions, resuspension, and advective pore water flow. Five experiments were performed to this end. Aged surface sediment from a freshwater river was subjected to different redox conditions favouring oxic respiration, sulphate reduction, and methanogenesis, respectively. Results indicated no difference in mineralisation rate irrespective of treatment. This contradicts what has been found in marine environments, where anoxic mineralisation rates are lower than oxic ones. Further, two studies of resuspension of brackish sediments were performed, one addressing the impact of the frequency and duration of the resuspension events, and the other addressing the impact of resuspension on different types of sediments. The studies found that very brief resuspension events followed by calm periods of up to 48 h increased mineralisation rates by five times compared to diffusion, and more than doubled the rate compared to continuous or long-term resuspension. The short-term events were possibly favoured because resuspension physically disturbs the arrangement of a stable bacteria community. Mineralisation rates on sediments dominated by very fine, fine, or medium-grained sand were the same, while coarse sand displayed a significantly lower rate. The similar rates of the three first sediment types could stem from access to labile OM, due to an ongoing algae bloom when the sediment and water samples were collected. Finally, the effect of advective pore water flow on aged sediment from one fresh and one brackish sediment was studied. Neither of the sediments displayed a mineralisation rate different from those occurring in incubations in which only diffusive exchange occurred. This contradicts the findings of previous marine studies, but is in line with the first study, which did not detect different mineralisation rates irrespective of redox conditions. The general conclusion is that it is necessary to study the same physical forces in different aquatic environments, since responses appear to differ, for example, between freshwater, brackish, and marine environments. Factors explaining these differences have not yet been expressed, making small-scale studies and modelling a challenge for future research.

Syftet med min undersökning var att bidra med ökade kunskaper om vilka uppfattningar som finns bland fjärdeklasselever gällande syftet med NTA i kemi, och om dessa överensstämmer med lärarens syfte. Datainsamlingen har gjorts via gruppintervjuer med femton elever och deras lärare. Intervjusvaren har sedan kategoriserats induktivt. Resultatet har visat att eleverna inte uppfattar syftet med NTA-lådan så som läraren tänkt. Det verkar som att eleverna ser ett mer närliggande syfte och fokuserar på vad som händer. Läraren, å andra sidan, tycks ha ett mer övergripande syfte som utgår från kunskapskraven men som hon inte fullt ut lyckas kommunicera till eleverna. Hon syftar även till att eleverna utvecklar sin resonemangsförmåga genom diskussioner i helklass. Eleverna tycker dessutom att helkassdiskussionerna är intressanta och lärorika. Tid läggs på diskussionerna vilket ger en möjlighet till en naturvetenskaplig literacitet. / The purpose of my study was to contribute with increased knowledge on what ideas fourth grade pupils have about the aims of NTA in chemistry, and if their ideas correspond with the teachers´ aims. The data collection is made through group interviews with fifteen pupils and their teacher. The answers in these interviews have been inductively categorized. The results have shown that pupils don´t see the aims of the NTA-boxes as the teacher have in mind. It seems like the pupils´ see aims in each lesson and focus on what is happening. The teacher, on the other hand, has a much more overall aim that originates from the curriculum, but which she doesn´t manage to fully communicate to the pupils. She also intends that the pupils should develop their capability of reasoning, which they do during classroom discussions. In addition to this, the pupils also find classroom discussions both interesting and educational. Time is given for classroom discussions which gives an opportunity for scientific literacy.

With increasing incidence rates aligned with poor prognosis; sepsis represents one of the biggest challenges in modern health care. It is a multifactorial syndrome defined as organ dysfunction caused by disturbed systemic response to an infection. Most of the inpatient sepsis are caused by Gram positive bacteria and one of its major constituents of the cell envelope: lipoteichoic acid (LTA). An adjuvant treatment that has gained prominence recently is extracorporeal blood removal therapies i.e., hemoperfusions. The concept is to remove the bacterial virulence factors that triggers immune responses and therefor stabilize the hemodynamic parameters of the patient. The dominating research of this method centres around adsorption of the Gram negative bacterias’ endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) but not LTA, whose biochemical and physiological properties resembles each other. The aim of this study was to determine whether LTA can be adsorbed using immobilized truncated derivates of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). LTA was quantified using ELISA comparing before and after passage through columns with immobilized peptides. Further, the absorption abilities of LTA from two different solid phases with distinctive surfaces were investigated. This was of interest to elucidate the nature of the mechanisms behind LTA extractions. All results generated inconclusive data, except for one trial which demonstrated that peptide KEF-19 adsorbed most LTA and that the electrostatic force had the greatest influence of the adsorption. Future studies should however be carried out to validate these statements as well as feasibility and safety estimations for KEF-19 as the sorbent in hemoperfusions for Gram positive bacteria and LTA.

The disinfection of wastewater is not something that is currently in use at any wastewater treatmentplant in Sweden. The government has however stated some requirements for some wastewatertreatment plants to have a plan to implement disinfection in their treatment process, if asked.Therefore the goal of the project is to research if disinfection with sodium hypochlorite can beimplemented at Slottshagen wastewater treatment plant. There are several factors that will affect the efficacy of the disinfection of the wastewater. Firstly, thedisinfection process is dependent on the pH of the water solution. This is because the weakhypochlorous acid has better disinfection than the hypochlorite ion, and hypochlorous acid is presentthe most in the solution at pH 3-6. Another factor that is important to consider is the amounts ofnutrients present in the solution, since the chlorine oxidizes the nutrients rather than reacting with theorganisms in the solution. Some of the products from the oxidation of the nutrients are bad for bothhuman health and the environment. Also the temperature of the water and the concentration of thechlorine will affect the disinfection. Lastly, depending on which organism that is sought out to bedisinfected, the chlorine will have more or less effect on that particular organism. To research the chlorination effect, different additions of sodium hypochlorite were added to samplesolutions from the treatment plant and got to react in the solution for 5 minutes. Following thesamples were neutralized with ascorbic acid, and the amount of E. coli , coliform bacteria andintestinal enterococci were analyzed. The disinfection of the water during 1,5 minutes and at a shortertemperature were also analyzed. The results showed that the temperature, the contact time with thesolution and the concentration all are important factors to reach a proper disinfection, but the resultsalso showed that the amount of bacteria in the solution also is an aspect to take into considerationwhen treating wastewater. Finally, the considerations of disinfection of the wastewater with sodium hypochlorite is discussed.The point of addition of the chlorine was concluded to best be directly after the last chemicaltreatment step. When analysing if the disinfection would be possible, the disinfection was from theresults possible, but it was noticed that the results fluctuated a lot. The most probable reason why isbecause of the water quality. The water quality in general fluctuates regularly throughout the day, aswell as in between days of the week. Therefore throughout the disinfection process, the additions ofchlorine would need to be depending on several parameters, making the disinfection difficult toimplement. One solution to this could be to add a lot of chlorine to the bulk water at all times, but itwould cost too much if treating the water for a longer time, as well as it would be a higher risk to theenvironment. A solution to this problem could be to possibly neutralize the water before it is releasedas well, however when analyzing the cost of the ascorbic acid that was used as neutralization in thisproject, the cost to neutralize the water completely would be too high. Lastly it was discussed that theonly time disinfection of the wastewater would give any desirable results, is if the specific organismsthat are being sought out to be treated are bacteria or some viruses. If the particular organism that iswished to be treated is parasites, the disinfection with chlorine would not work.

Transport- och byggindustrin är en bidragande orsak till klimatkläget på grund av den betydande mängd växthusgaser som produceras. Att byta till elfordon är en metod för att minska de skadliga effekterna av klimatförändringarna. Under byggandet av nya vägar bidrar användningen av konventionella byggfordon som drivs av fossila bränslen till utsläppen av växthusgaser över hela världen. Följaktligen är behovet stort av att elektrifiera transport – samt konstruktionssekotorn. Som ett resultat har storleken på en potentiell mikronät som konstrueras med linjär optimering för att möta en statisk energiefterfrågan på en hypotetisk byggplats bedömts i denna studie. Det statiska energibehovet tillhandahölls från en fallstudie som syftade till att utvärdera en helt elektrifierad fordonsflotta för vägkonstruktionsindustrin.  Studien utgörs av två delar. Den första delen undersöker installationskapaciteterna för komponenterna i det potentiella mikronätet, medan den andra delen bedömer påverkan av den maximala anslutningskapaciteten till elnätet. En optimeringsmodell konstruerades genom att använda Python Optimization Modeling Objects (PYOMO). Antaganden och begränsningar för utformningen av mikronätet baseras på riktlinjer från Ramboll och Trafikverket.  Optimeringsmodellen gav en lösning som överensstämmer med energisystemets moderna kapacitet. Dock ansågs installationskapaciteterna för mikronätets komponenter vara opraktiska för den konceptuella byggplatsen. Metoden betonade behovet av verkliga data om belastningen som genereras av elektriska byggfordon (ECVs) samt data om anslutningen till elnätet. / The transportation and construction industry produces a sizable amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs), which significantly contribute to the worldwide problem of climate change. A strategy for reducing the adverse impacts of climate change on the environment is to switch to an electric vehicle fleet. The use of traditional construction vehicles powered by fossil fuels during road construction contributes to global GHG emissions. Consequently, electrification is required in this sector. As a result, the size of a potential microgrid constructed with linear optimization to meet a static energy demand of a hypothetical construction site is assessed in this thesis. The static energy demand was provided from a case study objected to evaluating a fully electrified construction vehicle fleet.  There are two parts to this thesis. The installation capacities of the potential microgrid's component parts are examined in the first section, and the impact of the maximum connection capacity to the electrical grid is assessed in the second. An optimization model was designed by utilizing Python Optimization Modeling Objects (PYOMO). Assumptions and delimitations considering the design of the microgrid are based on guidelines from Ramboll and the Swedish Transport Administration (STA).  The optimization model yielded a solution that aligns with state-of-the-art energy system capacities. However, the installation capacities of the microgrid components were found to be impractical for the conceptual construction site. The methodology stressed the need for real-world data on load generated by Electric Construction Vehicles (ECVs) and data regarding electrical grid connection.

Nanoparticles are used in many different applications because of their small size and unique properties. The usage is increasing rapidly, which will increase the nanoparticle exposure to the environment. Up till now, environmental behavior and ecotoxicology of nanoparticles have only been studied to a certain extent and because of the increasing usage, research should focus more on nanoparticle behavior and ecotoxicology. An effective way of studying nanoparticles in aqueous environments is to use mathematical models. In this study, the In vitro Sedimentation, Diffusion, and Dosimetry (ISDD) model was investigated and applied to copper, manganese, and zinc oxide nanoparticles to determine their sedimentation velocity in 1 mM NaClO4(aq).   The results show that the simulated sedimentation of nanoparticles in solution, i.e. the output from the ISDD model, can vary a lot depending on some of the input parameters in the model. The fact that some of these parameters have to be estimated increases the uncertainty of the ISDD model, although it is possible to yield results in great agreement with experimentally determined sedimentation velocities for the studied systems. The simulation results could always be explained by the theory behind it, which increases the reliability of the ISDD model.   The possibility of measuring the effective density of nanoparticle agglomerates using the volumetric centrifugation method was also investigated. This method makes it possible to avoid estimating the fractal dimension, an input parameter with great uncertainty in the ISDD model. The results look promising, although further investigation is needed.    The ISDD model seems to be a promising model for future simulation work. The model should be investigated further in order to minimize the uncertainties due to estimations. The possibility to predict nanoparticle sedimentation using a mathematical model will save a lot of time and money, and it can be a helpful tool in the extensive work of identifying the behavior of nanoparticles in aqueous environments.