For the time different challenges are facing the world to stop the environment impacts  and availability of vital resources. Electrical and electronical Equipment (EEE) are contained harmful compounds which considered to be a major threat for living organisms and might cause long term impacts on environment (Md. Abdur Rakib, 2014). Furthermore, evolution of technology leads to production of a huge amount of electronic waste globally, which need to be treated by innovative technologies in order to minimize their environmental impact and simultaneously maximize their recovery rates. Pyrolysis is a promising method for treating these fractions of waste because it can potentially convert these waste into energy and metals.  Waste of Electrical and electronical Equipment (WEEE) contains both valuable and harmful materials, industrial waste are various physically and chemically from household waste. To avoid the opposite influence on environment and human health, presuppose particular recycling and treatment technique depending on the waste type (Gkaidatzis, Aggelakoglou, & Aktsoglou, 2009). Two types of WEEE have been processed using typical pyrolysis (Nitrogen) and pyrolysis (steam) at 600 °C, Fixed bed reactor was used in addition to a separate boiler for producing steam. Two samples were investigated Printed circuit board- main body and -sockets. The main focus of this work was to investigate the influence of steam presence on pyrolysis for recovering energy and metals from recycling WEEE. The comparison between pyrolysis at inert atmosphere and steam pyrolysis results of two various fractions of E-Waste were prepared, in addition to literature investigation related to recycling of E- waste and traditional routes which are followed in recovering materials nowadays was done. The results of this study  provides the incentive to continue experiments around pyrolysis process by using other methods.

Graphite materials are vital industrial products. The rapid development of the battery and electronic computer industries has incentivized a great demand for graphite materials. However, today, graphite materials are commercially produced via thermal treating fossil oil or coal derived coke at a temperature higher than 2500℃. Both of the fossil-based feedstock and the energy-intensive production process are contrary to the concept of sustainable development. This thesis proposes a sustainable low-temperature catalytic graphitization process to produce graphite materials with highly ordered crystallinity by using commercial biomass pyrolysis biochar as the feedstock. Iron nitrate was selected as the graphitization catalyst. The effect of the graphitization temperature and the iron loading amount on the properties of the produced carbon products was studied. Produced graphite materials were characterized by performing X-ray diffraction, Nitrogen adsorption-desorption, and elemental analysis. Results show that the average graphitic crystalline size and the degree of graphitization of the product increased with the increase of the graphitization temperature and the iron loading amount. However, the increase of the iron loading amount reduced the catalyst removal efficiency of the acid washing process. When the graphitization temperature is higher than 1100℃ and the iron loading amount is higher than 11.2 wt.%, the crystallinity of the produced graphite material is better than that of the commercial graphite. The graphite material with the best crystallinity, which was produced at a temperature of 1300℃ and an iron loading of 33.6 wt.%, has crystallinity very close tothe pure graphite. / Grafitmaterial är viktiga industriprodukter. Den snabba utvecklingen av batteri- och elektronikdatorindustrin har stimulerat en stor efterfrågan på grafitmaterial. Idag framställs emellertid grafitmaterial kommersiellt via termisk behandling av fossil olja eller kol härledd koks vid en temperatur högre än 2500℃. Både det fossilbaserade råvaran och den energikrävande produktionsprocessen strider mot begreppet hållbar utveckling. Denna avhandling föreslår en hållbar katalytisk grafitiseringsprocess vid låg temperatur för att producera grafitmaterial med högt ordnad kristallinitet genom att använda kommersiell biomassapyrolysbiokol som råmaterial. Järnnitrat valdes som grafitiseringskatalysator. Effekten av grafitiseringstemperaturen och järnbelastningsmängden på egenskaperna hos de producerade kolprodukterna studerades. Framställda grafitmaterial kännetecknades av utförande av röntgendiffraktion, kväve-adsorptionsdesorption och elementaranalys. Resultaten visar att den genomsnittliga grafitiska kristallina storleken och graden av grafitisering av produkten ökade med ökningen av grafitiseringstemperaturen och järnbelastningsmängden. Ökningen av järnbelastningsmängden minskade emellertid katalysatorns avlägsnande effektivitet för syratvättprocessen. När grafitiseringstemperaturen är högre än 1100℃ och järnbelastningsmängden är högre än 11,2 viktprocent, är kristalliniteten hos det producerade grafitmaterialet bättre än den för den kommersiella grafiten. Grafitmaterialet med den bästa kristalliniteten, som producerades vid en temperatur av 1300℃ och en järnbelastning på 33,6 viktprocent, har kristallinitet mycket nära den rena grafiten.

This case study investigates the potential graphite circular economy within the lithium-ion battery industry, intending to create sustainable management of graphite waste streams. The improper handling of graphite as waste amplifies the carbon footprint and incurs additional costs for battery recyclers. Unlike cathode materials in batteries, graphite regeneration into battery-grade material has not beenindustrialized. Therefore, the study investigates recycling and other alternative approaches to obtain the circularity of graphite. The research explores downcycling, recycling, and upcycling business modelsfor graphite from lithium batteries. With the aim to maximize value and minimize efforts and associated costs. As per methods, an exploratory qualitative method was employed with the data mainly collected through interviews with actors in the graphite sector and recycling technologies. The findings showeconomic viability, feasibility, market dynamic, and regulatory aspects as crucial considerations for the decision-making of battery recyclers. Given the novelty of the material, evaluating technical feasibility through research and development requires coordination with potential partners. Several potential customer options, including graphene applications, steel and refineries, and refractory products, are proposed, each involving a respective business model. Furthermore, the study suggests diversifying partners and establishing partnerships with material receivers as a short-term strategy while awaiting advancements in recycling and upcycling technologies.

The Sungai Terah Palm Oil Mill was tasked with creating a spray drying process for drying of palm oil mill effluent based on a study conducted byThe Malaysian Palm Oil Board. The process does not work and the goal of this report was to identify the problem and recommend possible changes.This has been done through conducting a trial run, a literature study and performing thermodynamic and kinetic calculations. The results show that to reach the goal of drying 14 litres of effluent per minute the process needs a minimum of 633 kW through an increased throughput of heated air to 4.7m3/s. Additionally, the height of the drying chamber is estimated to need an increase to 8 metres. Other suggestions are also presented. / Palmoljefabriken Sungai Terah Palm Oil Mill fick i uppdrag att skapa en process som använder en sprejtork för att torka utsläppet från palmoljeproduktionen, baserat på en studie från The Malaysian Palm Oil Board. Processen fungerar inte och målet med denna rapport var att identifiera problemet och rekommendera möjliga lösningar. Detta har gjorts genom att genomföra ett fabriksexperiment, en litteraturstudie och termodynamiska och kinetiska beräkningar. Resultaten visar att processen kräver minst 633 kW genom ett luftflöde på 4.7 m3/s för att uppnå målet av att torka 14 liter utsläppper minut. Dessutom har höjden på sprejtorkens kammare uppskattats behöva öka till 8 meter. Andra förslag ges också.

The emphasis of this study is focusing on three-dimensional (3D) investigations of the manganese sulfide (MnS) inclusions characteristics in steels by using electrolytic extraction (EE). Two steel grades, 42CrMo4 and 157C, heat treated (HT) at 900 oC were investigated. 42CrMo4 steel samples were heat treated for 5, 10, 15 and 30 minutes while 157C steel samples were heat treated for 5 minutes. Samples of 42CrMo4 were taken from middle zone of an as-cast steel bar while that for grade 157C were taken from 3 different zones (centre, middle and surface). Inclusions were collected on film filters and analyzed by SEM for classification and determination of their characteristics including the size, number density (Nv), morphology and composition. The aspect ratio (AR) as well as particle size distribution (PSD) were also compared for steel samples conducted at various HT times. The result showed that EE is a reliable method of investigation inclusion characteristics. The inclusions were classified into 3 types according to their morphology and composition. Type I was elongated rod-like MnS, type II was coarsened sheet-like MnS and type III was spherical MnS inclusions. In addition, HT significantly reduced the Nv and fairly reduced AR but no significant reduction in size observed. The peak of PSD decreased with an increased HT time. The change of Nv, length, AR and PSD could be altered because of uneven inclusion distribution in filter and different sampling positions.

In this thesis Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells with different sodiumdoping of the CIGS absorber and varying Al2O3 rear surface passivationlayer thickness have been manufactured and electrically characterised. Baseline samples and samples without passivation were used asreferences for the passivated samples. For the passivated samplesbetween 1 and 7 nm of Al2O3 were deposited by ALD. The electricalcharacterisation included current-voltage (IV, JV), quantum efficiency (QE, EQE), capacitance-voltage (CV) and temperature dependent currentvoltage (IVT, JVT) measurements. The results show that it is indeed possible to use a tunnel current toconstruct an electrical contact, but that the electrical contact isvery sensitive to sodium doping. The samples with post-depositiontreatment and without Na start to block the tunnel current when thepassivation layer reaches a thickness of about 2 nm, while no blocking of the tunnel current could be observed for the samples with Na pre-deposition. The samples with pre-deposition treatment showed acontinued increase in efficiency all the way to a passivation layerthickness of about 7 nm. When trying to construct samples with eventhicker passivation layer the CIGS started to peel off. For thisreason the optimal thickness for the pre-deposition treated samplescould not be found. The samples with the highest efficiency was thesamples with pre-deposition treatment and thick passivation layer. Those samples showed an increase of 3 percent (absolute) compared tothe unpassivated sample with the same deposition treatment and 1.6 percent higher efficiency compared to the baseline sample. Concluding that tunnelling passivation layer is comparable to the passivationlayer with point contact methods.

The possibility to extract bio-SNG from the product gas obtained from gasification of biofuel with a pressurized, oxygen-blown CFB gasifier connected to a heat and power station using only membrane separation was theoretically investigated. Selling the methane, instead of feeding it to the plant’s turbine(s), might mean that overall profitability is increased. The considered product gas mainly consists of H2, CO, CO2, H2O and CH4. By doing a literature review different membrane types were studied and it was concluded that for now only polymers may be of interest, due to high production costs for other membranes or for the fact they are still at laboratory stage. It was further determined though that neither membranes made of glassy polymers (fixed polymer chains) nor rubbery polymers (mobile polymer chains) are probably capable of separating the methane from the other gas components on their own. Glassy membranes will most likely have trouble separating CO from CH4 due to similarity in size of the two molecules, while a separation using rubbery membranes will result in at least H2 accompanying the methane. The rubbery polymers’ incapability of separating H2 from CH4 despite greatly differing condensation temperatures between the two components can be explained by the fact that rubbery membranes, apart from condensation temperature, also separate according to molecular diffusivity. If a multistep process with recirculation that combines both glassy and rubbery polymers is applied, satisfying results may be obtained. This, however, builds on a higher separation of CH4 and CO with rubbery membranes than condensation data indicates and needs to be further investigated with help of real life experiments and more advanced computation programs than used in this study.

No description available.

When doing computations on the negatively (positively) charged NV-center in diamond, the common procedure is to add (subtract) an electron from the system. However, when using periodic boundary conditions, this addition/subtraction of an electron from the supercell would result in a divergent electrostatic energy. So an artificial background jellium charge of opposite charge that compensate the electronic charge to make the supercell neutral is needed. This introduces further problems that needs corrections. And this method is especially problematic for slab supercells, as the compensating background charge leads to a dipole, which diverges as the vacuum between the slab images increases. An alternative, recently proposed way of charging the NV-center is to introduce electron donors/acceptors in the form of nitrogen/boron atoms (at substitutional sites in the diamond lattice). In this way, we keep the supercell/slab neutral, and avoid correction schemes. In this work we verify that the addition of a substitutional nitrogen atom indeed has the same effect on the NV-center as the more traditional method of adding an extra electron to the system. Further, we investigate the effects of 1. Adding two substitutional nitrogen atoms to the system (3 nitrogen atoms in total, neutral supercell), 2. Adding a substitutional nitrogen atom and an electron to the system (2 nitrogen atom in total, negatively charged supercell), 3. Adding two electrons to the system (1 nitrogen atom, doubly negatively charged supercell). Additionally, we investigate the addition of acceptor dopants (boron) in order to analyze the effect on the electronic structure of the NV-center and diamond.

Since Shuji Nakamura, Hiroshi Amano, and Isamu Akasaki won the 2014 Nobel prize in Physics owing to theircontributions on the invention of efficient blue GaN light emitting diodes, GaN became an even more appealingmaterial system in the research field of optoelectronics. On the other hand, quantum structures or low-dimensionalstructures with properties derived from quantum physics demonstrate superior and unique electrical and opticalproperties, providing a significant potential on novel optoelectronic applications based on the employment of quantumconfinement.   In 2012, our research team at Linköping University utilized pyramid templates, which is an established approach toform quantum structures, to successfully grow GaN pyramids with InGaN hybrid quantum structures, includingquantum wells, quantum wires, and quantum dots. This growth enabled site-controlled pyramids based on selectivearea growth (SAG). After numerous studies on the photoluminescence properties, the mature and controlled growthtechnique was proposed to be adapted for fabrication of AlGaN pyramids on which GaN hybrid quantum structurescan be hosted.   This thesis is dedicated to the subsequent problems of the growth of AlGaN pyramids. It was found that there wasan undesired deposition of a considerable thickness on top the desired AlGaN pyramid with GaN multiple quantumwells. In this thesis, two different directions are explored to find the key solution with a potential of furtheroptimization. On one hand, the growth parameters such as precursors cut-off, carrier gas during cooling, temperatureholding, cooling pressure, III/V ratio, and the possible effect of GaN surfaces are investigated. However, due to theactual inherent properties of the metal-organic chemical vapor deposition reactor used, no promising parameter tuningcan been identified. On the other hand, from post-growth point of view, a KOH aqueous etching solution exhibits apositive result toward removing the undesired deposition. This etching process is suggested to be further optimized toachieve the final goal of eliminating the undesired deposition.