The intent of this thesis is to analyze and compare the return migration policies in Germany, Russia, and Kazakhstan. It is a relatively new category of migration policy, having only been identified in the 1970s. There is no uniform policy for return migration and consequently, each country has its own unique policy. Ethnicity plays a major role in all three countries' policies. However, some policies of return migration are more successful than others.

This thesis is intended to consider whether the South American members of the trade bloc, the Pacific Alliance, namely Chile, Colombia, Peru, form an optimum currency area (OCA). An in-depth review into the progression of OCA theory is done to formulate a proper econometric analysis. An empirical investigation is conducted by using main macroeconomic indicators from the time period 2001 to the third quarter of 2014 to examine if the aforementioned countries are within the definition of an OCA. An ordinary least squares regression is done on three major economic indicators to test the causes of the deviation from one another. Evidence suggests the group is currently not an OCA and extensive integration efforts would be needed before the group is within the bounds of forming an OCA.

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This thesis investigates the feasibility of producing activated carbon from polysaccharides. Activated carbons are high surface area solids with rich surface functionality and as a result, find use in a variety of industrial separation processes. The market for activated carbon is already established and growing but there is a huge push to find sustainable alternatives for the raw material used for its production, which is primarily coal. While there exists a significant amount of research on agricultural residues as potential replacements, there is minimal information on using polysaccharides as precursors for the production of activated carbon. Using the patented PGX process, two separate approaches were employed for the synthesis of activated carbon. The first method relied on the porous network of PGX materials to be maintained during pyrolysis while the second approach used a chemical agent to create porosity during the pyrolysis. Gas sorption analysis revealed that the PGX structure was not maintained during the pyrolysis stage hence losing all its pore network and extended surface area. Additionally, no significant variation between the PGX and non PGX variants of the chemically activated polymers was observed. However, it was revealed that the interaction between zinc chloride and pectin produced exceptionally high specific surface area (exceeding 2000 m2 g-1) activated carbon. The produced carbon had a high degree of microporosity (up to 100%) with some flexibility present in tuning the porosity. Elemental analysis revealed the carbon to have high surface functionality and preliminary adsorption test for removal of heavy metal ions from water (Pb2+ and Cd2+) showed promising results with the in-house carbon performing better than a representative commercial carbon. This study relies on statistical methods including multiple design of experiment studies and advanced characterization techniques to analyze the manufacturing process and the properties of carbon in an attempt to find the best conditions for producing activated carbon from polysaccharides. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

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