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As environmental impact and environmental emissions are an important part of today's society, due to climate change, high demands are placed on material selection, how the product is recycled and how the product is remanufactured. Remanufacturing is by definition to manufacture an old product into a new product Remanufacturing is an important process to get a sustainable life in the industries, this is because of the increased consumption of products and technique that are thrown away near the products end-of-life. Remanufacturing is a process applied to a product or a part near its end-of-life to transform a used product to a like-new product. At present, remanufacturing is a process that is not used as much in the marine world as other transportation industries, such as automotive and rail. At present, the remanufacturing process is only applying on smaller structures such as engines, propeller shafts, compressors and pumps.  This project work aimed to investigate the effects of implementing remanufacturing into Onmar products. In order to study how remanufacturing affects a company, an analysis was carried out on the company's Rail actuator to study the effects of implementing remanufacturing into the product. Since there are high demands on how the product is designed, an analysis was carried out on how the rail actuator was designed to meet the criteria set. This resulted in two different covers being produced in order to meet the requirements needed to carry out remanufacturing on the product. By implementing remanufacturing on the rail actuator resulted in large savings on energy consumption, material recycling, manufacturing costs, raw materials and carbon dioxide emissions when manufacturing new material.

Arbetet har genomförts i samarbete med Malmö Gatukontor med målet att samla in information om fiberförstärkta plastkompositer (fiber-reinforced polymer; FRP). FRP-kompositer kan vara ett intressant alternativ till konventionella byggnadsmaterial på grund av sina goda materialegenskaper. FRP har inte använts i gångbroar i Sverige tidigare och materialet är därför relativt okänt för byggbranschen. Studiens syfte var att undersöka och dokumentera beständigheten för FRP-gångbroar som påverkas av den omgivande miljön. Arbetet har genomförts som en litteraturstudie. Huvuddelen av studien fokuserade på att utvärdera olika nedbrytningsprocesser för att kunna bedöma potentiella svagheter hos FRP kompositer i gångbroar. Kopplingspunkter mellan olika delar i FRP broar har också studerats och dess inverkan på den totala beständigheten av konstruktionen har evaluerats. Studien ger en överblick av hur beständighetsparametrar för FRP-kompositer påverkas av olika typer av nedbrytning. Från denna överblick värderades nedbrytning genom fuktabsorption, höga och/eller cykliska temperaturer och UV-strålning som de faktorer som mest påverkar materialegenskaperna för FRP-kompositer. Studien konstaterar även att effekten av samverkan mellan olika nedbrytningsprocesser måste beaktas då materialet utsätts för flera olika angrepp i naturliga miljöer. Denna synergi gör att det är svårt att värdera effekten av varje enskilt angrepp. På grund av brist på information kunde inte kopplingspunkterna mellan komponenter i överbyggnadskonstruktionen i gångbroar fullständigt utvärderas, med avseende på dess påverkan på den totala beständigheten. Studien kunde dock konstatera att kopplingspunkter bör undvikas om det är möjligt, då vibrationer, utmattning och termisk expansion kan orsaka högre spänningsnivåer i kopplingspunkterna. Resultaten från studien syftar till att ge vägledande information vid projektering av gångbroar med FRP-kompositer. / This bachelor thesis was written in cooperation with Malmö Streets and Parks Department to collect information on fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites. In today’s building industry, FRP composites provide an interesting alternative to conventional building materials because of their superior material properties. FRPs are suggested to be a sustainable solution meeting the future requirements in infrastructure and especially bridge design. The use of FRP composites in pedestrian bridge applications have not previously been utilized in Sweden and thus the material is relatively unknown to the building industry. The aim of this study was primarily to examine the performance in terms of durability of FRP pedestrian bridges subjected to the effects of the surrounding environment by conducting a literature review. The main part of this study was to evaluate different types of degradation to assess the potential weaknesses of FRP composites during in-service use in pedestrian bridges. The connections between the different members and components in FRP bridges were also studied and their impact on the overall durability of the construction was evaluated. The results from this study provided an overview of the durability characteristics of FRP composites subjected to different types of degradation. From this overview it was concluded that degradation by moisture absorption, high and/or cyclic temperature, and UV-radiation had the most significant impact on the material properties in FRP composites. This study also concludes that the effects of synergism between the different types of degradation need to be considered since FRP composites are subjected to many types of degradations in natural environments. Because of the effects of synergism, the individual effects of the different types of degradations can be difficult to evaluate. Due to lack of information, the impact on overall durability in pedestrian bridges from the connections between components in the superstructure could not be fully evaluated. However, it was found that connections should be avoided if possible due to vibrations, fatigue, and thermal expansions that may cause higher stress levels in the connection points. The results of this study aims to provide guidance when designing FRP composite pedestrian bridges.

As the use of lithium-ion batteries exponentially increases through demand for electric vehicles and energy storage systems, so will the need for end-of-life treatment subsequently increase. Recycling the valuable materials from batteries in an efficient and extensive fashion could decrease the environmental impacts of batteries. Northvolt AB is a Swedish battery manufacturer currently constructing a Gigafactory in Skellefteå and is furthermore developing a recycling process, focused on hydrometallurgy, with full-scale recycling operations a couple of years away. In order to assess the environmental hotspots of the process, with a focus on greenhouse gas emissions, a life cycle assessment was conducted with data from Northvolt AB. This data was based on learnings from a pilot plant currently under operation but scaled up to industrial level for an ex-ante type of assessment. The industrial operations at Skellefteå represented +95% of the climate change impact, the remainder arising from a European collection point. The most significant impact driver was waste management (56,5% of the climate change impact category), specifically incineration of recovered materials and residuals. The results indicate that harnessing renewable energy in both the direct operations and the supply chain is of high importance. Chemicals (27%) and electricity (7%) had extensively smaller emissions thanks to the harnessing of renewable energy in both direct operations and the supply chain, compared to electricity mixes with large shares of fossil fuels. Furthermore, large variability was found in impacts of recovered materials depending on the chosen allocation method. The benefit of the Revolt process is likely to be affected by ongoing research projects to recycle and upgrade materials that are currently sent to incineration. For an as high environmental efficiency as possible, it is important that the process make as much use of all the recovered materials as possible, find efficient waste treatment processes, and continue to source from production using as electricity mixes with high shares of renewable energy. / Givet att användningen av litium-jon batterier ökar exponentiellt, drivet av efterfrågan på elfordon och energilagringssystem, så kommer behovet av att avfallshantera utgående batterier att öka. Att återvinna värdefulla material från batterier på ett effektivt och omfattande sätt skulle kunna minska batteriernas miljöpåverkan sett över hela dess livscykel. Northvolt AB är en svensk batteritillverkare som bygger en fabrik i Skellefteå och parallellt utvecklar en återvinningsprocess med fokus på hydrometallurgi, med fullskalig återvinning planerad. För att utvärdera vilka aspekter av processen som driver dess miljöpåverkan, med fokus på utsläpp av växthusgaser, gjordes en livscykelanalys med data från Northvolt AB.  Datainventeringen baserades på lärdomar från en pilotanläggning som för närvarande är under drift, men skalades upp till industriell nivå för en förhandsbedömning. Industriverksamheten i Skellefteå stod för +95% av klimatpåverkan, resten härrör från en europeisk insamlingsplats av utgående batterier. Den viktigaste bidragsfaktorn för klimatutsläpp var avfallshantering (56,5 % av utsläppen), särskilt förbränning av återhämtade material och restprodukter. Resultaten visar att det är av stor betydelse att utnyttja förnybar energi i både den direkta verksamheten och leverantörskedjan. Kategorierna kemikalier (27%) och el (7 %) hade betydligt lägre utsläpp tack vare att förnybar energi utnyttjades, i jämförelse med nationella elmixer med större andelar fossila bränslen.  Vidare konstaterades stor variation i resultatet av miljöpåverkan på återvunnet material beroende på vald allokeringsmetod. Fördelarna med Revoltprocessen kommer sannolikt att påverkas av pågående forskningsprojekt för att återvinna och uppgradera material som för närvarande skickas till förbränning. För minskade klimatutsläpp är det viktigt att processen i så stor utsträckning som möjligt materiellt återvinner alla utgående material, hittar effektiva avfallshanteringsprocesser och fortsätter att etablera en leverantörskedja som producerar med stora andelar förnybar energi.  Utöver att utvärderingen gjordes med preliminära data resonerades avfallshanteringen vara den enskilt största källan till osäkerhet. Framtida livscykelanalyser skulle dra nytta av uppmätt data när den industriella anläggningen är operationell, samt vidga analysen med mer utförlig datainhämtning från relevanta avfallsprocesser och återvinningstekniker.

Today's civil engineering structures are most often designed through a trial anderror approach, which means that the designer tests a design solution andevaluates whether all requirements are met. If any of the requirements are notmet, changes are made to the design until a feasible solution is obtained. It is atime-consuming process where the  nal design is not always optimal concerningmaterial consumption. In this study, a program has been developed in MATLAB®for the design of reinforced concrete retaining walls and by using optimizationalgorithms, the design process has been made automated and time-ecient. Theuse of optimization algorithms also allows for  nding a solution that is not onlyfeasible but also optimal. The developed program utilizes two objective functions,minimizing environmental impact or investment cost based on materialconsumption. In addition, the design calculations are developed according toEurocode and additional national requirements of Swedish standards.This thesis presents the background to the study, fundamental optimization theoryand how the developed program is designed. A case study is also presented whereexisting retaining walls have been examined to evaluate what savings could havebeen made using optimization algorithms in the design process. Lastly, guidelinesare also presented for designers to facilitate the choice of cross-sectional dimensionsand reinforcement bar dimensions when designing retaining walls.The results obtained in the case study show that using optimization algorithms inthe design process can make signi cant savings (10-20%) on investment cost andenvironmental impact. Moreover, the results show that an optimized retaining wallconcerning environmental impact also leads to a substantial reduction ininvestment costs and vice versa.

Dealerships are the main interface for customer interaction when it comes to a multinational manufacturing company like Volvo Group. A lot of studies in the field of environmental impact is done on different kind of buildings like office buildings, residential buildings, public buildings etc by performing Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), Life Cycle Cost analysis (LCC) etc. However, the number of studies done on an industrial building are very less when compared to other types of buildings. Industrial buildings are equally important in the construction industry since they play a good share in environmental impacts caused by buildings. The main objective of the thesis is to analyse the working process at VGRE and suggest ways to incorporate life cycle thinking in their working process to improve the environmental performance of new dealerships. Interviews were conducted with VGRE employees; literature reviews were done and analysis of internal documents from VGRE were studied and analysed as a part of the thesis. The views and opinions of the VGRE employees in the area of environment impact reduction, life cycle assessment and certification scheme/system were obtained and the steps involved in the development of a dealership as well as the different type of contract were also studied from the internal documents provided from VGRE. Cost was one of the main barrier/challenges in all the cases. Lack of interest in getting a dealership certified was also mentioned during the interviews. Energy saving measures like the solar panels were considered as additional cost for a building. Their preference in referring to previous Life Cycle studies of similar buildings rather than doing a Life cycle study on each building was also observed. / I syfte att identifiera hur man integrerar livscykeltänkande i arbetsprocessen hos Volvo Group Real Estate (VGRE) för att förbättra miljöprestanda för nya återförsäljare är detta examensarbete i princip en analys av arbetsprocessen hos Volvo som gjordes genom att göra intervjuer med Volvos anställda både i Göteborg, Sverige och Finland. Litteraturöversikter om livscykelanalys (LCA) samt certifieringssystem var också en del av metodiken. Slutligen analyserades och studerades några interna dokument från Volvo. LCA på Volvo, hinder och utmaningar som möter under arbetsprocessen, intern dokumentation, skillnaderna mellan en återförsäljare och andra byggnader, kostnadsfaktorer / affärssaker är de viktigaste slutsatserna som diskuteras i resultatsektionen.

Increased extreme weather events caused by climate change and other environmental impacts, are affecting already vulnerable people predominantly. These are populations with the least resilience to disasters. As a consequence, there is a higher demand for humanitarian aid which is expected to continuously increase in the face of anthropogenic emissions. Such growing need is in turn met by growing commitment from the humanitarian sector to ensure that aid is provided by means of environmentally sustainable practices. However, to what extent the current practices of humanitarian operations are impacting the environment is not well known as very little research has been conducted on environmental sustainability in this sector. As a step towards addressing this gap, this study takes on a mixed method approach to answer how to measure the environmental impacts and what they are. The sectors’ experience of practices on how to measure impacts are mapped out and a cradle-to- grave life cycle assessment in a humanitarian operation context is conducted. Studying one of the modular tools within response operations, Emergency Response Units (ERU) for water treatment, the study identifies and highlights the impact hotspots during the whole life cycle of one deployment. As a case study to carry this out, an ERU M40 from a Swedish Red Cross deployment in Uganda 2017 is reviewed. The study reveals hotspots in transportation of water distribution during the operational phase, international transport of the equipment and production of the material. It furthermore identifies challenges and opportunities of implementing such a tool in a new context in which only few similar studies have previously been conducted. Finally, this study contributes with recommendations based on empirical evidence for how an actor like the Swedish Red Cross can mitigate their environmental impacts by implementing a holistic life cycle approach and avoid causing unintended burdens. / Ökat extremväder orsakat av klimatförändringar och andra miljöpåverkan har som störst negativ effekt på redan utsatta människor. Det är befolkningar med minst resiliens mot katastrofer. Som en följd av detta uppstår en högre behov av humanitärt bistånd vilket förväntas ytterligare öka, på grund av antropogena utsläpp. Ett sådant växande behov möts av ett växande engagemang från humanitära sektorn för att säkerställa att stöd under dessa katastrofer ges genom miljömässigt hållbara metoder. I vilken utsträckning de nuvarande metoderna för humanitära insatser påverkar miljön är emellertid inte välkänt eftersom begränsad forskning har gjorts om hållbarhet utifrån ett miljöperspektiv i denna sektor. Som ett steg att minska den forskningsluckan använder denna studie en blandad metod för att svara på hur man mäter miljöpåverkan och vad den faktiska påverkan i dagsläget är. Erfarenheter inom humanitära sektorn av att applicera metoder för att mäta miljöpåverkan kartläggs och en vagga- till-graven livscykelanalys av en humanitärt insats genomförs. Studien utgår från ett modulärt verktyg inom humanitära instatser, ERU (Emergency Response Units) för vattenrening, och identifierar och belyser hotspots under livscykeln för en insats. Som en fallstudie för att genomföra detta har en ERU M40 från Svenska Röda korsets insats i Uganda 2017 använts. Studien påvisar hotspots för transport av vattendistribution under driftsfasen, internationell transport av modulen samt produktionen av materialet. Vidare identifieras utmaningar och möjligheter att implementera LCA i ett nytt sammanhang där endast ett fåtal liknande studier har genomförts tidigare. Slutligen bidrar denna studie med rekommendationer baserade på empiriska bevis för hur en aktör som Svenska Röda Korset kan minimera deras miljöpåverkan genom att implementera en holistisk livscykelperspektiv och undvika allokeringsproblem.

The most used design approach for civil engineering structures is a trial and error procedure; the designer chooses an initial configuration, tests it and changes it until all safety requirements are met with good material utilization. Such a procedure is time consuming and eventually leads to a feasible solution, while several better ones could be found. Indeed, together with safety, environmental impact and investment cost should be decisive factors for the selection of structural solutions. Thus, structural optimization with respect to environmental impact and cost has been the subject of many researches in the last decades. However, design techniques based on optimization haven’t replaced the traditional design procedure yet. One of the reasons might be the constructive feasibility of the optimal solution. Moreover, concerning reinforced concrete beam bridges, to the best of the author knowledge, no study in the literature has been published dealing with the optimization of the entire bridge including both the structural configuration and cross-section dimensions. In this thesis, a two-steps automatic design and optimization procedure for reinforced concrete road beam bridges is presented. The optimization procedure finds the solution that minimizes the investment cost and the environmental impact of the bridge, while fulfilling all requirements of Eurocodes. In the first step, given the soil morphology and the two points to connect, it selects the optimal number of spans, type of piers-deck connections and piers location taking into account any obstacle the bridge has to cross. In the second and final step, it finds the optimal dimensions of the deck cross-section and produces the detailed reinforcement design. Constructability is considered and quantified within the investment cost to avoid a merely theoretical optimization. The wellknown Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Pattern Search optimization algorithms have been used. However, to reduce the computational effort and make the procedure more user-friendly, a memory system has been integrated and a modified version of GA has been developed. Moreover, the design and optimization procedure is used to study the relationship between the optimal solutions concerning investment cost and environmental impact. One case study concerning the re-design of an existing road bridge is presented. Potential savings obtained using the proposed method instead of the classic design procedure are presented. Finally, parametric studies on the total bridge length have been carried out and guidelines for designers have been produced regarding the optimal number of spans. / <p>QC 20190304</p>

Yes / Multieffect distillation with thermal vapour compression (MED–TVC) is one of the most attractive thermal desalination technologies for the production of freshwater. Several mathematical models were presented in the open literature to analyse the steady-state performance of such process. However, these models have several limitations and assumptions. Therefore, there remains the challenge of having a reliable model to accurately predict the performance of the MED process. Thus, this research attempts to resolve this challenge by rectifying the shortcomings of the models found in the literature and create a new one. The robustness of the developed model is evaluated against the actual data of Umm Al-Nar commercial plant situated in UAE. In seawater desalinisation, a large amount of high-salinity stream (brine) is rejected back into the sea. This paper investigates the influence of the rejected (exit) brine temperature on the system performance parameters of MED–TVC process. Specifically, these parameters are considered as total heat consumption, gain output ratio, freshwater production, heat transfer area and performance ratio. Also, the particular parameters of TVC section of the entrainment ratio, compression ratio and expansion ratio are also addressed. Moreover, a critical evaluation of the influence of the rejected brine temperature on the seawater is also embedded.