Considérée comme une forme douce de la pyrolyse, la torréfaction apparaît comme une alternative au traitement thermique de la biomasse où elle est chauffée à des températures de 200-300°C en absence partielle ou totale d'oxygène pour produire un combustible solide plus hydrophobe, homogène et de meilleure qualité par rapport à la matière première. Plusieurs technologies de torréfaction ont déjà été développées et mises en œuvre dans l'industrie. Le présent travail a pour objectif principal d'approfondir les connaissances dans le processus de thermo-dégradation de la biomasse pendant la torréfaction. Pour cela, un appareil expérimental innovant a été développé visant à améliorer le traitement thermique du bois en couplant un champ acoustique au facteur température. L'hypothèse est qu'un champ acoustique dans un réacteur modifie le champ de pression et par conséquent la vitesse des particules autour de l'échantillon en modifiant l'interaction entre l'environnement gazeux et les volatiles à la surface du bois, accélérant son processus de dégradation. Avec cet objectif, un système acoustique a été mis en place dans un réacteur. Une caractérisation et une cartographie du comportement acoustique envisageant la mesure du débit acoustique et de son intensité ont été réalisées. Les expériences physiques et chimiques de la torréfaction ont été effectuées pour deux températures de traitement avec et sans influence de l'acoustique, fournissant le rendement massique, les courbes de température et les propriétés chimiques du matériau torrifié. Concomitamment, un modèle numérique de la cinétique et de la composition élémentaire a été établi pour la prédiction du rendement en masse et de la composition en termes de carbone, d'hydrogène et d'oxygène au cours de la dégradation. Les résultats expérimentaux de la torréfaction, ainsi que l'analyse chimique et la pyrolyse du produit final ont fourni des preuves telles que: réduction du temps de séjour, augmentation de la température interne de l'échantillon et pouvoir calorifique supérieur pour les échantillons traités sous l'influence de l'acoustique. Une dernière comparaison entre les résultats expérimentaux et numériques a permis d'évaluer la précision du modèle pour le traitement de torréfaction et l'influence de l'acoustique sur la cinétique de dégradation / Considered a mild form of pyrolysis, torrefaction appears as an alternative thermal treatment where the biomass is heated at temperatures between 200-300°C in partial or total absence of oxygen to produce a more hydrophobic, homogeneous and higher calorific solid fuel when compared to the raw material. Several torrefaction technologies have already been developed and implemented in the industry. The present work has as main objective to deepen the knowledge in the biomass thermo-degradation process during torrefaction. For this, an innovative experimental apparatus was developed aiming to improve the wood heat treatment by coupling an acoustic field to the temperature parameter. The assumption is that an acoustic field within a reactor modifies the pressure field and consequently the velocity of the particles around the sample by altering the interaction between the gaseous environment and the released volatile around the wood surface, accelerating its degradation process. With this objective, an acoustic system was implemented in a reactor. A characterization and mapping of the acoustic behavior contemplating the measurement of acoustic flux rate and its intensity was performed. The physical and chemical torrefaction experiments were performed for two treatment temperatures with and without influence of the acoustic, providing the mass yield evolution, the temperature curves and the chemical properties of the torrefied material. Concomitantly, a numerical model of kinetics and elemental composition was established for the mass yield and the composition prediction in terms of carbon hydrogen and oxygen during the degradation. The torrefaction experimental results, as well as the chemical analysis and pyrolysis of the final product, provided evidence such as: reduction of residence time, increase of the samples internal temperature during treatment and a greater calorific power for the samples treated under acoustic influence. A final comparison between experimental and simulation results allowed the evaluation of the torrefaction numerical model and the influence of the acoustics on the degradation kinetics / Considerada uma forma suave de pirólise, a torrefação aparece como alternativa de tratamento térmico da biomassa, onde essa é aquecida a temperaturas de 200 - 300 ° C em ausência parcial ou total de oxigênio visando produzir um combustível sólido mais hidrofóbico, homogêneo e com maior teor de carbono quando comparado à matéria-prima. Várias tecnologias de torrefação já foram desenvolvidas e implementadas na indústria. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo principal aprofundar o conhecimento no processo de termo-degradação da biomassa durante a torrefação. Para isso um inovador aparato experimental foi desenvolvido visando aprimorar o tratamento térmico da madeira acoplando um campo acústico ao fator temperatura. O pressuposto é que um campo acústico dentro de um reator modifica o campo de pressão e, consequentemente, a velocidade das partículas ao redor da amostra alterando a interação entre o ambiente gasoso e os voláteis na superfície da madeira, acelerando o seu processo de degradação. Com este objetivo, um sistema acústico foi implementado em um reator. Uma caracterização e mapeamento do comportamento acústico contemplando a aferição da taxa de fluxo acústica e da sua intensidade foi executada. Os experimentos físicos e químicos da torrefação foram realizados para duas temperaturas de tratamento com e sem influência da acústica, fornecendo o rendimento mássico, as curvas de temperaturas e as propriedades químicas do material torrificado. Concomitantemente, foi estabelecido um modelo numérico da cinética e da composição elementar para a predição do rendimento mássico e da composição em termos de carbono hidrogênio e oxigênio durante a degradação. Os resultados experimentais da torrefação, bem como a análise química e pirólise do produto final, forneceram evidências como: redução do tempo de residência, aumento da temperatura interna da amostra e um maior poder calorífico para as amostras tratadas sobre influência da acústica. Uma comparação final entre resultados experimentais e numéricos permitiram a avaliação da precisão do modelo para o tratamento de torrefação e a influência da acústica na cinética de degradação

We present in this thesis a series of studies on the physical properties of some one dimensional systems. In particular we study the low energy properties of various spin chains and a junction of Luttinger wires. For spin chains we specifically look at the role of perturbations like frustrating interactions and dimerisation in a nearest neighbour chain and the formation of magnetisation plateaus in two kinds of models; one purely theoretical and the other motivated by experiments. In our second subject of interest we study using a renormalisation group analysis the effect of spin dependent scattering at a junction of Luttinger wires. We look at the physical effects caused by the interplay of electronic interactions in the wires and the scattering processes at the junction. The thesis begins with an introductory chapter which gives a brief glimpse of the ideas and techniques used in the specific problems that we have worked on. Our work on these problems is then described in detail in chapters 25. We now present a brief summary of each of those chapters. In the second chapter we look at the ground state phase diagram of the mixed-spin sawtooth chain, i.e a system where the spins along the baseline are allowed to be different from the spins on the vertices. The spins S1 along the baseline interact with a coupling strength J1(> 0). The coupling of the spins on the vertex (S2) to the baseline spins has a strength J2. We study the phase diagram as a function of J2/J1 [1]. The model exhibits a rich variety of phases which we study using spinwave theory, exact diagonalisation and a semi-numerical perturbation theory leading to an effective Hamiltonian. The spinwave theory predicts a transition from a spiral state to a ferrimagnetic state at J2S2/2J1S1 = 1 as J2/J1 is increased. The spectrum has two branches one of which is gapless and dispersionless (at the linear order) in the spiral phase. This arises because of the infinite degeneracy of classical ground states in that phase. Numerically, we study the system using exact diagonalisation of up to 12 unit cells and S1 = 1 and S2 =1/2. We look at the variation of ground state energy, gap to the lowest excitations, and the relevant spin correlation functions in the model. This unearths a richer phase diagram than the spinwave calculation. Apart from revealing a possibility of the presence of more than one kind of spiral phases, numerical results tell us about a very interesting phase for small J2. The spin correlation function (for the spin1/2s) in this region have a property that the nextnearest-neighbour correlations are much larger than the nearest neighbour correlations. We call this phase the NNNAFM (nextnearest neighbour antiferromagnet) phase and provide an understanding of this phase by deriving an effective Hamiltonian between the spin1/2s. We also show the existence of macroscopic magnetisation jumps in the model when one looks at the system close to saturation fields. The third chapter is concerned with the formation of magnetisation plateaus in two different spin models. We show how in one model the plateaus arise because of the competition between two coupling constants, and in the other because of purely geometrical effects. In the first problem we propose [2] a class of spin Hamiltonians which include as special cases several known systems. The class of models is defined on a bipartite lattice in arbitrary dimensions and for any spin. The simplest manifestation of such models in one dimension corresponds to a ladder system with diagonal couplings (which are of the same strength as the leg couplings). The physical properties of the model are determined by the combined effects of the competition between the ”rung” coupling (J’ )and the ”leg/diagonal” coupling (J ) and the magnetic field. We show that our model can be solved exactly in a substantial region of the parameter space (J’ > 2J ) and we demonstrate the existence of magnetisation plateaus in the solvable regime. Also, by making reasonable assumptions about the spectrum in the region where we cannot solve the model exactly, we prove the existence of first order phase transitions on a plateau where the sublattice magnetisations change abruptly. We numerically investigate the ladder system mentioned above (for spin1) to confirm all our analytical predictions and present a phase diagram in the J’/J - B plane, quite a few of whose features we expect to be generically valid for all higher spins. In the second problem concerning plateaus (also discussed in chapter 3) we study the properties of a compound synthesised experimentally [3]. The essential feature of the structure of this compound which gives rise to its physical properties is the presence of two kinds of spin1/2 objects alternating with each other on a helix. One kind has an axis of anisotropy at an inclination to the helical axis (which essentially makes it an Ising spin) whereas the other is an isotropic spin1/2 object. These two spin1/2 objects interact with each other but not with their own kind. Experimentally, it was observed that in a magnetic field this material exhibits magnetisation plateaus one of which is at 1/3rd of the saturation magnetisation value. These plateaus appear when the field is along the direction of the helical axis but disappear when the field is perpendicular to that axis. The model being used for the material prior to our work could not explain the existence of these plateaus. In our work we propose a simple modification in the model Hamiltonian which is able to qualitatively explain the presence of the plateaus. We show that the existence of the plateaus can be explained using a periodic variation of the angles of inclination of the easy axes of the anisotropic spins. The experimental temperature and the fields are much lower than the magnetic coupling strength. Because of this quite a lot of the properties of the system can be studied analytically using transfer matrix methods for an effective theory involving only the anisotropic spins. Apart from the plateaus we study using this modified model other physical quantities like the specific heat, susceptibility and the entropy. We demonstrate the existence of finite entropy per spin at low temperatures for some values of the magnetic field. In chapter 4 we investigate the longstanding problem of locating the gapless points of a dimerised spin chain as the strength of dimerisation is varied. It is known that generalising Haldane’s field theoretic analysis to dimerised spin chains correctly predicts the number of the gapless points but not the exact locations (which have determined numerically for a few low values of spins). We investigate the problem of locating those points using a dimerised spin chain Hamiltonian with a ”twisted” boundary condition [4]. For a periodic chain, this ”twist” consists simply of a local rotation about the zaxis which renders the xx and yy terms on one bond negative. Such a boundary condition has been used earlier for numerical work whereby one can find the gapless points by studying the crossing points of ground states of finite chains (with the above twist) in different parity sectors (parity sectors are defined by the reflection symmetry about the twisted bond). We study the twisted Hamiltonian using two analytical methods. The modified boundary condition reduces the degeneracy of classical ground states of the chain and we get only two N´eel states as classical ground states. We use this property to identify the gapless points as points where the tunneling amplitude between these two ground states goes to zero. While one of our calculations just reproduces the results of previous field theoretic treatments, our second analytical treatment gives a direct expression for the gapless points as roots of a polynomial equation in the dimerisation parameter. This approach is found to be more accurate. We compare the two methods with the numerical method mentioned above and present results for various spin values. In the final chapter we present a study of the physics of a junction of Luttinger wires (quantum wires) with both scalar and spin scattering at the junction ([5],[6]). Earlier studies have investigated special cases of this system. The systems studied were two wire junctions with either a fully transmitting scattering matrix or one corresponding to disconnected wires. We extend the study to a junction of N wires with an arbitrary scattering matrix and a spin impurity at the junction. We study the RG flows of the Kondo coupling of the impurity spin to the electrons treating the electronic interactions and the Kondo coupling perturbatively. We analyse the various fixed points for the specific case of three wires. We find a general tendency to flow towards strong coupling when all the matrix elements of the Kondo coupling are positive at small length scales. We analyse one of the strong coupling fixed points, namely that of the maximally transmitting scattering matrix, using a 1/J perturbation theory and we find at large length scales a fixed point of disconnected wires with a vanishing Kondo coupling. In this way we obtain a picture of the RG at both short and long length scales. Also, we analyse all the fixed points using lattice models to gain an understanding of the RG flows in terms of specific couplings on the lattice. Finally, we use to bosonisation to study one particular case of scattering (the disconnected wires) in the presence of strong interactions and find that sufficiently strong interactions can stabilise a multichannel fixed point which is unstable in the weak interaction limit.