This study aims to identify the challenges and opportunities of a small challenger company in a rigid and conservative high technology life science market. Strategies for finding a foothold, establish a position and creating a viable company is discussed. Qualitative and quantitative data was collected through interviews, online survey and conjoint analysis which were used as market research tools. For an entrepreneurial firm in the life science market it is important to tend to their most valuable resource, the employees, and it is vital that they have an extensive knowledge of the market that they are active in. Strategic planning tools and templates aid in executing and implementing the proposed business model. Recommendations for a model case entrepreneurial company regarding continued market research, increasing sales and strategies for marketing are made. Included in the thesis is also a discussion of wall effects in HPLC and ways to counteract them.

To be able to effectively study blood platelets in different environments adevelopment of an in vitro model of a microfluidic system for plateletproduction was started. The purpose of this thesis was to fabricate systemsand then characterize them and visualize the flow. The system consists of twochannels, one in the middle and the other one enclosing it. They are connectedthrough pores where Megakaryocytes can protrude through and produce platelets.The designs were produced in PDMS. This was done by first transfer the designsas structures onto a silicon wafer through UV lithography. The wafer served asa mould for casting PDMS that later was bonded to glass. The systems were thenstudied with three different methods. Computer simulations, flow tests andultimately tests with cells. From the results new designs were made andfabricated. The new designs were then tested the same ways as the first ones.The systems can most probably produce platelets with some optimisation of thetest parameters. No definite results were gathered to prove plateletproduction. Different flow speeds were tested and the flow profile atdifferent flow rates was visualised. The full capability of the new designscould not be fully studied due to unforeseen debris of PDMS clogging thechannels. A few things need to be done to achieve better results and establishfor sure if this method of producing platelets is possible. This thesis is agood ground for future work to stand on.

The aim of the thesis, industrial product design PPU304, is to develop a new product that will reduce food waste of dairy products in households. The main objective is that the product will be able to measure and signal when the milk has expired.The thesis is a start to find the solution to some of the food waste in households which is a major environmental issue in today's society. The goal is to develop a flexible expiration date that can reduce food wastage. With today's sensor technology bacterial levels can be calculated from the milk and that can increase the time a pack of milk can be used. The greater knowledge and awareness humanity have for environmental issues the better world we will live in. To understand the question, “what is it that makes the milk unfit for consumption?” A part of the work has gone into researching the technological aspect. In consumer ready milk there is different bacteria that will grow over time and eventually spoil the milk, how this process works varies depending on what or which bacteria manage to grow the most. Therefore, the most appropriate technique is to measure bacteria in the milk and identify at which level the milk passes its actual expiration date.The design of the product has been guided by two major factors, the predetermined dimensions of the circuit board and the adaptation to the size of the milk carton. The shape of the product is an oblong rear part with a spherical body at the front. The edges are rounded to give a pleasantand smooth feeling to the hand using the product.The thesis in industrial product design resulted in a final concept. The product analyses the amount of bacteria in the milk through sensors that measure bacterial metabolism. The data gets interpreted and displayed through the use of LEDs. To save energy the concept is equipped with a photo resistor that deactivates the LEDs when the fridge is closed and dark. The conclusion of the thesis, performed at Millcroft AB is at a conceptual level. To go from idea to product, is a process that takes a long time to complete and often involves many different moments. The timeframe during this study is considered too short to cover all parts of the product and therefore the boundaries set and the focus has been on constructing a design that fits the estimated technology as well as consumer needs. Some suggestions are that more research in the technical aspect of the product should be concluded. Further testing of dairy sustainability should be conducted on a larger scale and further development of the technology to send data.

Syftet med detta kandidatarbete har varit att undersöka halterna natrium och kalium i de åtta viktigaste och största procesströmmarna vid Stora Enso Skoghalls sulfatmassabruk. En natrium- och svavelbalans är viktigt för att förstå behovet av tillskott eller utblödning av olika ämnen i processen. Balansen för kalium och klorid behöver man också få information om, då en obalans kan leda till att elfilteraskan blir klibbig. Extra fokus har lagts på massaströmmarna, för att undersöka halten katjoner som är fiberbundna respektive lösta i filtratvätska. Analyser av samtliga prover har genomförts laborativt och metoder som Schönigerförbränning, oxidering och syraupplösning har använts. Slutbestämning av samtliga halter gjordes med en flamfotometer. Genom analysresultaten och kompletterande referensdata sattes en natrium- och kaliumbalans upp. Balansen visade på ett överskott av både natrium och kalium, vilket kan bero på bland annat variationer i driften. Analys av massaprover med ett alkaliskt pH visade att den största andelen katjoner var fiberbundna. Vid surgöring av massan bytte majoriteten av natriumjonerna plats med vätejonerna och halten natrium i filtratet blev högre än halten fiberbunden.

Global warming is now widely recognized as being the biggest global issue facing human beings. Mitigating CO2 emission from fossil-fueled power plants as well as from transports has become an urgent and worldwide research topic, in which CO2 separation is often needed. Technologies have been developed and commercialized, whereas the cost is still high. Developing new technologies for CO2 separation is one focus research area. Ionic liquids (ILs) are promising absorbents for CO2 separation due to their very low vapor pressure, high solubility and selectivity for CO2 as well as low energy usage for solvent regeneration. To develop IL-based technologies, thermodynamic properties (density, heat capacity, gas solubility, etc.), viscosity, and surface tension of ILs are the prerequisites. As the number of ILs that can be theoretically synthesized is up to an order of 1018, determining all the properties experimentally is impractical, not to mention the time-consuming with high cost. It is desirable to develop theoretical tools to predict the thermodynamics and transport properties of ILs and IL-containing mixtures in a wide temperature and pressure range. In our previous work, the framework of ion-specific electrolyte perturbed-chain statistical associating fluid theory (ePC-SAFT) has been developed with reliable results. However, the work is still limited to the imidazolium-based ILs, and the model performance for other commonly used ILs is still unclear. Meanwhile, it has been pointed out that the model with the parameters fitted to the experimental data may result in pitfalls, and further validation is needed. In this thesis, the ion-specific ePC-SAFT was further developed and extended to the ILs which are composed of the IL-cations ([Cnmim]+ , [Cnpy]+ , [Cnmpy] + , [Cnmpyr]+ , and [THTDP]+ ) and the IL-anions ([Tf2N]- , [PF6] - , [BF4] - , [tfo]- , [DCA]- , [SCN]- , [C1SO4] - , [C2SO4] - , [eFAP]- , Cl- , [Ac]- , and Br- ). Before modeling the properties, a method and scheme were developed to investigate the pitfall when modeling IL with ePC-SAFT. All 96 ILs considered in the thesis were covered. The investigation shows that for most ILs (86 of 96 ILs), the additional fictitious critical temperature is low enough not to affect the calculations at a normal temperature range, and after further phase equilibrium calculation, only one IL ([C8mpy][BF4]) may generate a risk of pitfall occurrence at the temperature and pressure of interest for CO2 separation. The parameters for [Cnmpy]+ may need to be modified in future work. The prediction of the derivative properties (isobaric heat capacity, isochoric heat capacity, speed of sound, isentropic compressibility coefficient, isothermal compressibility coefficient, thermal expansion coefficient, thermal pressure coefficient, and internal pressure) combined with the comparison to the available experimental data shows that ePC-SAFT can provide reliable results for most ILs. ePC-SAFT was used to predict the CO2 solubilities in 46 ILs, and the prediction agrees well with the experimental data in a wide temperature and pressure range for 36 ILs. The addition of an ion-specific binary ii parameter between IL-ion and CO2 can further improve the model performance significantly for the 10 ILs with relatively poor model performance. ePC-SAFT can also provide a reliable prediction for the solubility of other pure gases (CH4, CO, H2, N2, and O2). To further verify the model performance on the viscosity of ILs, ePC-SAFT coupled with the free volume theory (FVT) (i.e., ePC-SAFT-FVT) was studied. Two strategies were applied to adjust the FVT parameters, i.e., molecular-based approach with parameters for each IL (strategy 1) and IL-cation molecular-weight linearized parameters for the ILs in the same homologous series (strategy 2). The comparison with the available experimental viscosities for 96 ILs shows that the strategy 1 can provide reliable results for 89 ILs in a wide temperature and pressure range, while strategy 2 can provide almost similar reliable results as strategy 1. ePC-SAFT-FVT can be further used to predict the viscosity of ILmixtures reliably. The model ePC-SAFT-DGT, i.e., the coupling of ePC-SAFT with the density gradient theory (DGT), was further developed and used to model the interfacial properties of ILs. The comparison with the available experimental surface tensions for 82 ILs shows that the model can represent the surface tension reliably, and the use of the anion-specific influence parameters linearized with the molecular weights of IL-cations allows predicting the surface tension of the ILs in the same homologous series. The density profile on the vaporliquid interface can be further predicted with the influence parameter adjusted by the surface tension. In summary, the ion-specific ePC-SAFT is a suitable tool for IL-systems, which can be highly recommended to be applied in industrial design and optimization.

Due to its large flexibility, low-price, large availability, and properties lignin is seen as an important compound with a wide range of applications. The increasing demand of fossil-based rubber materials is causing a serious threat to the environment and it is contributing to plastic- and marine pollution, ozone depletion and carbon dioxide emission (CO2) [1,2]. Numerous toxicological researches highlight that Carbon black may act as a universal carrier of wide variety of chemicals of varying toxicity to the human body [3,4]. Consequently, researcher endeavours in finding sustainable and eco-friendlier alternatives. The aim of this thesis was to further investigate the possibilities of replacing carbon black with modified lignin in rubber elastomeric materials- for the development of sustainable tyre technology. The research questions for this thesis were divided in four parts:   How does lignin (unmodified and modified) structure affect the mechanical properties of the rubber compound? How does lignin affect the cross-link and vulcanisation of the rubber compound? How does lignin affect the dispersion of the rubber compound? Which modification of lignin is more compatible with the rubber compound? Lignin is the second most abundant biopolymer on earth (after cellulose) and is mainly extracted from black liquor, which is obtained as a by-product from the pulp- and paper. In this study, pure lignin was obtained from Lignoboost process (Lignocity) and underwent an esterification process of aldehydes (1. Protonic, 2. Butyric, 3. Isobutyric 4. Methacrylic and 5. Crotonic). LignoCity 2.0 is a project focusing on the development of sustainable products and processes connected to lignin. The structure of the modified lignin was characterized using a FTIR-spectra. Furthermore, seven different rubber compounds were produced at Anva Poly Tech, which is a company that manufactures rubber materials in Sunne, Sweden. The mechanical testing involved: Tensile strength, IRHD, Hardness, Rebound Resilience and Rheometer curve. It was observable that the addition of lignin in rubber compounds did not significantly improve the mechanical properties compared to conventional carbon black. However, the rheometer curves of the lignin samples clearly indicate an increase in scorch time and that lignin takes part in the vulcanization process, thus the delay in crosslinking phase.  In addition, it was visible that the fully replacement of carbon black with lignin (unmodified and modified) increased the elongation at break. Furthermore, the FTIR spectra indicated a complete and successful modification of lignin. In addition, compared to unmodified lignin, it was visible that the modified lignin significantly improved the mechanical properties. Therefore, it was possible to conclude that the configuration and double bonds of the aldehydes had an impact on the vulcanization process. Butyric and isobutyric lignin were the better choices compared to the other lignin samples. / De rådande miljöproblemen som: plast- och gummiutsläpp i havet, växthusgasutsläppet och den ekologiska utarmningen i kombination med den ökande efterfrågan av fossilbaserade material har lett till en ökad satsning på att hitta mer hållbara och miljövänligare alternativ [1, 2]. Kimrök i gummimaterial utgör en del hälsorisker och samtidigt har negativ påverkan på miljön. Flertals studier visar att långtidsexponering av kimrök kan ge allvarliga lungproblem och även cancer [3,4]. På grund av dess stora tillgänglighet, låga kostnad och unika egenskaper anses lignin vara en möjlig och intressant framtidskandidat för ersättande av fossila produkter. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka möjligheterna om att ersätta kimrök med modifierad lignin i gummimaterial för utvecklandet av ’grönare däckteknologi’. Frågeställningarna i detta arbete var uppställda i fyra i olika delar: Hur påverkar tillsättningen av lignin (omodifierad och modifierad) gummiblandningens mekaniska egenskaper? Hur påverkar tillsättningen av lignin tvärbindningarna och vulkningen i gummiblandningen? Hur påverkas tillsättningen av lignin gummiblandningars dispersion? Vilken modifikation av lignin är mest kompatibel med gummimaterialet? Lignin är en organisk biopolymer som är den näst mest (efter cellulosa) förekommande biomassan i naturen och produceras som en biprodukt från pappers- och massa industrin. Ren lignin erhålls genom extraktion från svartlut med diverse isolations metoder. I detta arbete erhölls lignin genom Lignoboost processen från Lignocity.  Lignocity 2.0 är ett projekt som syftar till att utveckla, kommersiella och effektivisera hållbara processer och produkter med fokus på lignin. I detta arbete modifierades ligninet genom en s.k. esterfierings process av fem olika aldehyder 1.Propionic, 2. Butyric, 3. Isobutyric, 4. Methacrylic och 5. Crotonic som sedan undersöktes i en FTIR-spektra. Sju olika gummiblandningar skapades (inklusive ett gummi som endast innehöll kimrök och ett gummi som ej innehöll kimrök eller lignin). Gummiblandningarnas mekaniska egenskaper undersöktes på följande sätt: Dragstyrka, IRHD (Hårdhet), Hårdhet, studselasticiteten och reometrisk karaktärisering De ligninbaserade gummiblandningarna gav ingen signifikant förbättring i de mekaniska egenskaperna. Dock visade den reometriska kurvan att tillsättning av lignin gav en ökning i bränntid samt att ligninet gav en förskjutning i tvärbindningsfasen. Vidare gav den reometriska kurvan en indikation på att ligninet deltog i vulkaniseringsprocessen. Isobutyric lignin hade den högsta bränntiden. Det var även bevisat att tillsättningen av lignin gav en ökning i töjning. Modifieringen av lignin gav en signifikant förbättring av de mekaniska egenskaperna jämfört med omodifierad lignin. FTIR-spektrumet av ligninproven indikerade på en lyckad modifiering och koppling av aldehydgrupperna. Trots att de ligninbaserade gummiblandningarna inte förbättrade de mekaniska egenskaperna så kunde intressanta kopplingar mellan aldehydens konfigurationer, dubbelbindningar och vulkaniserings processen göras. Butyric och isobutyric visade bäst resultat jämfört de andra ligninproven.

The primary goal of this project is to develop an experimental setup for testing membrane materials. The membranes tested are all porous, hydrophilic and non- selective. The secondary goal is that the module finds use as an educational tool for learning about diffusion on a university level. The final setup consisted of two modified 250 ml polyethylene bottles with a wide neck joined together with a flange pinning the test object in between. In the experiments one side is loaded with a sodium chloride solution, while the other is loaded with pure deionized water. The conductivity change is then monitored in the chamber loaded with deionized water using a conductivity probe. Two test subjects are tested, an alpha Cellulose filter and a polycarbonate membrane. The mass transfer coefficient are determined to be 8.99*10-6 ± 3.90*10-6 [cm/min] and 3.62*10-5 ± 1.49*10-6 [cm/min] respectively. The large inconsistencies in the alpha cellulose filters results in large standard deviations, whereas the polycarbonate is very consistent and therefore have very small error bars. Meaning that the largest error in this design originates from inconsistencies between samples of the test subject. The setup is suitable as an educational tool due to short run times of one hour, the generated data only requires simple linear regression to extract mass transfer coefficients from the slope. The experiment can be varied further by adjusting temperature and stirring. / Det primära målet med det här projektet är att utveckla en experimentell uppställning för att testa membran. Alla testade membran är porösa, hydrofila och icke-selektiva. Det sekundära målet är att uppställningen kan användas som ett pedagogiskt verktyg för kurser i masstransport. Den slutliga uppställningen består av två modifierade 250 ml polyeten flaskor med vid hals, ihopsatta med en fläns som håller testobjektet på plats emellan flaskorna. I experimenten fylls en av kamrarna med saltlösning och den andra med avjoniserat vatten, konduktiviteten mäts i kammaren som laddas med avjoniserat vatten. Två objekt testades, ett alfacellulosa filter och ett polykarbonat membran. Massöverförings koefficienter bestämdes till 8.99*10-6 ± 3.90*10-6 [cm/min] för alfacellulosa filtret och 3.62*10-5 ± 1.49*10-6 [cm/min] för polykarbonat membranet. Det finns stora variationer i alfacellulosa materialet vilket leder till stora standardavvikelse i körningarna på alfacellulosa filtret, medan polykarbonat membranen var identiska och därmed har väldigt små felstaplar. Därmed kunde det fastslås att stora avvikelser nästan bara beror på variationer i testobjektet. Uppställningen lämpar sig för undervisning eftersom körningstiden är kort (1 timme) och massöverföringskoefficienten kan tas fram med linjär regression. Experimentet kan bland annat varieras genom att ändra temperatur och omrörning.

I Sverige har 379 barn och ungdomar under 19 år fått en cancerdiagnos under 2012.På de arbetsplatser där personalen inte var tillräcklig informerade observerades enhögre exponering för cytostatika i patienternas urin. Arbetare vid Avdelning förOnkologi är regelbundet exponerad för de toxiska substanserna. På lång sikt innebärdetta en yrkesmässig exponering för låga doser av cytostatika. Sammanfattningsvis ärdet sannolikt att exponeringen sker via huden och inte via luft och man vet ännu inteidag konsekvenserna av cytostatika substanser i avloppsvattnet. Detta till följd av förlite forskning om vilka konsekvenser detta har för miljön. Däremot finns det tydligastadgar och lagar för hantering och riskavfall som kan vara till hjälpmedel för de somhanterar dessa substanser. / In Sweden, 379 children and adolescents under the age of 19 was diagnosed withcancer in 2012. In workplaces where staff were not sufficiently informed they couldobserve a higher exposure in patients to cytotoxic drugs in urine. Workers at theDepartment of Oncology are regularly exposed to the toxic substances. In the longterm, it means an occupational exposure to low doses of chemotherapy drugs. Inconclusion, a probable exposure occurs through the skin and not through the air and atthis time we do not know the consequences of chemotherapy drugs in the sewage.This is the result of too little research, and what impact these substances have on theenvironment. However, there are clear statutes and laws for handling and waste thatcan help to reduce exposure for the staff.

Fettavskiljarslam är ett avfall som uppstår hos restauranger och på platser där matfett och matoljor används. För att förhindra att fettet sätter igen avlopp fångas det upp med en fettavskiljare. Dessa fettavskiljare töms sedan av slambilar som vidare lämnar slammet antingen för mellanlagring eller direkt för rötning och bildandet av biogas.   Ragn-­‐Sells AB hanterar ungefär 27 000 ton fettavskiljarslam varje år. 6000 ton av dessa placeras i  mellanlagringscistern på  Högbytorp  där  en  settlingprocess får  äga  rum.  Resterande  slam lämnas av logistiska skäl direkt för rötning. Mellanlagringscisternen vattendras med jämna mellanrum för att göra plats åt nytt slam. Vattenfasen tillsätts en av företagets andra processer, en rötslurry som sedan utnyttjas i rötningsprocesser.   Genom att hitta en metod för avvattning av slammet som fungerar enkelt och snabbt och är ekonomisk försvar kan slammet i stället för att lämnas för rötning bli en attraktiv råvara för till exempel biodrivmedel. De ändamål för materialet som undersökts är som råmaterial för produktion av biodiesel, förbränning som mixed fatty acids, rötning samt pyrolys. Vid biodieselproduktion spelar vattenhalt och halten av fria fettsyror en stor roll och ska slammet förbrännas är det viktigt att värmevärdet är högt samt att askalten är låg och att innehåll av eventuella tungmetaller är av låga nivåer.   Metoderna som undersökts för avvattning är settling, uppvärmd settling samt frysning av slammet. Frysning kan ske på tre olika vis. Frysa, tina och sedimentera, frysa, tina och dränera samt genom att frysa och separera. Analyser såsom värmevärde med bombkalorimeter, vattenhalt  med  Karl  Fisher-­‐titrering,   askhalt  och  torrsubstanshalt  genomfördes  sedan  på avskiljd fettfas. Även en metallanalys med ICP genomfördes samt kontroll av halt fria fettsyror som genomfördes av externt laboratorium.   Analyserna visar att den metod som bäst avvattnat fettet är att frysa och separera. Högst värmevärde får dock fettfas från den uppvärmda settlingen. Metod kan komma att väljas och ändras beroende på vad slammet ska användas till i nästa steg. Är biodieselproduktionen målet bör den metod som ger lägst vattenhalt väljas. Ska fettet utnyttjas för förbränning och kanske i framtiden ersätta fossila bränslen ska den metod som resulterar i högst värmevärde väljas.   Fettavskiljarslam är ett svårarbetat material, mycket på grund utav dess otrevliga odör, men det är också ett avfall som har högt energiinnehåll, är koldioxidneutralt samtidigt som det har stor potential att hjälpa människan att minska oljeberoendet. / Trap grease is a sludge that appears at restaurants and other facilites that uses fats and oils in their everyday work. To avoid clogging in the drains and sewer a grease trap is utilized. The grease traps are then emptied by sludge cars and from there either stored or directly delivered for production of biogas trough digestion. The storage is emptied on water to make room for more sludge. This water can contribute with moist and other nutrients for one the company’s other processes a sludge aimed for digestion.   Ragn-­‐Sells AB annually handles about 27 000 tonnes of trap grease, 6000 which is placed in intermediate storage and the rest left for production of biogas.   Finding a method for dewatering the sludge that is uncomplicated and economically justifiable could turn the sludge into a attractive feed stock for bio fuels, for example as a raw material in the production of bio diesel. Other purposes of the sludge could be combustion as mixed fatty acids, pyrolysis and also production of bio gas. If the sludge would be a component in production of bio diesel the water content need to be as low as possible the content of free fatty acids also needs to be low. If the sludge would be used for combustion the heating value should be high as high as possible and the ash residue is desirable to keep low.   The methods for dewatering tested in this work is a settling method, heated settling and also by freezing the sludge. The freezing can be performed in three ways. By freezing, thawing and sedimentation, by freezing, thawing and drain and at last freezing and separate. The analysis performed on the separated fat phase were testing of heating value with a bomb calorimeter, measuring of water content with Karl Fisher titration, ash residue and dry matter content. Analyses of metals in the sludge were done with inductively coupled plasma and an external laboratory analyzed the content of free fatty acids.   The results of the analysis showed that the best method for dewatering the sludge is to freeze and separate. The highest heating value was however showed by the heated settling method. Depending on the purpose of the sludge one or the other method may be chosen.   Trap grease is a complicated material to work with, most because of its unpleasant odor. But it is also a waste material that is rich in energy, is carbon dioxide neutral and has great potentials to help human kind to reduce the oil dependency.

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