The research in this thesis considers novel innovative developments in established industrial processes that involve the use of recyclable polymeric particles as a partial replacement for aqueous media and chemicals. The application of the technology typically leads to water savings of over 80% and chemical savings of over 25%. These industrial processes may be characterised in that are considered inefficient and wasteful but nevertheless are considered economically vital. These diverse industries including laundry cleaning, leather manufacturing, textile garment processing, effluent treatment and metal beverage can manufacture. The outcomes of this research have made significant contributions to industrial best practice in such industries. In terms of academic research, the knowledge created in this thesis provides the basis for the application of CFD-DEM modelling to understand complex multi-phase and multi-component systems. In particular, the thesis advocates the application of the Free Surface Lattice Boltzmann Method for creating highly accurate simulations of multi-phase flow. In addition, the thesis offers opportunities for further research in novel plasma micro-reactors and their applications in diverse fields such as chemical synthesis, chemical engineering and biotechnology. The nature of the research is multi-disciplinary, and involved investigations across several fields including applied mathematics, biochemistry, chemistry, physics, and engineering. The projects also involved scale up from laboratory, pilot plant and full commercial scale production trials. Primary objectives were investigated through a series of six published patents. The three patents relating to the development of novel leather and textile processes were solely conceived and executed by the author. The patent related to the development of the plasma micro-reactor for ozone synthesis was conceived and executed jointly by the author and Professor Will Zimmerman (Sheffield University). The two patents related to the development of a novel metal cleaning and treatment process was conceived and executed jointly by the author and Dr. Robert Bird (Xeros Technology Group Limited).

Increased salinity in freshwater systems – also called the Freshwater Salinization Syndrome (FSS) – can have far-ranging implications for the natural and built environment, agriculture, and public health at large. Such risks are clearly on display in the Occoquan Reservoir – a drinking water source for roughly one million people in the northern Virginia/ National Capital Region. Sodium concentrations in the Occoquan Reservoir are approaching levels that can affect taste and health. The Reservoir is also noteworthy as a flagship example of indirect potable reuse, which further adds complexity to understanding the sources of rising levels of sodium and other types of salinity. To help understand the role residential discharges might play in salinization of the Occoquan Reservoir, a suite of laundry detergent products was identified based upon survey data collected in the northern Virginia region. The ionic compositions of these products were then characterized using ion chromatography and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry to quantify select ionic and elemental analytes. Sodium, chloride, and sulfate were consistently found in appreciable amounts. To comparatively characterize the laundry detergents, principal component analysis was employed to identify clusters of similar products. The physical formulation of the products was identified as a marker for their content, with dry formulations (free-flowing and encapsulated powders) being more enriched in sodium and sulfate. This result was corroborated by comparing nonparametric bootstrap intervals for individual analytes. The study's findings suggest an opportunity wherein consumer choice can play a role in mediating residential salt inputs in receiving bodies such as the Occoquan Reservoir. / Master of Science / Many streams, rivers, and other freshwater systems have become increasingly salty in recent decades. A rise in salinity can be problematic, stressing aquatic life, corroding pipes, and even enhancing the release of more pollutants into the water. This phenomenon, called Freshwater Salinization Syndrome, can threaten such systems' ability to serve as sources of drinking water, as is the case for the Occoquan Reservoir in northern Virginia. Serving roughly one million people, the Reservoir is notable for being one of the first in the country to purposely incorporate highly treated wastewater upstream of a drinking water supply. Despite the Reservoir's prominence, the reasons behind its rising salt levels are not well understood. This study sought to understand the role that individual residences could play when household products travel down the drain and are ultimately discharged into the watershed. Laundry detergents are potentially high-salt products. A survey of northern Virginian's laundry habits was conducted to understand local tastes and preferences. Informed by the survey, a suite of laundry detergents was chemically characterized to measure salt and element concentrations. The detergents were found to have notable amounts of sodium, chloride, and sulfate in particular, with sodium being the most abundant analyte in every detergent. However, not all detergents were equally salty; statistical tools revealed that dry formulations (such as powdered and powder-filled pak detergents) contributed more sodium and sulfate, among other things. This study's findings suggest that laundry detergents could be contributing to Freshwater Salinization Syndrome in the Occoquan Reservoir, and that local consumers' choice of detergents could make a difference.

The illicit practice of money laundering (ML) poses global challenges, causing harmful repercussions for society. Legislators worldwide have placed financial institutions at the forefront of initiatives aimed at preventing ML. Even with the adoption of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) measures, financial institutions continue to face challenges in combating illicit financial activity. Prior investigations primarily concentrated on evaluating the regulatory framework itself, leaving gaps in understanding other aspects causing ineffective AML efforts. Going further in-depth, this study aims to explore how institutional pressure leads to ineffective ML prevention within Finnish financial institutions. To address these challenges, the institutional theory and several concepts supported the exploration of the institutional environment, with due consideration given to social constructs. Furthermore, a qualitative approach is employed due to the exploratory nature of this study. It consists of the analysis of both classified and public official documents from the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA), interviews held with representatives actively involved in financial institutions' AML efforts, and other official AML guidelines. The findings of this study acknowledge the suboptimal regulatory pressure and reveal instances of data deficiencies. However, the social context emerged as the most influential factor, highlighting the gap between AML efforts and ML activities.

<p>This thesis investigates the way to implement a valuable e-commerce solution. With the growing importance of information technologies in business practices, more and more companies are adopting e-commerce as a selling and ordering process. However, depending on the market environment, the level of success of the implementation may differ. The purpose of this study is therefore to examine what are the conditions required for a successful B2B e-commerce implementation in different market contexts.</p><p>Theories related to the impact of markets' contexts on e-commerce, the business process, and the drivers and enablers of e-commerce have been considered. Thereafter the current situation of Star Laundry Solutions (SLS) has been studied. The context of different markets – France, United Kingdom, Turkey - where they have dealers, the business process drivers of implementations and success factors of a valuable e-commerce solution have been investigated. The result of the empirical studied are analyzed in comparison with the theoretical findings. Through this method, the main research question of the thesis, namely “What are the necessary conditions to implement a value-adding e-commerce solution in different market contexts?” can be answered.</p><p>Several conditions have been identified in order to succeed the implementation and bring value to the different players along the supply chain, from the manufacturer to the end-customer. The market should first answer different criteria. Further, future users of the web solution must support the implementation, trust between parties must also emerge from the implementation, and additional information must be provided on the website such as product numbers (PNCs), products' availability and delivery times.</p><p>The provided recommendations of this thesis regarding the features of the web solution, the range of products that dealers and importers should be able to order online and the range of companies that should be allowed to use the web solution in Turkey.</p>

This thesis investigates the way to implement a valuable e-commerce solution. With the growing importance of information technologies in business practices, more and more companies are adopting e-commerce as a selling and ordering process. However, depending on the market environment, the level of success of the implementation may differ. The purpose of this study is therefore to examine what are the conditions required for a successful B2B e-commerce implementation in different market contexts. Theories related to the impact of markets' contexts on e-commerce, the business process, and the drivers and enablers of e-commerce have been considered. Thereafter the current situation of Star Laundry Solutions (SLS) has been studied. The context of different markets – France, United Kingdom, Turkey - where they have dealers, the business process drivers of implementations and success factors of a valuable e-commerce solution have been investigated. The result of the empirical studied are analyzed in comparison with the theoretical findings. Through this method, the main research question of the thesis, namely “What are the necessary conditions to implement a value-adding e-commerce solution in different market contexts?” can be answered. Several conditions have been identified in order to succeed the implementation and bring value to the different players along the supply chain, from the manufacturer to the end-customer. The market should first answer different criteria. Further, future users of the web solution must support the implementation, trust between parties must also emerge from the implementation, and additional information must be provided on the website such as product numbers (PNCs), products' availability and delivery times. The provided recommendations of this thesis regarding the features of the web solution, the range of products that dealers and importers should be able to order online and the range of companies that should be allowed to use the web solution in Turkey.

The use of gas microturbines as a primary unit in CHP is still weak in the industrial process. It gives the driving force to the main aim of this master thesis, which is the technical and economic evaluation of the gas microturbines waste heat recovery system, which is the key factor for their economic sustainability. Assignment contains description of CHP system that was gradually built in LENP laboratory, part of NETME Centre. The author has joined the final work before start-up of the CHP system. He presents and describes results of the first experiments on this unit. The flue gas of a microturbine was used for heating water by heat exchanger flue gas–water and for direct linen drying. The case study of laundry with capacity 10 tons per shift was developed in cooperation with companies in laundry care. Results of those tests were used to process integration and utilization of this professional industrial laundry All obstacles found and opportunities of the use of microturbines are comprehensively described and tested in case studies, which are simulated in Chemstation Chemcad Software. Results of the thesis are expected to be useful these fields: the use of gas microturbines in industry & energy savings in industrial laundries.

This master’s thesis deals with problematics of natural gas microturbine integration into industrial laundry operation. This integration means utilization of waste heat for direct drying and water heating in a heat exchanger. This heated water can be used in further laundry processes, for example laundering. All the experiments were carried out on the cogeneration system that is installed in Laboratory of Energy Intensive Processes in NETME Centre at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of Brno University of Technology. This system consists of a natural gas microturbine Capstone C30 with nominal electric power of 30 kW, an industrial dryer Primus DX55 with a nominal capacity of 55 kg for laundry and a heat exchanger Vakading type Vakavlas with nominal power of 53 kW. All necessary theoretical and technical preparation was done in order to carry out experiments as follows: • Standard drying program • Water accumulation test • Test of performance of heat exchanger • Direct drying with the use of microturbine’s flue gases These experiments were analyzed and discussed within this thesis. The main contribution of this work is as follows: • Summary of all the knowledge in the area of direct drying • Creation of methodology of utilization of flue gases for direct drying not only in laundry industry but in related fields • Summary of requirements and ways of heat exchanger testing and determination of heat exchanger parameters • Determination of optimal working settings of installed cogeneration system • Description of weak spots in the system and suggested improvements • Basic economic analysis of operating costs During the experiments, it was found that in case of direct drying better results could be achieved in comparison with standard drying. The functionality of the whole system together with the heat exchanger was verified and thus also the possibility of integrating the turbine into the washing process was confirmed. The integration of a natural gas microturbine is both technically and economically feasible for many industrial applications.

This thesis follows up the creation of business plan for establishment of new company called EasyWash. The company focuses on functioning of self-service laundry in Brno. The first part describes the theoretical background and methods, that are needed to perform all analyzes and proposals. In the analytical part I dealt with the creation of its own business model of the company. Part of the proposal of a business plan is the marketing, organization structure, schedule and financial planning. A certain part was devoted to the evaluation of risk factors.

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Studien syftade till att undersöka förekomsten samt utformningen av samarbeten mellan kriminella nätverk, samt vad dessa aspekter har för betydelse för brottsligheten. Vidare ämnade studien att kvalitativt undersöka de kriminella nätverkens penningtransaktioner till utlandet, samt hur dessa kunde kopplas till tidigare forskning, med avsikt att få en djupare förståelse kring internationell ekonomisk brottslighet. Centralt för detta arbete var det material som undersöktes i form av domslut, med tillhörande förundersökningsprotokoll, gällande valutaväxlingskontoret World Exchange. Den valda metoden social nätverksanalys (SNA) användes för att kartlägga nätverkspositioner och deras relationer. En kvalitativ analys applicerades beträffande de internationella transaktionerna som fördjupades med hjälp av den tillgängliga Encrochatbevisningen. Resultaten visade på att det förekommer en viss grad av gruppöverskridande brottsliga samarbeten - nexus - mellan de studerade nätverken. De mer tongivande nätverken, inom kontexten för transaktionerna inom World Exchange, påvisades även inneha en central position gällande de ekonomiska transaktioner som överfördes till utlandet. / The study aimed to investigate the existence and design of nexus between criminal networks and what significance these aspects have for criminality. Furthermore, the study aimed to qualitatively examine the criminal networks money transactions abroad, and how these could be linked to previous research, with the intention of gaining a deeper understanding of international economic crime. Central to this work was the material examined in the form of verdicts, with accompanying preliminary investigation protocols, concerning the currency exchange office World Exchange. The chosen method Social Network Analysis (SNA) was used to map network positions and their relationships. A qualitative analysis was applied to the international transactions that were deepened using the available Encrochats. The results showed that there is a certain degree of cross-group criminal cooperation - nexus - between the studied networks. Additionally, the results exhibited that the more dominant networks, within the context of the transactions within World Exchange, also held a central position regarding the financial transactions transferred abroad.