Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Texas at Arlington, 2008.

Thesis ( Ph.D. ) -- University of Texas at Arlington, 2008.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri, School of Mines and Metallurgy, 1932. / The entire thesis text is included in file. Typescript. Title from title screen of thesis/dissertation PDF file (viewed July 15, 2010) Includes bibliographical references (p. 51) and index (p. 52-53).

Environmental concern and the possibility of energy shortages have drawn attention to means for recovering material and energy resources from waste products. The focus of this thesis is on the application of cost-benefit analysis as a methodological technique for evaluating the economics of resource recovery: namely used lubrication oil. The study initially focuses on the general concern of the economics of resource recovery. This is undertaken primarily by a review of existing literature. An investigation of cost-benefit analysis as advanced by Pearce, Pearce and Dasgupta, Canadian Treasury Board Secretariat, Winch, Nath, Anderson, and Settle, to name a few, reveal a comprehensive and systematic framework for the evaluation of public investment alternatives. Items for inclusion in the analysis are all costs and benefits to every member of, a defined society whose welfare would be affected by the project if implemented. Many goods and services do not enter into the market system, causing difficulty in deriving monetary values for some of the components, especially environmental concerns. For example, the case study reveals two areas: 1) benefit of pollution abatement stemming from resource recovery of used lubrication oil, and 2) costs associated with the improper disposal of the waste products from the recycling process of used lubrication oil. An attempt is made to apply the cost-benefit framework to the case of lubrication oil recycling in the province of British Columbia. Adequate quantitative data were not available, particularly on the social costs and benefits, to fully employ the cost-benefit technique, therefore restricting the analysis in that only an identification of costs and benefits was prepared. When quantification of costs and benefits is not possible, a detailed description of the unquantifiable items indicates to the decision maker the extent of the components. Included in this study is a presentation of the environmental impacts of used oil disposal. The limitations of the cost-benefit analysis as an evaluation technique arise because of limited information and data needed to evaluate, in monetary terms, environmental improvement. Future research could involve a "simulation" of the market to determine a plausible shadow price that gives an indication of what the market price of the item would have been if it had been normally traded. A determination of the price that consumers would be willing to pay for the benefits of pollution control with the knowledge that some pollution would be produced by the recycling activity would aid the analyst in placing values on the costs and benefits. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2008. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xv, 159 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 96-102).

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2001. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xiv, 160 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 120-122).

No description available.

Three new quantitative Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic methods were developed to measure key lubricant condition monitoring parameters; total acid number (TAN), total base number (TBN), and moisture (H2O). All methods employ a common sample-handling accessory and are based on the addition of specific reagents designed to react stoichiometrically with target species in oils, with quantification being carried out using differential FTIR spectroscopy. The combined use of a stoichiometric reaction and differential spectroscopy overcomes the need for a reference oil, which has traditionally hindered quantitative analysis of lubricants by FTIR spectroscopy. Potassium hydroxide, trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and 2,2-dimethoxypropane (DMP) were the stoichiometric reagents used to develop the FTIR TAN, TBN and H2 O methods, respectively. Calibrations were developed using either peak height measurements or partial least squares (PLS) regression and the methods were validated using standard addition techniques, as the ASTM (American Society of Testing and Materials) standard methods were not sufficiently reproducible to make valid comparisons. Validation of the methods indicated that the TAN, TBN and H2O methods had accuracies of +/-0.095 mg KOH/g, +/-0.5 mg KOH/g and +/-32ppm respectively and corresponding reproducibilities of +/-0.05 mg KOH/g, +/-0.17 mg KOH/g and +/-22 ppm. The TAN, TBN and H2O methods were implemented on a Continuous Oil Analysis and Treatment (COATRTM) System, integrating instrumentation, software and sample handling so as to provide packaged, user and environmentally friendly analytical methods that are alternatives to conventional ASTM wet chemical methods.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2008. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xii, 152 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 111-119).