The Swedish pulp and paper industry is the third largest exporter of pulp and paper products worldwide. It is a highly energy-demanding and water-utilising industry, which generates large volumes of wastewater rich in organic material. These organic materials are to different extents suitable for anaerobic digestion (AD) and production of energy-rich biomethane. The implementation of an AD process within the wastewater treatment plant of a mill would increase the treatment capacity and decrease the overall energy consumption due to less aeration and lower sludge production and in addition produce biomethane. Despite the many benefits of AD it is only applied at two mills in Sweden today. The reason for the low implementation over the years may be due to problems encountered linked to the complexity and varying composition of the wastewaters. Due to changes in market demands many mills have broadened their product portfolios and turned towards more refined products. This has increased both the complexity and the variations of the wastewaters´ composition even further, as the above changes can imply an increased pulp bleaching and utilisation of more diverse raw materials within the mills. The main aim of this thesis was therefore to generate knowledge needed for an expansion of the biomethane production within the pulp and paper industry. As a first step to achieve this an evaluation of the biomethane potential and the suitability for AD of wastewaters within a range of Swedish pulp and paper mills was performed. Thus, around 70 wastewater streams from 11 different processes at eight mills were screened for their biomethane potential. In a second step, the impact of shifts in wood raw material and bleaching on the AD process and the biomethane production was investigated and further evaluated in upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactors. The screening showed that the biomethane potential within the Swedish pulp and paper industry could be estimated to 700 GWh, which corresponds to 40% of the Swedish biomethane production during 2014. However, depending on the conditions at each specific mill the strategy for the establishment of AD needs to differ. For mills producing kraft pulp the potential is mainly found in wastewaters rich in fibres, alkaline kraft bleaching wastewaters and methanol-rich condensates. The biomethane potential within thermo-mechanical pulp- (TMP) and chemical thermo-mechanical pulp (CTMP) mills is mainly present in the total effluents after pre-sedimentation and in the bleaching effluents as these holds high concentrations of dissolved organic material. The screening further showed that the raw material used for pulp production is an important factor for the biomethane potential of a specific wastewater stream, i.e. hardwood (HW) wastewaters have higher potentials than those from softwood (SW) pulp production. This was confirmed in the lab-scale UASB reactor experiments, in which an alkaline kraft bleaching wastewater and a composite pulping and bleaching CTMP wastewater were used as substrates. AD processes were developed and maintained stable throughout shifts in wastewater composition related to changes in the wood raw materials between SW and HW for the kraft wastewater and spruce, aspen and birch for the CTMP wastewater. The lower biomethane production from SW- compared to HW wastewaters was due to a lower degradability together with a higher ratio of sulphuric compounds per TOC for the SW case. The impact of shifts between bleached and unbleached CTMP production could not be fully  evaluated in the continuous process mainly due to technical problems. However, due to the large increase in dissolved organic material when bleaching is applied, the potential biomethane production will increase during the production of bleached pulp compared to unbleached pulp. Based on the biomethane potentials obtained for one of the included CTMP mills, their yearly production of biomethane was estimated to 5-27 GWh with the lowest and the highest value corresponding to the production of unbleached spruce pulp vs. bleached birch pulp. Thus, the results of the investigations presented in this thesis show that the UASBreactor is suitable for AD of wastewaters within the pulp and paper industry. The results also show that challenges related to variations in the organic material composition of the wastewaters due to variations in wood raw materials could be managed. The outcome of the thesis work also imply that the production of more refined products, which may include the introduction of an increased number of raw materials and extended bleaching protocols, could increase the potential biomethane production, especially if the pulp production will make use of more HW. / Den svenska pappers- och massaindustrin är den tredje största exportören av massa och pappersprodukter och en viktig industriell aktör i Sverige. Det är en industri med hög energi- och vattenanvändning, som genererar stora mängder avloppsvatten rika på organiskt material. Detta organiska material kan via anaerob nedbrytning användas för att producera energirik biometan. Användandet av anaerob behandling, som ett steg i brukens vattenrening, genererar inte bara biometan utan kan också öka reningskapaciteten och minska energiförbrukning och kostnader tack vare minskat behov av luftning och minskad slamproduktion. Trots de många fördelarna med anaerob behandling är den idag bara tillämpad på två bruk i Sverige. En av orsakerna till detta kan vara processproblem som relaterats till avloppsvattnens komplexitet samt varierande sammansättning och flöden. Många pappers- och massabruk har utökat sina produktportföljer med bl a mer förfinade produkter, som en följd av en förändrad marknad. Dessa förändringar har ökat avloppsvattnens komplexitet och variation än mer, då ovan exempelvis kan medföra en ökad produktion av blekt massa samt att fler typer av träråvaror används vid ett och samma bruk. Huvudsyftet med föreliggande avhandling är att bidra med kunskap för en ökad produktion av biometan inom pappers- och massaindustrin. Som ett första steg genomfördes en övergripande utvärdering av ca 70 avloppsvattenströmmar från totalt 11 olika processer vid åtta svenska pappers- och massabruk med fokus på biometanpotential samt lämplighet för anaerob behandling. I ett andra steg utvärderades hur skiften i träråvara samt blekning påverkar biometanproduktionen samt processtabiliteten för en kontinuerlig anaerob nedbrytningsprocess i en UASBreaktor. Den initiala utvärderingen visade att den svenska pappers- och massaindustrin skulle kunna bidra med 700 GWh biometan per år, vilket motsvarar 40% av biometanproduktionen i Sverige under 2014. Beroende på utformningen av det enskilda bruket kommer strategier för implementering av anaeroba processer att se olika ut. För bruk som producerar sulfatmassa återfanns huvuddelen av biometanpotentialen i fiberrika avloppsvattenstömmar, alkaliska blekeriavlopp samt metanolrika kondensat. För bruk som producerar termomekanisk- (TMP) eller kemitermomekanisk (CTMP) massa föreligger biometanpotentialen framförallt i avloppsvatten rika på löst organiskt material såsom totalavlopp efter sedimentering och blekeriavlopp. Den initiala utvärderingen visade också att användandet av lövved ger en högre biometanpotential jämfört med barrved. Dessa resultat kunde bekräftas vid kontinuerliga experiment med anaerob nedbrytning i UASB-reaktorer, där ett alkaliskt blekeriavlopp från ett sulfatmassabruk och ett kombinerat massaproduktions- och blekeriavlopp från ett CTMP-bruk användes som substrat. Stabila anaeroba processer etablerades och bibehölls vid förändrad avloppsvattensammansättning på grund av skiften i träråvara (löv- och barrved för sulfatmassabruket samt gran, asp och björk för CTMP bruket). Den lägre produktionen av biometan för barrved jämfört med lövved kunde förklaras med en lägre nedbrytbarhet samt ett ökat svavelinnehåll i relation till mängden organiskt material. Skiften mellan avloppsvatten från blekt- och oblekt CTMP massa kunde inte utvärderas fullständigt i den kontinuerliga processen på grund av tekniska problem. Produktionen av blekt massa ökar dock mängden organiskt material i  avloppsvattnet, vilket medför att mer biometan kan produceras jämfört med då oblekt massa produceras. Baserat på biometanpotentialerna för ett av i studien ingående CTMP bruk uppskattas den årliga produktionen av biometan till 5-27 GWh, där den lägsta produktionen motsvarar oblekt granmassa och den högsta produktionen motsvarar blekt björkmassa. Sammanfattningsvis visar studien att UASB-reaktorer är lämpliga för anaerob behandling av avloppsvatten inom pappers- och massaindustrin. Vidare visar resultaten från de kontinuerliga försöken att de utmaningar som medförs av den varierande sammansättningen av avloppsvattnens organiska material knutet till träråvaran kan hanteras. Slutligen, breddade produktportföljer samt produktionen av mer förfinade produkter, vilket kan innebära en ökad massablekning och ett ökat användande av olika träråvaror, kan öka brukens potentiella biometanproduktion, särskilt om mer lövved används för massaproduktion.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how farmers in the region of Västerbotten work for a sustainable development according to climate change, and where resources could be put in place to make agriculture even more climate friendly. The method chosen was a qualitative interview study where eight farmers from the county were interviewed. Half of them had an ecological production, and the other half was conventional. All the interviews were recorded, and the raw data was put in a database in Excel and analyzed. The results showed differences between ecological and conventional production systems, such as which agricultural practice that was the most sustainable in the future. Many farmers described several ways of decreasing their own climate burden by changing to LED light bulbs, Eco driving, spring plowing and raising their cattle in an intensive system. The future for agriculture was hard to speculate about, but faith in politicians played a crucial role. There were thoughts about both moving backwards to family-oriented agriculture and to increase the animal units with big industry-like settings. Overall, my own conclusion states that agriculture should be more circular to be sustainable, and that the society should be more involved in this circularity for it to work. Intensively raised cattle fed with less concentrate, and less imported meat, seems like a sustainable production. The agriculture of the future should be close to nature but at the same time modern, and we must protect our countryside if we want to have a sustainable society.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:16:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DianaAF_DISSERT.pdf: 730598 bytes, checksum: 32a521165ba3fb9f772ad0546769d516 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-02-06 / Introdu??o: A asma se tornou um problema de sa?de p?blica devido aos seus grandes custos em cuidados de sa?de. Os exerc?cios respirat?rios constituem uma interven??o n?o farmacol?gica de baixo custo e baixo risco que vem sendo utilizada por fisioterapeutas em diferentes pa?ses no tratamento de pacientes asm?ticos. Objetivo: Avaliar a efic?cia dos exerc?cios respirat?rios no tratamento de pacientes adultos com asma nos seguintes desfechos: qualidade de vida, sintomas da asma, n?mero de exacerba??es agudas, epis?dios de hospitaliza??o, mensura??es fisiol?gicas (fun??o pulmonar e capacidade funcional), n?mero de consultas m?dicas, n?mero de faltas no trabalho devido a exacerba??es da doen?a, avalia??o subjetiva do paciente em rela??o ? interven??o. M?todo: Revis?o sistem?tica de estudos controlados randomizados com metan?lise realizada em parceria com a Colabora??o Cochrane. As seguintes bases de dados foram consultadas: the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, AMED, e PsycINFO, al?m de busca manual em revistas da ?rea e em resumos de congressos. Os seguintes termos foram utilizados: (breath*) and (exercise* or retrain* or train* or re-educat* or educat* or physiotherap* or "physical therap*" or "respiratory therapy" or buteyko ). As listas de refer?ncias dos estudos selecionados e registros de ensaios cl?nicos tamb?m foram consultados. A sele??o dos estudos e a avalia??o do risco de vi?s dos estudos inclu?dos foram realizadas de maneira independente por dois revisores. O software Review Manager foi utilizado para an?lise dos dados, no qual o modelo de efeito fixo foi utilizado. As vari?veis cont?nuas foram expressas como diferen?a de m?dia ponderada com um intervalo de confian?a de 95%. A heterogeneidade dos resultados dos estudos inclu?dos foi realizada por meio da an?lise dos Forest plots. O teste qui-quadrado (Chi2) com um P valor de 0.10 foi utilizado para indicar signific?ncia estat?stica. O ?ndice de heterogeneidade (I2) foi implementado com um valor acima de 50% como um n?vel substancial de heterogeneidade. Resultados: 13 estudos envolvendo 906 pacientes est?o atualmente inclu?dos na revis?o. Os seguintes desfechos foram mensurados pelos estudos inclu?dos: qualidade de vida, sintomas da asma, n?mero de exacerba??es agudas e fun??o pulmonar. Os estudos relataram uma melhora na qualidade de vida, sintomas da asma e n?mero de exacerba??es agudas. Seis dos onze estudos que avaliaram fun??o pulmonar mostraram uma diferen?a significativa favor?vel aos exerc?cios respirat?rios. N?o houve relato de efeitos adversos. Devido ? heterogeneidade substancial encontrada entre os estudos, metan?lise foi poss?vel apenas para sintomas da asma, a qual incluiu dois estudos e mostrou uma diferen?a significativa favor?vel aos exerc?cios respirat?rios. A avalia??o do risco de vi?s foi prejudicada devido ao relato incompleto de aspectos metodol?gicos pela maioria dos estudos inclu?dos. Conclus?o: Embora os resultados encontrados pelos estudos inclu?dos demonstraram individualmente que os exerc?cios respirat?rios podem ser importantes no tratamento da asma, n?o h? evid?ncia conclusiva nesta revis?o para suportar ou refutar a efic?cia desta interven??o no tratamento de pacientes asm?ticos. Este fato foi devido ?s diferen?as metodol?gicas entre os estudos inclu?dos e ? aus?ncia de relato de aspectos metodol?gicos por parte da maioria dos estudos inclu?dos. N?o h? dados dispon?veis em rela??o aos efeitos dos exerc?cios respirat?rios nos seguintes desfechos: epis?dios de hospitaliza??o, n?mero de consultas m?dicas, n?mero de faltas no trabalho devido a exacerba??es da doen?a, e avalia??o subjetiva do paciente em rela??o ? interven??o

This master thesis is dealing with monitoring of gaseous products of microbial decomposition of organic pollution in constructed wetland. This wetland was used for wastewater treatment in a village Slavošovice, Czech Republic. Emissions of CO2, CH4 and N2O were measured in one treatment bed of the system. The emissions were quantified, their seasonal course was followed, and the main factors affecting gaseous emissions were identified. Only 3 % of total C emissions were in form of methane, N2O emissions were negligible and only 1,5 % of nitrogen denitrified were in form of N2O. Carbon and nitrogen balances of the system were estimated.

There were two points of research in this graduation work. The first was IFBB technology (Integrated generation of Solid Fuel and Biogas from Biomass) used for preparation of the substrate for fermentation. The second point was to test reactor with sludge cloud (completed with external biomass separator). This reactor was filled by substrate (prepared by IFBB technology) from agricultural biogas energy plant located in Chotýčany. After IFBB preparation substrate was filled in laboratory reactor´s group. Then it was inoculated by digestate. Digestate is a substance, which is in the end of fermentation process. That substance was first taken in biogas station Chotýčany, then, for comparsion, from station Věžovatá Pláně. Results are that IFBB technology is good for substrate preparation and folowing fermentation is better. Reactor with sludge cloud is good for intensive fermentation. Efficiency of the reactor was measured by CHSKCr. The best fermentation was found after using inoculum from Věžovatá Pláně. The best temperature for fermentation was 50 degree Celsius for both inoculums.

Power to X, hereinafter PtX, is a conversion of electricity into some kind of energy carrier, such as gas or liquid. The purpose of the technique is often to store “excess” energy from renewable energy sources, usually wind power, in order to use it later. One aspect ofPtX is Power to Gas, hereinafter PtG, which involves the conversion of electricity often by the use of an electrolyser into a gaseous energy carrier, such as hydrogen or methane. The technology is a promising strategy for balancing the electricity supply in countries that striveto have near zero carbon dioxide emissions and have to rely on renewable energy sources. Another part of PtX that has received more attention lately and that may be important in the future, with more fluctuating electricity prices due to a larger share of renewableenergy in the energy systems, is the technique Power to gas to power, PtGtP. In PtGtP electrical energy, often with the help of anelectrolyser, is converted and stored in a gaseous energy carrier and later on when there is an electricity shortage it is converted backinto electrical energy through fuel cells. PtGtP can therefore be seenas a further development of PtG. The purpose of the study is therefore to investigate the potential forPtX, more specifically PtG and PtGtP in Sweden in terms ofprofitability. PtG was investigated considering production of hydrogenand methane where the hydrogen was sold as fuel for vehicles and the methane was injected into the gas distribution network in Stockholm.The methane production also results in surplus heat which was injected into the district heating network. To investigate this, a qualitativecase study was carried out on two hypothetical facilities. One fromthe Swedish company Euromekanik, that produces hydrogen and one from the German company Electrochaea that produces methane. Euromekanik’s facility was also used for the PtGtP application. The results weremainly based on the electricity prices of 2019. However, electricityprices for 2017, 2018 as well as more volatile electricity prices havebeen examined. Simulations of the input- and output flows in thefacilities have been performed in MATLAB and profitabilitycalculations have been performed using the net present value methodand the profitability index. A sensitivity analysis was conducted inwhich the values of the most important parameters were varied. The results regarding PtG in this study show that the idea ofproduction should take place when the electricity prices are low canbe rejected. The results also show that the conversion of hydrogeninto methane decreases the profitability. Running the PtG plant allhours of the year and producing hydrogen is therefore the mostprofitable design of the plant, even though this set-up still resultsin a negative net present value of approximately 24 MSEK after 20years. The result from the investigation of PtGtP shows that due tothe low system efficiency, the electricity sold back to the grid needsto have a price of 5000-6000 SEK/MWh for the plant to break-even when purchasing electricity a fourth of the hours of the year with thelowest electricity price. With the pattern and prices on the Swedish electricity market today this technique will not be profitable.However, both PtG and PtGtP will most likely have another value than solely the economic profitability in terms of energy storage andsystem balancing functions, though that has not been examined in this thesis.

The diploma thesis is focusing on the seasonal energy storage in synthetic fuels and the Power to Gas system (P2G). The P2G enables the conversion of electrical energy in times of electricity surplus, for example by using the surplus from renewable energy sources to produce synthetic gas, particulary hydrogen and synthetic methane. The main focus is on the technical and economic assessment of P2G of the Gazela natural gas pipeline. Furthermore, it identifies the limits of production, transportation, and storage capacities of these synthetic gases. The technical analysis assumes the injection of hydrogen of a certain molar concentration, according to the four proposed scenarios, into the natural gas transmission system in the Gazela pipeline. The results have showen that an increase in the molar fraction of hydrogen in natural gas will cause problems in gas transport and will lead to an increase in the pressure losses, an increase in flow rate, and a decrease in the storage capacity of the pipeline. The economic analysis examines the use of P2G technology in Czech conditions. It demonstrates the amount of production costs for the production of 1 MWh of synthetic gas depending on the electricity price and the operating time of the production facility. The sensitivity analysis has shown that neither hydrogen nor synthetic methane is competitive next to cheap natural gas unless measures like an increased price of emission allowances or a carbon tax are taken.

This thesis deals with the sludge management in wastewater treatment plants. It provides a basic overview of methods for modifying risk material in sludge ending. The main goal of this work is to create a fault trees based on faults which occurred in the sludge management facilities. Furthermore, it was created frequency of failures assessment of the objects on wastewater treatment plant in Hodonín. Provided information were obtained during excursions of WWTP Hodonín and Zbýšov.

There are a lot of uncertainties when it comes to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions which affects society’s ability to effectively respond to climate change. Small ponds have been found to potentially play a large role in global warming. More research is needed, however, to determine to what extent they act as sources or sinks for GHGs, and what factors may contribute. The aim of this thesis was to study carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, and carbon burial in a small pond in Uppsala, Sweden. The pond was a source for both CO2 and CH4, but a sink for N2O. About 50% of CH4 emissions came from ebullition (bubbles). CO2 flux was higher in the vegetated area than in the open water area, no difference was found for CH4 flux. Both CO2 and CH4 flux were higher on colder days, while CH4 ebullition was higher on warmer days. Limited accumulation of CO2 and CH4 occurred under the winter ice coverage. For water chemistry, CO2 flux had the strongest negative relationship with electrical conductivity (EC), nitrate (NO3−) and nitrite (NO2−), and positive with total phosphorous (TP). CH4 flux showed the strongest negative correlation with chlorophyll-a (chl-a) and total nitrogen (TN), and positive with EC and total dissolved solids (TDS). For extracellular enzyme activity, CO2 flux had a very strong positive correlation with β-D-glucosidase (BG), as did CH4 with N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG). Carbon burial rate was low making the pond a carbon source and inefficient at burying carbon / Det finns många osäkerheter vad gäller globala utsläpp av växthusgaser vilket påverkar samhällets förmåga att effektivt motarbeta den globala uppvärmningen. Små dammar har potentiellt förmågan att ha en stor påverkan på klimatet, men mer forskning behövs för att avgöra i vilken utsträckning de fungerar som källor eller sänkor för växthusgaser, samt vilka faktorer som påverkar deras utsläpp eller förmåga att binda kol. Målet med denna studie var att undersöka utsläpp av koldioxid (CO2), metan (CH4) och lustgas (N2O), samt kolbindning i en liten damm i Uppsala, Sverige. Dammen var en nettoutsläppare av CO2 och CH4, men en nettoupptagare av N2O. CH4 i form av ebullition (bubblor) stod för ungefär 50% av CH4 utsläppen. CO2 flödet var högre i områden med växtlighet jämfört med områden med öppet vatten, för CH4 hittades ingen skillnad mellan dessa områden. Under kallare dagar var CO2 och CH4 flödet högre, medan ebullition av CH4 var högre under varmare dagar. Under vintern skedde minimal ackumulation av CO2 och CH4 under istäcket. För vattenkemin hade CO2 flödet starkast negativ korrelation med elektrisk konduktivitet (EC), nitrat (NO3−) och nitrit (NO2−), och positiv korrelation med totalfosfor (TP). CH4 flödet visade det starkaste negativa förhållandet med klorofyll a (chl-a) och totalkväve (TN), och positiv korrelation med EC och totalt upplösta fasta ämnen (TDS). För extracellulär enzymaktivitet hade CO2 flödet en mycket stark positiv korrelation med β-D-glucosidase (BG), medan CH4 flödet hade en mycket stark positiv korrelation med N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG). Kolbegravningshastigheten var låg vilket resulterade i att dammen var en kolkälla med låg förmåga att binda kol.

Katalytisk förbränning är en lovande teknik för användning vid kraftgenerering, särskilt för gasturbiner. Genom att använda katalytisk förbränning kan man nå mycket låga emissioner av kväveoxider (NOX), kolmonoxid (CO) och oförbrända kolväten (UHC) samtidigt, vilket är svårt vid konventionell förbränning. Förutom att man erhåller låga emissioner, kan katalytisk förbränning stabilisera förbränningen och kan därmed användas för att uppnå stabil förbränning för gaser med låga värmevärden. Denna avhandling behandlar huvudsakligen högtemperaturdelen av den katalytiska förbränningskammaren. Kraven på denna del har visat sig svåra att nå. För att den katalytiska förbränningskammaren ska kunna göras till ett alternativ till den konventionella, måste katalysatorer med bättre stabilitet och aktivitet utvecklas. Målet med denna avhandling har varit att utveckla katalysatorer med högre aktivitet och stabilitet, lämpliga för högtemperaturdelen av en katalytisk förbränningskammare för förbränning av naturgas. En mikroemulsionsbaserad framställningsmetod utvecklades för att undersöka om den kunde ge katalysatorer med bättre stabilitet och aktivitet. Bärarmaterial som är kända för sin stabilitet, magnesia och hexaaluminat, framställdes med den nya metoden. Mikroemulsionsmetoden användes också för att impregnera de framställda materialen med de mer aktiva materialen perovskit (LaMnO3) och ceriumdioxid (CeO2). Det visade sig att mikroemulsionsmetoden kan användas för att framställa katalysatorer med bättre aktivitet jämfört med de konventionella framställningsmetoderna. Genom att använda mikroemulsionen för att lägga på aktiva material på bäraren erhölls också en högre aktivitet jämfört med konventionella beläggningsstekniker. Eftersom katalysatorerna ska användas under lång tid i förbräningskammaren utfördes också en åldringsstudie. Som jämförelse användes en av de mest stabila materialen som rapporterats i litteraturen: LMHA (mangan-substituerad lantan-hexaaluminat). Resultaten visade att LMHA deaktiverade mycket mer jämfört med flera av katalysatorerna innehållande ceriumdioxid på hexaaluminat som framställts med den utvecklade mikroemulsionstekniken. / Catalytic combustion is a promising technology for power applications, especially gas turbines. By using catalytic combustion ultra low emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOX), carbon monoxide (CO) and unburned hydrocarbons (UHC) can be reached simultaneously, which is very difficult with conventional combustion technologies. Besides achieving low emission levels, catalytic combustion can stabilize the combustion and thereby be used to obtain stable combustion with low heating-value gases. This thesis is focused on the high temperature part of the catalytic combustor. The level of performance demanded on this part has been proven hard to achieve. In order to make the catalytic combustor an alternative to the conventional flame combustor, more stable catalysts with higher activity have to be developed. The objective of this work was to develop catalysts with higher activity and stability, suitable for the high-temperature part of a catalytic combustor fueled by natural gas. A microemulsion-based preparation method was developed for this purpose in an attempt to increase the stability and activity of the catalysts. Supports known for their stability, magnesia and hexaaluminate, were prepared using the new method. The microemulsion method was also used to impregnate the prepared material with the more active materials perovskite (LaMnO3) and ceria (CeO2). It was shown that the microemulsion method could be used to prepare catalysts with better activity compared to the conventional methods. Furthermore, by using the microemulsion to apply active materials onto the support a significantly higher activity was obtained than when using conventional impregnation techniques. Since the catalysts will operate in the catalytic combustor for extended periods of time under harsh conditions, an aging study was performed. One of the most stable catalysts reported in the literature, LMHA (manganese-substituted lanthanum hexaaluminate), was included in the study for comparison purposes. The results show that LMHA deactivated much more strongly compared to several of the catalysts consisting of ceria supported on lanthanum hexaaluminate prepared by the developed microemulsion method. / QC 20101104