In Boden, northern part of Sweden, there is a site called Solgårdarna which has been used for wood impregnation. The activities on the site have led to soil contamination with chrome (Cr), copper (Cu) and arsenic (As), where the arsenic contamination is the most problematic. This master’s thesis has studied the possibility to stabilise As in-situ with iron (Fe). The aim of the thesis was to investigate how well the distribution of Fe in the soil with the help of electrokinetics occurs. The work was divided into 3 parts, where part 1 and part 2 were performed in the laboratory and part 3 was performed in field. Part 1 investigated how Fe can distribute depending on how the electrodes were connected. This was done using quartz sand so visual assessment of the distribution could be done. Part 2 used the results from part 1 for a similar experiment performed on soil from Solgårdarna to see how stabilisation of As in the soil will work. Part 3 was a field test at Solgårdarna where it was tested on a pilot scale. Part 1 of was performed in two sets, 7 days each. It showed that it is possible to spread iron in the sand with the help of this method. The sand experiments achieved a covering area of 27 % respectively 28 % of rust over the entire profile during one week. Measurement with the XRF showed that where the electrode had been located the concentration of Fe increased up to 0.21-0.29 % and the concentration of Fe between the electrodes were 0.04-0.06 %. Part 2 of the experiment was performed in one setup over a 51-day period, after day 35 the experimental setup was changed due to highly fluctuating pH. The results from the experiment with soil showed that the pH is highly affected by how long the electrodes close to the sampling points were anodes or cathodes. During the experiment, a general trend for increasing As concentration in the different locations in the cell were seen. After the experiment the leachable amounts of As decreased down to 0.8-1.7 mg/kg TS compared to the untreated soil, 2.9 mg/kg TS. Part 3 of the experiment represent a 2-month field pilot test period during the autumn. Towards the end of the sampling period there was a general decrease in dissolved As and Fe in the groundwater, during the same time the groundwater level decreased, the redox potential increased and the electrical conductivity decreased. The laboratory experiments with the sand showed a removal rate around 90 % or higher, which is a good result. Those experiments were however performed using a clean inert material which is not comparable with real conditions. The field experiment was done over a short period of time due to time limitations of this thesis, while follow up of the pilot test was done within the scope of a continued research project at LTU. The given results showed a decrease in dissolved arsenic in groundwater which is a positive result. To determine whether the decrease is due to the natural adsorption of As to soil or due to the impact of provided Fe oxides requires longer monitoring of the experiment.

The Björkdal gold deposit is situated in the Skellefte mining district, northern Sweden. The ore is mined from a complex system of quartz veins ranging from a few cm to a meter in width. The mineral processing steps at Björkdal comprises a flotation circuit, which performance is dependent on the pH of the ore feed. A total of ten samples from five different ore zones from the underground development was investigated with the purpose of improving the understanding of factors that causes the pH value of rock samples to vary which is deleterious to the metal recovery. The samples were investigated with optical microscopy together with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and automated mineralogy (QEMSCAN) to carry out the modal mineralogy. The analyses identified a total of 37 different minerals in the samples. Chlorite was identified with significantly higher values in parts of the investigated ore zones and especially in the sample with the highest pH value, suggesting chlorite-hosting shear zones that crosscut the sampled ore zones to be a contributing factor that could be affecting the elevated pH values, resulting in a decreased recovery of gold.

Climate change is connected to several negative effects on local environments around the globe such as, longer, and more intense droughts, less freshwater supplies, ocean warming, sea level rise, polar ice melting, more intense storms, and rainfall (NASA, 2021).  These problems are mainly due to the increasing amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as well as other greenhouse gases (GHG) which cause a similar or stronger climate change effect (WWF, 2021). Practically all climate researchers agree that climate change is caused by human activities (WWF, 2021), as such human activities will have to change to reduce their climate impact. One possible approach to achieve sustainable products is the concept of a circular economy (CE). The proponents of a circular economy describe it as an economic or industrial system which is restorative by its design (EMF, 2010). Currently there is a substantial body of knowledge on how LCA can be used to guide product design in a sustainable direction.  However, as of yet there are limited academic research focused on how environmental assessment can impact the design of Vertical Access Equipment (VAE) and of similar products. This thesis aims to support the VAE sector’s transition towards a CE. The objective of this study was to understand and provide improvement suggestions for the environmental performance and energy use of VAE. This Involved a case study where a LCA was conducted to establish a baseline of four VAE products, a construction hoist, a service lift, an industrial elevator, and a BMU. The results of the initial LCA varied greatly depending on the different products and their use case. Guided by the LCA results, semi-structured workshops were held to find feasible improvement suggestions whose impacts were investigated using LCA once more. Feasible and substantial improvements focusing on the products high impact areas were found for all products. For the construction hoist improvements regarding eliminating waste in the lifting work was most impactful, whilst the service lift required optimizing of maintenance and use of sensors to reduce the maintenance time. For the industrial elevator and the BMU, measures which focused on reducing virgin material extraction showed most promise, such as lifespan extension, remanufacturing, and use of recycled materials. / Mistra REES

The goal of this study was to identify and describe different microstructures observed in samples from two major shear zones in the Gällivare area, namely the Nautanen Deformation Zone (NDZ), and the Fjällåsen deformation zone (FDZ). Thirteen samples were examined during this study. The samples represent metavolcanic sedimentary rocks with felsic composition containing mostly quartz, K-feldspars and plagioclase with some accessory minerals such as allanite, monazite, biotite, muscovite, calcite, chlorite etc. and these rocks preserve in some cases mylonitic textures. Two metamorphic events (M1 and M2) and four deformation phases (D1, D2, D3 and D4) were identified. Beginning with the regional metamorphic event M1, which also is peak metamorphism (greenschist to amphibolite facies), resulting in D1, a compressional deformation creating the penetrative foliation S1 from a N-S to NNW-SSE shortening direction. A tectonic pause is followed by M2 synchronous with intrusions of Lina granites resulting in widespread contact metamorphism and reactivation of the shear zones. This new compression has tilted the foliations with a dip of ~60°W of FDZ and ~60°E of NDZ. This also created a SC-fabric, a related S2 foliation which shows a slight WSW tilting, and records reverse dip-slip, ENE dextral movement. A last compressional deformation, D3, generated brittle-plastic deformations observed W of FDZ as a reverse thrust of the Gällivare block upon the W block. The last deformation described, D4, has resulted in a set of fractures, some of which have been quartz filled. These are only observed E of NDZ and were interpreted as post metamorphic brittle deformation in a normal fault motion.

Energy is considered as the foremost significant factor towards socio-economic growth. Due to the rapid growth of industrialization in Bangladesh, the need of energy is increasing day by day. Considering the environmental issues, sustainable solutions are needed to address the energy crisis. Energy generation from waste through biogas can be a good solution that can address both the energy demand as well as the waste management issue.    The overall aim of this master thesis is to analyze Hazaribagh’s biogas potential from municipal waste and agricultural residues and estimate how much electricity that can be generated from the produced biogas. The feasible sources of Hazaribagh were considered in order to get the information that would be later on analyzed to estimate possible biogas production. The potential sources include wastes from two markets, six slaughterhouses, domestic wastes, three large-scale tanneries and two small scale tanneries, one poultry farm and three crop lands. The calculations made in this thesis to roughly estimate the amount of biogas and electricity from the described sources are done in a simple way, just to illustrate the potential. The result shows that the tannery waste has the highest potential followed by slaughterhouse waste. Furthermore, the calculations show that the tannery waste contributes most for electricity generation also followed by slaughterhouse waste. In order to implement biogas solutions, several actors should be involved like government, future owners, local people etc. Different tools like legislation, financial support etc. are also important for implementing the biogas solutions.   In summary, there is a good potentiality of biogas production and electricity generation from municipal wastes and agricultural residues of Hazaribagh. Biogas solutions from waste and agricultural residues can be beneficial from both the energy and the waste management perspective.

The Björkdal gold deposit is located in the eastern part of the Skellefte district, northern Sweden. Twenty thin sections from four production areas in the open pit and four drifts from the underground mine were analysed for mineral association and grain size distribution of gold. In addition, the texture of gold was investigated in order to find out how that affects the recovery of gold. The overall gold grain size distribution shows an interval from very fine-grained (2 μm) to coarse grained(856 μm) while the overall median size is 7 μm. Gold from the Quartz Mountain production area displays the smallest median size of 4 μm, whereas gold from the sampled drifts at 340m- and 385m- level has the largest median size of 14 μm. Gold at grain boundary is the dominant textural mode of gold from all sampled locations and varies from 62% to 92%. This is followed by intergrown which ranges between 8% and 29%. Of the sulfides, pyrite, chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite are the most common. Galena and was also present in the samples. Gold is significantly and positively correlated with tellurium (Appendix 10.1.1), and weakly positive correlated to silver and mercury. Gold show a close association to bismuth-tellurides in the samples. Apart from native gold, which is the dominant mineral phase of gold, two additional gold-bearing tellurium minerals were detected with SEM-EDS, a Au-Te-mineral and a Ag-Au-Te-mineral. One additional bismuth-telluride mineral aside from the most commonly occurring tsumoite (BiTe) was also detected with SEM, with a elemental composition of Bi-Te-S. Liberated gold in the tailings was optically identified in two thick sections, TB1-02feb-1 and TB1-07feb-1 (Fig. 32A and B), where the flotation circuit failed to float the free gold. One grain of gold was also identified intergrown with bismuth-telluride as an inclusion in silicate (Fig. 33), where the flotation properties of the larger silicate grain likely dominated in the flotation process. This thesis highlights the importance of further quantitative analysis utilizing SEM/QEMSCAN/MLA to retrieve representative mineralogical data to benefit the mineral processing of the ore from the active mine. Keywords: Björkdal gold deposit, gold, gold-telluride, SEM, mineral association, grain size,geometallurgy.

In recent years the number of bicycles with e-motors has been increased steadily. Within the pedelec – bikes where an e-motor supports the pedaling – a special group of transportation bikes has developed. These bikes have storage boxes in addition to the basic parts of a bike. Due to the space available on top of those boxes it is possible to install a PV system to generate electricity which could be used to recharge the battery of the pedelec. Such a system would lead to grid independent charging of the battery and to the possibility of an increased range of motor support. The feasibility of such a PV system is investigated for a three wheeled pedelec delivered by the company BABBOE NORDIC.The measured data of the electricity generation of this mobile system is compared to the possible electricity generation of a stationary system.To measure the consumption of the pedelec different tracks are covered, and the energy which is necessary to recharge the bike battery is measured using an energy logger. This recharge energy is used as an indirect measure of the electricity consumption. A PV prototype system is installed on the bike. It is a simple PV stand alone system consisting of PV panel, charge controller with MPP tracker and a solar battery. This system has the task to generate as much electricity as possible. The produced PV current and voltage aremeasured and documented using a data logger. Afterwards the average PV power is calculated. To compare the produced electricity of the on-bike system to that of a stationary system, the irradiance on the latter is measured simultaneously. Due to partial shadings on the on-bike PV panel, which are caused by the driver and some other bike parts, the average power output during riding the bike is very low. It is too low to support the motor directly. In case of a similar installation as the PV prototype system and the intention always to park the bike on a sunny spot an on-bike system could generate electricity to at least partly recharge a bike battery during one day. The stationary PV system using the same PV panel could have produced between 1.25 and 8.1 times as much as the on-bike PV system. Even though the investigation is done for a very specific case it can be concluded that anon-bike PV system, using similar components as in the investigation, is not feasible to recharge the battery of a pedelec in an appropriate manner. The biggest barrier is that partial shadings on the PV panel, which can be hardly avoided during operation and parking, result in a significant reduction of generated electricity. Also the installation of the on-bike PV system would lead to increased weight of the whole bike and the need for space which is reducing the storage capacity. To use solar energy for recharging a bike battery an indirect way is giving better results. In this case a stationary PV stand alone system is used which is located in a sunny spot without shadings and adjusted to use the maximum available solar energy. The battery of the bike is charged using the corresponding charger and an inverter which provides AC power using the captured solar energy.

Byggsektorn är den bransch (exklusive gruvnäringen) som står för störst andel uppkommen avfall i Sverige, framförallt i form av schaktmassor. Marknaden för återvunna schaktmassor är idag begränsat, dels på grund av otydlig lagstiftning kring återvinning, dels på grund av massornas varierande innehåll. Uppgrävda överskottsmassor från gamla industrimarker kan innebära förhöjda föroreningshalter vilket leder till dyra behandlingar för köpare. Det är heller inte lika lätt att styra den geotekniska kvaliteten hos produkten när råvaran varierar i sammansättning. Vidare kommer produkter av återvunnet ursprung troligtvis vara utsatta för hårdare kontroller än produkter framtagna av jungfruligt material. Den större risken, tillsammans med få incitament att prioritera återvunna material i byggen försvårar säljbarheten. Syftet med det här examensarbetet har varit att undersöka ifall schaktmassor kan uppgraderas till högkvalitativa konstruktions- eller anläggningsprodukter som efterfrågas av marknaden. Swerocks våtsiktsanläggning i Malmö användes som studieobjekt och undersökningen begränsades till två fraktioner, sand i storlek 0–4 mm och grus i storlek 4–16 mm. Arbetet har utförts genom litteraturstudie, intervjuer samt analysering av provresultat, där tre forskningsfrågor kring användning, kravbild och kvalitet har legat som grund för undersökningarna. Resultatet visar att flera aktörer ställer sig positiva till ökad användning av återvunna ballastprodukter så länge dess kvalitet kan säkerställas, främst med avseende på innehållet av föroreningar. Ett stort hinder är den befintliga avfallslagstiftningen och dess avsaknad av tydliga kriterier för när avfallet kan omklassas till produkt. Det finns användningsområden som lämpar sig bättre för ett schaktmaterial av varierande ursprung, där de geotekniska materialkraven är färre. Studien visade att uppgraderat material kan uppfylla krav för utvalda applikationer inom fyllning och dränering enligt AMA Anläggning 17. Främsta krav där är på kornstorleksfördelning och sortering, vilket våtsikten klarar bra. Däremot gör AMA:s nuvarande materialtypsindelning att återvunna material förbises. Detta trots att de kan ha motsvarande egenskaper likt de efterfrågade materialtyperna. Vidare omfattas både fyllnad- och dränerandematerial av ballaststandard SS-EN 132 42 vilket gör att produkterna måste prestandadeklareras och CE-märkas enligt lag. Trots byggproduktskravet är detta något som ofta förbises hos både köpare och producenter. Gällande de kemiska innehållet hos det våtsiktade materialet visade den här studien på stor spridning samt föroreningshalter överstigande haltnivåer för MRR för PAH, koppar, bly och oljor i både sand och grus. En trend av ökande föroreningshalter i produkter i samband med att mer förorenat material togs in för behandling kunde även anas. Sammantaget innebär det en minskad säljbarhet av materialet trots att det uppfyllde krav enligt AMA 17. Antingen behöver fler behandlingssteg tilläggas, med ökade produktionskostnader som följd, eller mer restriktivt urval av vilka massor som tas in för behandling / Cirkulär masshantering med uppgraderade jord- och schaktmassor

This study provides an insight into the food waste in primary production of vegetables with links to the influencing cosmetic preferences from the consumer level. To study farmers, a qualitative approach has been chosen and a quantitative approach has been taken for the consumer. To study these complex dependency relationships in the food chain, system theory has enabled a holistic overall picture based on these two approaches. The purpose is to identify the problem to increase the understanding of the causes and origin of food waste in primary production. Furthermore, the goal is that the empirical evidence will identify some possible development potential to reduce food waste in primary production. Sweden is an import-dependent country as well as Gävleborg County where, however, there are good development opportunities seen in the arable land where an increased degree of self-sufficiency can reduce the vulnerability in the food supply chain. From this perspective there is a need for an optimized food supply chain where food waste is minimized, self-sufficiency increases and import dependency decreases. Reducing production waste is an important part of the transition towards a more sustainable food production where system efficiency improvements are required at the macro, meso and micro levels. In order to answer what the study intends to investigate, a qualitative interview survey was conducted at four local farmers in Gävleborg County. A supplementary questionnaire survey with end consumers was also established to elucidate influential cosmetic preferences, such as an oblique carrot or scurf on a potato peel. The interviews and questionnaire survey has since been anchored in a literature study. The results of the interview study of the four farmers show that the main causes of the occurrence of food waste are due to severely affected factors such as weather conditions, pests, diseases / fungal infestation and even a small number of quality quality / cosmetic preferences. None of the farmers had any established measurements methods for food waste, which makes the statistical data more difficult. The results of the survey show that there is a knowledge gap regarding crops and their origin where more information would mean that the consumer considered the product choice. The survey showed that there was a willingness to pay more to meet specific purchasing preferences where information can broaden these preferences and allow for more sustainable choices. / Denna studie ger en inblick i uppkommet svinn i primärproduktionen av grönsaker med kopplingar till de påverkande kosmetiska preferenserna från konsumentledet. För att studera jordbrukarna har ett kvalitativ angreppssätt valts och för konsumentledet ett kvantitativt tillvägagångssätt. För att studera dessa komplexa beroenderelationer i livsmedelskedjan har systemteorin möjliggjort en holistisk sammantagen bild utifrån dessa två angreppssätt. Syftet är att identifiera problematiken för att öka förståelsen om svinnets orsaker och uppkomst i primärproduktionen. Vidare är målet att det empiriska underlaget ska leda till att identifiera eventuell utvecklingspotential för att minska svinnet i primärproduktionen. Sverige är ett importberoende land och likaså Gävleborgs län där det också finns goda utvecklingsmöjligheter sett till åkerarealen där en ökad självförsörjningsgrad kan minska sårbarheten i livsmedelskedjan. Utifrån den aspekten finns behov av en optimerad livsmedelskedja där svinn minimeras, självförsörjningsgraden ökar och importberoendet minskar. Att minska produktionssvinnet är en viktig del i omställningen mot en mer hållbar livsmedelsproduktion där systemeffektiviseringar behövs på makro-, meso- och mikronivå. För att besvara det studien ämnar undersöka har en kvalitativ intervjuundersökning genomförts hos fyra lokala jordbrukare i Gävleborgs län. En kompletterande enkätundersökning hos slutkonsument har även upprättats för att belysa påverkande kosmetiska preferenser, till exempel en sned morot eller skorv på potatisskal. Intervju- och enkätundersökningen har sedan förankrats i en litteraturstudie. Resultatet från intervjuundersökningen hos de fyra jordbrukarna visar att huvudorsakerna till uppkommet svinn beror på svårpåverkade faktorer som väderförhållanden, skadedjur, sjukdomar/svampangrepp och även en mindre del kvalitetskrav/kosmetiska preferenser. Ingen av jordbrukarna hade några upprättade mätmetoder för svinnet vilket försvårar den statistiska datan. Resultatet från enkätundersökningen visar att det finns en kunskapslucka om grödor och dess ursprung där mer information skulle innebära att konsumenten övervägde produktvalet. Enkäten visade att det finns vilja att betala mer för att tillgodose specifika inköpspreferenser där information kan utöka dessa preferenser och möjliggöra för mer hållbara val.

Vagabond Shoemakers is one of Europe’s leading design companies within the footwear industry. In the summer of 2019, the project group contacted the company to investigate the possibility to execute an innovation- and development project together. The project would turn into so much more, it would become the beginning of a sustainability work which would lead into a modular shoe for a sustainable future. The sustainability issues within the footwear industry are today bigger than the choice of sustainable materials. There is no good way of recycling or reusing shoes since there is no effective way of separating glue, textiles and rubber form each other. It was from this problem that the foundation of the project was created, is there a possibility to construct a modular shoe? A shoe from the constructions design to facilitate recycling and reuse, through the ability to efficiently separate the parts from each other. Together with Vagabond Shoemakers we would create the foundation of the future footwear industry. A product that would be called Klick-Skon based on the projects Klick-Concept. A product designed to meet the sustainability issues; the result came to be a modular shoe for a sustainable future.