Dissertation submitted in compliance with the requirements of the Master' s Degree in Technology: Biotechnology at the Durban Institute of Technology, 2004. / The objective of this study was to evaluate the characteristics and treatability of process wastewater from an edible oil refining industry, which discharge its effluent into a sewer system. The main objective was to assess a laboratory scale treatment process that would produce effluent having a regulatory acceptable phosphate concentration (below 20 mgIL) prior to discharge into municipal sewer system. A single stage laboratory-scale anaerobic-aerobic sequencing batch reactor (BPR-SBR) with a total volume adjustable up to 10L was designed for biological phosphorus removal. The BPR-SBR was run at 10 days sludge age, 8 hours hydraulic retention time and organic load of ~ 0.38 kg COD/kg MLSS.d for 158 days to evaluate its performance for bio-P removal efficiency. The BPR-SBR system showed a consistent P removal efficiency of up to 78.40 %, 80.15 % COD and 72.43 % FOG reduction. The laboratory scale study has demonstrated that the SBR technology is suitable for treating wastewater from edible oil producing industry. / M

This dissertation examines the explosion of the cultural field in Venezuela during the 1970s oil boom through the lens of nature-society relations. I argue that cultural production was an agent of state-led ecological transformation and, at the same time, a space where artists and intellectuals negotiated spaces of autonomy that nonetheless were entangled with oil-funded projects of environment-making. By analyzing the cultural politics, visual arts, institutions, and infrastructure projects that blossomed during this era, I seek to uncover the role of cultural and aesthetic forms in processes of rapid urbanization and large-scale resource extraction. In doing so, I situate my work within recent efforts in the environmental humanities aimed at picking apart the cultural narratives that sustain or challenge the power of extractive regimes, particularly in the global South. My chapters analyze the cultural policies that oil-money made possible, the visual art that intersected with energy infrastructure projects, and the photography and film that dealt with the shocks of accelerated development and oil-led globalization. Supported by archival research and close examinations of understudied examples, I focus on the debates and cultural politics that defined the transition from the Instituto National de Cultura y Bellas Artes (Inciba) to the more powerful Centro Nacional de la Cultura (Conac); the role of the kinetic artworks of Carlos Cruz-Diez and Alejandro Otero in urbanization projects and the construction of the Guri hydroelectric dam in South-Eastern Venezuela; the photographic making of Caracas during the 1970s construction boom in the books of Soledad Mendoza and Ramón Paolini; and, finally, the crisis and breakdown of the dream of unlimited wealth in two film pieces by Carlos Oteyza and Antonio Llerandi. While studies about oil and cultural production usually trace the relations between fossil fuels and the formation of modernity in the global North, I contend that a vision from the nature-exporting societies of the global South is fundamental to understand the cultural logics of nature extraction at a planetary scale. Similarly, I propose that the relationship between culture and petroleum will not be clarified by tracking its representations in literary or artistic works, but rather by looking at how often the realm of culture is already intertwined with a global ecology of nature, capital, and power. Finally, in arguing this, I seek to highlight the cultural work of states in the extractive peripheries as an essential object of analysis for the environmental humanities, as well as for a broader rethinking of the uneven ecology of capitalism and the geopolitics of socioecological change.

This study attempts to empirically test several theorized perspectives from the organizational ecology literature as to how organizations change their strategic orientations in response to changes in the size of the niche in which they operate. Strategic orientation is measured in terms of the degree to which a firm is either Prospector-like or Defender-like as devined by Miles and Snow (1978). Niche size is defined as the total revenue earned in a particular industry. An index of strategic orientation, the PD (Prospector/Defender) index, was computed for each of 16 firms in industry over a period of twenty years, from 1967 to 1986. The intent of the study was to see if firms became either more or less Prospector-like (or Defender-like) in response to growth and contraction of niche size. The results of the research study revealed the following: 1) At the industry level, the year-to-year variation in strategic orientation was significantly higher in both the periods of rapid expansion and contraction of niche size than in the period of low, stable growth, and was highest in the period of niche size contraction. 2) At the firm level, strategic orientations did not become more Prospector-like during the period of rapid growth in niche size as predicted by theory based on the population ecology perspective. 3) Strategic orientations did not become more Defender-like during the period of niche size contraction as predicted. Instead, they became overwhelmingly more Prospector-like in orientation during this period. 4) In both the periods of rapid expansion and contraction of niche size, the more Prospector-like the firm, the greater the magnitude of change in strategic orientation that occurred. The findings of this study do not necessarily refute population ecology theory because of the way in which niche size was conceptualized. Had industry unit volume rather than industry revenue been used to operationalize niche size, the hypotheses based on population ecology would have been supported. A conclusion of this study is that the use of niche size offers some conceptual and methodological advantages over product or industry life cycle as a way of operationalizing environmental change. As to the choice of an appropriate measure of niche size, the question remains for other research to address. / Ph. D.

No description available.

Orientador: Daniel Barrera Arellano / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-17T11:52:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Oliveira_RaquelSilveiraPorto_M.pdf: 986495 bytes, checksum: d352a370cc01760bd026619e000bddd8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: O óleo de cera de cana-de-açúcar constitui 25% da cera bruta. O aproveitamento da fração óleo representa uma necessidade urgente que garanta o destino deste material e sua valorização, pois se trata da fração menos nobre e de menor valor agregado em relação às frações contidas na cera. O programa de biocombustíveis brasileiro requer grandes quantidades de óleos para a produção de biodiesel. A proposta deste trabalho foi estudar a viabilidade em transformar o óleo de cera de cana-de-açúcar em ésteres etílicos (Biodiesel) através de uma catálise ácida. Este estudo envolveu as etapas de caracterização do óleo de cera de cana-de-açúcar, reação de esterificação, otimização da reação de esterificação pelo monitoramento da redução da acidez, tentativa de determinação dos ésteres etílicos e a investigação de outros componentes lipídicos presentes no óleo de cera de cana-de-açúcar que poderiam ter efeito na eficiência da reação de esterificação. O óleo apresentou como principais ácidos graxos, os ácidos palmítico (31,8%), linolênico (28,7%), linoléico e oléico (21,2%) e triacontanóico (7,8%). Os monoacilgliceróis e os ácidos graxos livres são predominantes neste material, representando juntos 66,6% das classes lipídicas. Após a reação de esterificação, utilizaram-se as técnicas de RMN-1H, ésteres etílicos totais e famílias de lipídios por CG além de espectroscopia por infravermelho para determinação dos ésteres etílicos totais, porém sem resultados positivos. A técnica de espectrometria de massa (ESI-MS e ESI-FT-MS) revelou a existência de componentes lipídicos oxidados, além de outros não identificados no óleo de cera de cana-de-açúcar. Os resultados indicam que o óleo de cera de cana-de-açúcar é uma amostra complexa, altamente hidrolisada, de insaturação média, mas com baixa estabilidade oxidativa, indicativo, portanto, de uma matéria-prima inadequada para a produção de biodiesel. A determinação de ésteres etílicos totais em óleo de cera de cana-de-açúcar após esterificação pelas três metodologias testadas mostrou-se ineficiente, sendo necessária a revisão das técnicas para contar com um método confiável para esta determinação neste tipo de amostra / Abstract: Sugar cane wax oil makes up 25% of crude wax. The exploitation of the oil fraction represents an urgent need to ensure a destination for this material and its valorization, for it is the less noble and less valuable fraction contained in the wax. The Brazilian biofuels program requires large amounts of oils for biodiesel production. The purpose of this study was to investigate viability of the transformation of sugar cane wax oil into ethyl esters (Biodiesel) through acid catalysis. This study comprised the stages of characterization of sugar cane wax oil, esterification reaction, esterification reaction optimization by means of reducing the acidity, attempt at ethyl esters characterization and investigation of other lipidic components present in the sugar cane wax oil that could possibly have an effect on the efficiency of the esterification reaction. The oil presented its major fatty acids as palmitic (31.8%), linolenic (28.7%), oleic and linoleic (21.2%) and triacontanoic (7.8%). The monoglycerides and free fatty acids are predominant in this fraction, together representing 66.6% of lipid classes. After the esterification reaction, the following techniques were used: 1H-NMR; ethyl esters and total lipids by GC families; infrared spectroscopy for determination of total ethyl esters in oil after esterification. However, none yielded positive results. Mass spectometry (ESI-MS and ESI-FT-MS) revealed the existence of presence of oxidated lipid components as well as unknown lipid components. The results indicated that sugar cane wax oil is a complex sample, highly hydrolyzed, of medium unsaturatation and with low oxidative stability, indicating not to be a suitable source material for biodiesel production. The determination of total ethyl esters in sugar cane wax oil after esterification by three tested methods proved itself inefficient, requiring a review of the techniques in order to achieve a reliable method for such determination in this type of sample / Mestrado / Engenharia de Alimentos / Mestre em Tecnologia de Alimentos

Bibliography: leaves 651-699. "Through case studies of three emerging economies - Ecuador, Nigeria and Russia - this thesis analyses the factors present to a greater or lesser degree in emerging economies, such as severe foreign indebtedness and the absence of the rule of law, that undermine the effectiveness of the legal system in protecting indigenous peoples from oil exploitation. Having identified these factors, I propose that a dual approach to the protection of indigenous peoples' traditional lands and their environment be adopted, whereby international laws that set out the rights of indigenous peoples and place duties on states in this regard, are reinforced and translated into practice through the self-regulation of the international oil industry through a voluntary code of conduct for oil companies seeking to operate on indigenous peoples' traditional lands."

Bibliography: leaves 651-699. / 2 v. (x, 699 leaves) : col. map ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / "Through case studies of three emerging economies - Ecuador, Nigeria and Russia - this thesis analyses the factors present to a greater or lesser degree in emerging economies, such as severe foreign indebtedness and the absence of the rule of law, that undermine the effectiveness of the legal system in protecting indigenous peoples from oil exploitation. Having identified these factors, I propose that a dual approach to the protection of indigenous peoples' traditional lands and their environment be adopted, whereby international laws that set out the rights of indigenous peoples and place duties on states in this regard, are reinforced and translated into practice through the self-regulation of the international oil industry through a voluntary code of conduct for oil companies seeking to operate on indigenous peoples' traditional lands." / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Law, 2001

Thesis (MFamMed)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / Background: Coronary heart disease is a global public health problem. Formerly considered rare in sub-Saharan Africa, evidence has shown that urbanization and the adoption of more affluent and sedentary lifestyle in subpopulations of this region, may result in increased prevalence. One such subpopulation is workers in the Nigerian petroleum industry and this study examines their risk factors for coronary heart disease. In addition the study compares the risk profile of onshore and offshore workers. Method: This is a descriptive cross sectional study undertaken to determine the level of risk factors for the development of cardiovascular disease in two groups of male workers of the petroleum industry in Nigeria; the onshore and the offshore workers. Four hundred workers were randomnly selected and invited to participate, with a desired sample size of 234. The data was collected by using an electronic questionnaire to explore life style factors like exercise, diet, and smoking that predispose to this disease. Anthropometric indices included body mass index, waist circumference and waist to hip ratio. Biochemical tests included lipid profile and fasting blood glucose. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure was also recorded. The prevalence of known hypertension and diabetes as well as the metabolic syndrome were determined. The questionnaire data was analysed and compared with the chi-square test using the software, Epi-info 2008 Windows Version 3.5.1 and the means of the continuous variables were determined and compared using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: 121 onshore and 110 offshore workers participated. Overall the cardiovascular risk profile of onshore versus offshore workers in the oil industry was worse. Onshore workers had increased waist circumference,; though there was no significant difference in the Waist-Hip Ratio, increased rates of metabolic syndrome, diabetes and hypertension and were less physically active. Dietary differences were less marked, but more beef and chicken were consumed by onshore while more fish was consumed by offshore workers. Conversely the offshore workers had a higher BMI and lower levels of protective HDL. Overall, in this population, the BMI and the umber of diabetics were higher and the HDL lower than the country figures. Conclusion The obesity profile of the two groups was comparable to that of the Western nations and could become worse. This also reflects the fact that within Nigeria there are sub-populations with cardio-metabolic profiles that depart significantly from the national average. This is most probably due to dietary factors and poor exercise habits and calls for intervention through health promotional activities / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Nie beskikbaar

This paper explores how decision-making under uncertainty can address opportunities, risks, and uncertainties for sustainable development; how decision theory, resilience thinking, and scenario planning approaches can assist the decision-making process. The paper will focus on decision-making for sustainable development under uncertainty associated with energy development in Western Kazakhstan. The main goal of this work is to demonstrate how different decision-making approaches under uncertainty can facilitate sustainable development of the oil industry in the region. Recommendations for sustainable development are examined for how the different approaches can be used to better inform the recommendations.

M.Phil. / This research aims to establish and evaluate the main factors that influence the fuel industry in South Africa. The South African fuel industry, is influenced by different business, economical and logistical factors, which all contribute to a changing fuel environment as well as a changing fuel prices that vary on a monthly basis, as calculated by the Department of Mineral and Energy Affairs(DMEA). These factors including crude oil procurement, petroleum industry, synthetic fuel industry and geographical locations, are fundamentally important, and explained in more detail in the chapters to follow. Oil as main supply source to the fuel industry, plays a vital role to South Africa as industrial developing country. The crude oil imported from the eastern countries is refined into petroleum and alternative fuels, necessary to the economy. The oil price thus influences the petroleum price, which in turn influences the cost of food and accessories. This research will for this reason also focus on aspects such as the actual importation of crude oil, petroleum price structure, price zones, synfuels and alternative fuels, and the affect these aspects have on the fuel industry.