Different methods for quality assessment of separated andcommingled plastics from household and electronic waste havebeen developed. Especial attention has been given tospectroscopic methods since they are non-destructive andrequire little or no sample preparation at all. A wide variety of low molecular weight compounds have beenidentified in recycled polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylenefrom hard packaging waste by gas chromatography- massspectroscopy (GC-MS) after microwave assisted extraction (MAE).Low molecular weight substances such as alcohols, esters,ketones and fragrance and flavour compounds were detected inthe recycled resins. The major category of compounds identifiedin the virgin resins is conformed by aliphatic hydrocarbonssuch as alkanes and alkenes. It was found that theconcentration of aromatic hydrocarbons without functionalgroups, e.g. ethylbenzene and xylenes in recycled HDPE wasapprox. 5 times higher and equal to 120 and 35 ppb,respectively. The potential of near infrared (NIR) and Fourier transformRaman (FT-Raman) spectroscopy in combination with multivariateanalysis as a rapid, non-destructive and accurate analyticalmethod has been studied and the feasibility of these methodsfor at/in line characterisation of several properties ofrecyclates has also been explored. NIR in diffuse reflectance mode has been successfully usedfor quantification of antioxidants in polyethylene, thestandard error of prediction is almost comparable to the errorof wet methods, i.e., extraction plus liquid chromatography.The error of prediction of this method is 35 ppm for Irganox1010 and 68 ppm for Irgafos 168. The inaccuracy in thequantification of Irgafos 168 is due to the fact that thisantioxidant degrades during polymer processing. NIR and Mid-infrared (Mid-IR) worked well for fastdetermination of molecular weight and crystallinity of therecycled HDPE and acceptable errors of prediction, comparableto that of the reference methods, i.e. size exclusionchromatography (SEC) and differential scanning calorimetry(DSC) have been obtained. The present thesis also shows that NIR and Raman are goodcandidates for in/on line compositional analysis of mixedpolymer fractions from recycled plastic waste. Diffusereflectance NIR allows a rapid and reliable measurement ofpellets and requires no previous sample preparation. Thecomposition of binary blends can be determined with highaccuracy. The PP content in the PP/HDPE blends was predictedwith a RMSEP equal to 0.46 %w in the 0-15 %wt region and theRMSEP for PP in the PP/ABS blends was 0.3 %wt. The thermal and thermoxidative stability of recycled PP,HDPE and a 20/80 PP/HDPE blend subjected to multiple extrusionhave been studied by DSC, thermal analysis (TGA) andchemiluminiscence (CL). A decrease in Toxand OIT was observed after each extrusion step.The drop in OIT was sharper after the first two extrusions. TheOIT values produced by DSC and CL were in good agreement.However, CL provided more information about the oxidationprocess taking place in the blends. The moisture content in recycled polyamide 6,6 was readilydetermined by NIR in transmission mode and it could bepredicted with a RMSEP = 0.05 %wt. The accuracy of the methodappeared to be as good as that of the more time consumingthermal methods such as TGA, DSC and loss on dry (LOD), whichwere used as reference methods. The influence of differentamounts of water on the viscoelastic properties of nylon hasbeen investigated. <b>Keywords:</b>Recycling, HDPE, PP, blends, nylon 6,6, ABS,water content, MAE, GC-MS, NIR, FT-Raman, chemiluminiscence,low molecular weight compounds, antioxidant content,crystallinity, molecular weight, thermal stability,characterisation methods, analysis of polymers, blends.

Denne studien har fokus på PP-rådgiverens perspektiv på arbeid med problematferd i skolen. Jeg valgte å vinkle min prosjektbeskrivelse og det videre arbeidet mot en studie av Pedagogisk - Psykologisk tjeneste (heretter PP-tjenesten). Nærmere bestemt rettes blikket mot PP-rådgiverens erfaringer med og perspektiv på arbeid med hjelpetrengende elever i skolen, deres foresatte og lærere. Å undersøke slike perspektiv kan ha interesse fordi PP-tjenesten har et særlig godt kjennskap til skolen og det som skjer der gjennom sin rolle som skolens hjelpetjeneste. Analysen bygger på intervju av 12 Pedagogisk-psykologiske rådgivere på 4 PP-kontor i Nord-Norge 1999 -2000 og på direkte observasjon i 30 møter av ulike typer som ble gjennomført på disse kontorene. ”Grounded Theory” er brukt som metodologi og metode. Jeg utviklet 5 substantive koder: 1) ”faglig usikkerhet”, 2) ”skjønn og fagkunnskap”, 3) ”å arbeide eklektisk” 4) ”respons på antatte forventninger” og 5) ”diagnosekommunikasjon”. På basis av de substantive kodene utviklet jeg følgende substantive kode: ”å jobbe eklektisk på basis av skjønn og fagkunnskap gir ulik grad av faglig usikkerhet”. I tillegg har jeg utviklet ulike ”typer” PP-rådgivere, ”eksperten”, ”brannslukkeren” og ”analytikeren”. De teoretiske hypotesene som ble utviklet i dette arbeidet har blitt relatert og drøftet i forhold til annen relevant forskning som for eksempel Bernsteins begrep ”den pedagogiske anordning”, der diskurser og makt er sentralt.

Sustainable polymeric materials put emphasis on mastering the whole life-cycle of polymeric materials. This includes the choice of raw materials, selection of synthesis and processing, environmental impact during long-term use followed by detailed knowledge about recycling and waste management.  Within this large efforts are put in the design and development of new biocomposites using renewable fibres instead of inert ones. The thesis deals with surface modifications of agricultural fibres and the design of biocomposites with optimal long-term properties balancing the potential risk for biodegradation.  The first part of this thesis involved surface modifications of oil palm fibres and production of biocomposites with PP as matrix. The chemical surface modifications of oil palm fibres explored propionylation, PPgMA grafting via solution modification and reactive blending and vinyltrimethoxy silanization as methods. All modified fibre/PP biocomposites showed improvements in the mechanical properties followed also by an improvement of water resistance. In comparison with unmodificed fibres/PP matrix the highest water resistance after the surface modifications of oil palm fibres were observed for silanization followed by PPgMA modified,  PPgMA blending and  propionylation. The second part aimed at producing fully biodegradable biocomposites and analysing the resulting properties with respect to potential risk for biodegradation. Sisal fibres were incorporated in PLA and PHBV and the resulting risk for biodegradation using a fungus, Aspergillus niger, monitored. Neat PLA and PHBV were compared with the corresponding biocomposites and already without fibres both polymers were notably biodegraded by Aspergillus niger. The degree of biodegradation of PLA and PHBV matrices was related to the extent of the growth on the material surfaces. Adding sisal fibres gave a substantial increase in the growth on the surfaces of the biocomposites. Correlating the type of surface modification of sisal fibres with degree of biodegradation, it was demonstrated that all chemically modified sisal/PLA biocomposites were less biodegraded than unmodified sisal biocomposites.  Propionylated sisal/PLA demonstrated the best resistance to biodegradation of all biocomposites while sisal/CA/PLA demonstrated high level of biodegradation after severe invasion by Aspergillus niger. In general, the biodegradation correlated strongly with the degree of water absorption and surface modifications that increase the hydrophobicity is a route to improve the resistance to biodegradation. Designing new biocomposites using renewable fibres and non-renewable and renewable matrices involve the balancing of the increase in mechanical properties, after improved adhesion between fibres and the polymer matrix, with the potential risk for biodegradation. / <p>QC 20130325</p>

Tax treaty protection from international double taxation only goes as far as the treaty's substantive scope. Nations worldwide have adopted the text of Article 2 of the OECD Model Double Taxation Conventions (headed Taxes covered) in concluding bilateral treaties to prevent double taxation in the area of taxes on income and capital and taxes on estates, inheritances, and on gifts. The wording and structure of Article 2 give rise to a host of ambiguities, creating uncertainty for taxpayers regarding the taxes that come within treaty scope. A research strategy that draws on historic materials documenting the development of Article 2 throughout the League of Nations, OEEC, and OECD seeks to shed light on a provision that has retained its basic format and wording since the 1920s. Recent case law and academic literature are analyzed to gain a clearer picture of the common international concepts expressed in tax treaties that use the formulations proposed in the OECD Model Conventions. The research strategy, conceptual models, and proposed results aim to contribute to the understanding of the "taxes covered" and to guide subsequent research and heighten awareness of problems in the interpretation and application of the provision on substantive scope in tax treaties.(author's abstract)

Statistic data indicates that about 100,000 tones of waste tire were generated each year. Current recycling market of waste tire is very small. Therefore, many waste tires remain untreated and cause severe health and safety problems in storage. PP fiber cut end is the waste material after cutting off the fiber. Traditional reuse way was to be the toy¡¦s fillers. If we can reuse the materials properly to develop a market of additional value, it will be a big contribution to the society. In this research, recycled waste tire powder and PP fiber cut end are used as oil adsorbents for the purpose of oil recovery during the process of oil spill emergency response. PP fiber cut end and waste tire powder are capable of adsorbing oil due to their hydrophobic surface property and the capillary forces developed during the contact with oil, therefore, makes them a perfect material for oil recovery. The major advantage of recycled PP fiber cut end is its high oil adsorbing capacity (approximately 48.4g/g). But, after reuse, its oil adsorbing speed was slow down, so does the oil adsorbing capacity. On the other hand, with good elasticity, the waste tire powder can be reused for more than 100 times without loosing its capability. However, the oil adsorbing capacity of waste tire powder is far less than PP fiber (approximately 2.84g/g). Finally, we combine PP fiber cut end and waste tire powder, to see if we can take the advantage of each product and make the best utilization of the composite material. Results indicate the composite material can be reused for more than 100 times without loosing its capability, and its performance is even better than the combination of each individual product. In the other test, we can see the composite material can not only adsorb engine oil and crude oil, but also adsorb emulsified oil. In the test, the composite material can recover up to 28 times of its own weight of oil. With the invented set up, the oil recover work is much easier to operate, and moreover, the composite material is less expensive. Only a squeeze roller and a collection container are required to recover oil. So, the composite material is indeed having practicability and mobility. Finally, the composite material is an excellent adsorbent compares with other products available on the market.

The collision of impulsive gravitational waves, electromagnetic plane waves with collinear polarization and, especially, plane fronted parallel waves (pp waves) are considered. The solution of axisymmetric pp waves is reviewed and the structures of the resulting space-times are investigated with the help of curvature invariants.

<p>Different methods for quality assessment of separated andcommingled plastics from household and electronic waste havebeen developed. Especial attention has been given tospectroscopic methods since they are non-destructive andrequire little or no sample preparation at all.</p><p>A wide variety of low molecular weight compounds have beenidentified in recycled polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylenefrom hard packaging waste by gas chromatography- massspectroscopy (GC-MS) after microwave assisted extraction (MAE).Low molecular weight substances such as alcohols, esters,ketones and fragrance and flavour compounds were detected inthe recycled resins. The major category of compounds identifiedin the virgin resins is conformed by aliphatic hydrocarbonssuch as alkanes and alkenes. It was found that theconcentration of aromatic hydrocarbons without functionalgroups, e.g. ethylbenzene and xylenes in recycled HDPE wasapprox. 5 times higher and equal to 120 and 35 ppb,respectively.</p><p>The potential of near infrared (NIR) and Fourier transformRaman (FT-Raman) spectroscopy in combination with multivariateanalysis as a rapid, non-destructive and accurate analyticalmethod has been studied and the feasibility of these methodsfor at/in line characterisation of several properties ofrecyclates has also been explored.</p><p>NIR in diffuse reflectance mode has been successfully usedfor quantification of antioxidants in polyethylene, thestandard error of prediction is almost comparable to the errorof wet methods, i.e., extraction plus liquid chromatography.The error of prediction of this method is 35 ppm for Irganox1010 and 68 ppm for Irgafos 168. The inaccuracy in thequantification of Irgafos 168 is due to the fact that thisantioxidant degrades during polymer processing.</p><p>NIR and Mid-infrared (Mid-IR) worked well for fastdetermination of molecular weight and crystallinity of therecycled HDPE and acceptable errors of prediction, comparableto that of the reference methods, i.e. size exclusionchromatography (SEC) and differential scanning calorimetry(DSC) have been obtained.</p><p>The present thesis also shows that NIR and Raman are goodcandidates for in/on line compositional analysis of mixedpolymer fractions from recycled plastic waste. Diffusereflectance NIR allows a rapid and reliable measurement ofpellets and requires no previous sample preparation. Thecomposition of binary blends can be determined with highaccuracy. The PP content in the PP/HDPE blends was predictedwith a RMSEP equal to 0.46 %w in the 0-15 %wt region and theRMSEP for PP in the PP/ABS blends was 0.3 %wt.</p><p>The thermal and thermoxidative stability of recycled PP,HDPE and a 20/80 PP/HDPE blend subjected to multiple extrusionhave been studied by DSC, thermal analysis (TGA) andchemiluminiscence (CL). A decrease in T_oxand OIT was observed after each extrusion step.The drop in OIT was sharper after the first two extrusions. TheOIT values produced by DSC and CL were in good agreement.However, CL provided more information about the oxidationprocess taking place in the blends.</p><p>The moisture content in recycled polyamide 6,6 was readilydetermined by NIR in transmission mode and it could bepredicted with a RMSEP = 0.05 %wt. The accuracy of the methodappeared to be as good as that of the more time consumingthermal methods such as TGA, DSC and loss on dry (LOD), whichwere used as reference methods. The influence of differentamounts of water on the viscoelastic properties of nylon hasbeen investigated.</p><p><b>Keywords:</b>Recycling, HDPE, PP, blends, nylon 6,6, ABS,water content, MAE, GC-MS, NIR, FT-Raman, chemiluminiscence,low molecular weight compounds, antioxidant content,crystallinity, molecular weight, thermal stability,characterisation methods, analysis of polymers, blends.</p>

La difficulté de recyclage des pneus usagés en raison de la réticulation de la gomme représente un enjeu environnemental important. Une solution envisagée dans cette étude est la mise en œuvre de poudrettes de pneumatique recyclées (GTR) dans la conception de produits de plasturgie visant un bon amortissement choc, acoustique et vibratoire. Notre travail s'est orienté vers la conception et la caractérisation de deux types de matériaux : 1) Des composites Thermoplastique/GTR, sur 2 matrices thermoplastiques (TP) différentes (Acétate de vinyle (EVA) et polypropylène (PP) mis en œuvre par extrusion/injection, 2) Des plaques composées à 100% de poudrettes GTR élaborées par compaction/chauffage. La qualité de l'interface TP/GTR a été estimée par analyse micrographie électronique à balayage MEB. L'influence des charges GTR sur la cristallinité des matrices a été évaluée par DSC. Une étude en traction a permis de déterminer le module de Young en traction, le seuil d'écoulement ainsi que l'allongement à rupture. L'amortissement vibratoire a été caractérisé par analyse mécanique dynamique (DMA) avec la détermination du facteur de perte η sur une large gamme de températures permettant la construction des courbes maîtresses en fréquence (équivalence fréquence/température WLF). L'amortissement choc a été déterminé par impact de chute de masse instrumenté. Le coefficient d'absorption acoustique a été mesuré au moyen d'un tube de Kundt par la méthode des deux microphones. Ces différents moyens de caractérisation ont montré que l'amortissement de vibrations et d'impacts était augmenté par l'incorporation de charges GTR dans une matrice TP. L'étude de la résilience des mélanges PP/GTR a mis en évidence l'influence de la structure interne des éprouvettes moulées sur les mécanismes d'amortissement des chocs. Les plaques constituées à 100% de poudrettes compactées/chauffées ont démontré une bonne cohésion et d'excellentes propriétés d'amortissement aux chocs. Le coefficient d'absorption acoustique n'est intéressant qu'au voisinage de la résonance des différentes plaques testées.

The Life Marker Chip (LMC) instrument was developed with the aim to detect evidence of life on Mars. The detection was based on an inhibition immunoassay. In this work aptamers were evaluated as potential alternative to antibodies for the LMC. Aptamers were synthetic oligonucleotides able to bind specifically with high affinity to a wide range of target molecules, and have been also integrated as bioreceptors in several detection instruments. The generation of new aptamers against two small molecules using the FluMag-SELEX method was tested and was verified the adaptability of pre-existing aptamers against small targets to the LMC assay type. Based on the fact that the LMC was going to be integrated into the space programme ExoMars, it was also implemented into a small scale experiment the Planetary Protection and Contamination Control requirements found on a life-search mission. In addition to that aptamers compatibility with a sterilisation procedure used in life-search missions was also tested. Furthermore because of the nature of the small molecules studied, multiple analytical chemistry techniques were assessed to verify covalent chemistry surface immobilisation. Within the project timeline it was not possible to achieve a full aptamer generation process but it was possible to understand the methodology behind the procedure and give input for future work. It was found that the direct implementation of existing aptamers against small molecules into the LMC assay was not successful. It was also seen that in the case of aptamer integration onto the LMC some assay changes would probably have to be made. This information was very useful to understand if aptamers could be an alternative to antibodies and be implemented directly into the LMC. It was found that aptamers survived the preliminary sterilisation method applied, which might open the possibility of making aptamers convenient space bioreceptors, reducing time and costs of instrument Planetary Protection implementation. In conclusion aptamers were not straightforward alternatives to antibodies for the LMC because aptamers interacted differently with their targets in comparison to antibodies, particularly with small molecules. Also the biochemical simplicity of the small molecule targets introduced difficulties in aptamers generation that more complex targets would have not. Although aptamers shown incompatibility with the LMC assay format against small targets, they presented resilience to a sterilisation procedure implemented on space missions which could lead to the development of more robust bioreceptors for space missions. This information was helpful in understanding which assay formats were better for detection of small molecules using aptamers and that might contribute for future assay choices applied in detection instruments. It was also possible to make recommendations for the LMC regarding design and validation methods used in life-search missions based on the lessons learn from the developed of a small scale experiment. The developed work was presented at conferences and mentioned in an article journal, and in that way contributed to the knowledge of the space community in general.

Im Rahmen der vorliegenden Dissertation wird, unter Berücksichtigung steuerökonomischer, steuertechnischer und finanzierungsseitiger Aspekte, ein umfassender konzeptiver Modellvorschlag einer einheitlichen europäischen Körperschaftsteuer erarbeitet, deren Aufkommen (teilweise) zur Finanzierung des Haushaltes der EU dienen kann. Als Ausgangspunkt für das Modelldesign werden zunächst insbesondere die Auswirkungen des Steuerwettbewerbs, die Anforderungen an die Körperschaftsbesteuerung im Binnenmarkt, bisherige Koordinierungsinitiativen in diesem Bereich sowie die Ansprüche an die Steuer als Finanzierungsquelle der EU deskriptiv beziehungsweise qualitativ analysiert. Die angestellten finanzwissenschaftlichen Erwägungen führen zum Ergebnis, dass ein System mit einem Zuschlag auf eine gemeinsame konsolidierte Körperschaftsteuer-Bemessungsgrundlage (i.d.F. kurz "EU-KöSt") den an die Steuer gestellten Anforderungen am besten entsprechen würde. Anschließend wird auf dieser Grundlage der Modellvorschlag erarbeitet, dessen Wesenskern aus einem solchen Zuschlag besteht. Mittels empirischer Analyse von Sekundärdaten der Europäischen Kommission ermittelt der Autor eine mögliche Zuschlagshöhe, die zum Ersatz des Aufkommens der Mehrwertsteuer-Eigenmittel der EU gereichen würde - einer Eigenmittelquelle, die zuletzt, vor allem aufgrund ihrer tendenziell regressiven Belastungswirkung, verstärkt Kritik ausgesetzt ist. Die Arbeit gibt darüber hinaus Aufschluss über den potenziellen Einfluss der EU-KöSt beziehungsweise ihrer Systemmerkmale auf den Steuerwettbewerb sowie auf die Steueradministration im Bereich von Unternehmen und Steuerbehörden. (Autorenref.)