L’actuelle méthode de clarification du vin de Champagne à l’issue de sa seconde fermentation est basée sur une manipulation mécanique des bouteilles, principalement au travers de machines de remuage telles que des Gyropalettes. Le principe consiste à imprimer à la bouteille un ensemble ordonné de rotations et d’inclinaisons pour permettre le regroupement et le transport d’un dépôt (issu des étapes précédentes de vinifications), initialement réparti sur une surface importante de la bouteille, en un agrégat concentré dans la bague de cette dernière. Cette manipulation a toujours été pratiquée de façon empirique, basée sur des résultats d’observations in situ. En conséquence, les élaborateurs exécutent cette opération de remuage à partir de ce constat, sans avoir la possibilité d’optimiser le processus de façon plus efficace. Or, cette opération est consommatrice d’espace, de moyens et surtout de temps et ce, dans un contexte d’augmentation des volumes traités. C’est pourquoi, à travers cette thèse, nous présenterons une nouvelle méthode de travail basée sur l’utilisation de vibrations. Pour ce faire et afin de juger l’influence des paramètres et l’efficacité de la solution technique choisie, un ensemble d’outils ont été créés et éprouvés pendant les essais. Ils s’appuient sur l’observation et la quantification des évolutions des phénomènes dans la bouteille. Cette voie est encourageante et permet de réduire la durée du processus en conservant une qualité identique à celle du remuage traditionnel. / The current method of Champagne wine clarification, at the end of its second fermentation, is based on a mechanical manipulation of bottles; and it is essentially executed by machines such as Gyropalettes (« remuage » or riddling process). The process consists on handling the bottle by an orderly set of rotations and tilts to group and move a sediment (outcome of the previous step of winemaking), initially present over an important surface inside the bottle, into a concentrated aggregate in the bottle’s neck. The manipulation has been elaborated empirically; it was based on observations results. Therefore the elaborators execute the riddling operation empirically without having the possibility of optimizing this process in a more efficient way. Also, and because of the increased handled volume nowadays, this operation needs space, time and working tools. That’s why, through this thesis, we shall present a new working method based on imposed vibrations. My study aims to present a new working method based on imposed vibrations. In order to study the parameters influencing the process and the efficiency of the chosen technical solution, a set of tools based on observation and quantification of the phenomena’s evolution inside the bottle, were created and tested. As a conclusion, on the one hand this method reduces the time needed, and on the other hand it leads to the same result in terms of quality.

This study investigates the lithological characteristics, and lateral and vertical facies trends of poorly understood, deep-marine matrix-rich sedimentary rocks. Two laterally extensive, well-exposed outcrops of slope and proximal basin floor deposits were investigated from the Neoproterozoic Windermere Supergroup. Significantly, matrix-rich beds have been found to undergo the same lateral trends (over ~200-650 m) in both outcrops. Initially, thicker, clayey sandstone transitions laterally to a bipartite bed with the development of an upper, planar-based, more matrix-rich unit. Further laterally, the basal unit progressively thins until it pinches out, and all that remains is the upper, more matrix-rich unit – a sandy claystone. It too thins and then pinches out. Draping the entire transect is a thin, matrix-poor structured unit overlain by a mudstone or claystone cap. These trends are interpreted to reflect a progressive but rapid lateral evolution of flow structure controlled primarily by particle settling, namely sand, from mud-rich avulsion-related flows.

Dans le but de mieux comprendre les processus régissant la pédogenèse des Technosols, un ancien bassin à boues sidérurgiques riches en métaux et recouvert par une forêt caducifoliée de milieu tempéré, a fait l'objet d'une caractérisation approfondie, à partir d'un profil de 2 m et en colonnes lysimétriques sous l'influence du climat et de la végétation. Le Technosol, qui s'est développé sur les boues, résulte de plusieurs étapes de pédogenèse localisées dans le temps et dans l'espace. Les principaux moteurs ont d'abord été les cycles de dessiccation-humectation et les changements de conditions physiques et chimiques associés, puis l'activité biologique, notamment en lien avec l'apport de matières organiques en surface et l'installation des racines. Le développement d'une végétation diversifiée malgré les fortes teneurs en métaux toxiques s'explique par la nature des constituants minéraux et les propriétés chimiques (pH alcalin, forte CEC) et physiques (forte porosité, forte capacité de rétention en eau) qui limitent jusqu'à présent la disponibilité des métaux. Le Technosol est le produit d'une combinaison de processus normalement rencontrés dans des sols naturels d'évolution pédogénétique différente (e.g. Andosols, sols carbonatés) en lien avec la diversité des matériaux parents technogéniques et le mélange original des constituants qui les compose. Cette concomitance de processus coexistant rarement dans la nature pourrait être une caractéristique génétique des Technosols formés sur des matériaux complexes et être appelée « technosolisation » / With the aim of better understanding pedogenetic processes occurring in Technosols, a former settling pond of iron industry containing metal-rich sludge and covered by a deciduous forest of temperate region was thoroughly characterized, from a 2-m profile and in lysimeter experiments under the influence of climate and vegetation. The Technosol developing on iron industry sludge resulted from several stages of pedogenesis with areas of more intense changes. Main pedogenesis drivers were, first, drying-wetting cycles and involved changes of physical and chemical conditions, then biological activity, especially related to organic matter input at the surface and root colonization. The development of diversified vegetation despite high contents of toxic metals can be explained by the nature of mineral constituents and chemical (alkaline pH, high CEC) and physical (high porosity, high water retention capacity) properties which have limited metal availability until now. The Technosol resulted from a combination of processes which occurred usually in natural soils with distinct pedogenetic evolution (e.g. Andosols, carbonated soils) due to the diversity of technogenic parental materials and the original mixture of constituents they contained. This simultaneity of processes coexisting rarely in natural environments could be a genetic particularity of Technosols formed on complex materials and could be called 'technosolization'

No description available.

The separation of solids from biological wastewater treatment is an important step in the treatment process, as it has a significant impact on effluent water quality. The moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) technology is a proven upgrade or replacement wastewater treatment system for carbon and nitrogen removal. However, a challenge of this technology is the characteristics of the effluent solids that results in their poor settlement; with settling being the common method of solids removal. The main objective of this research is to understand and expand the current knowledge on the settling characteristics of MBBR produced solids and the parameters that influence them. In particular, in this dissertation, the impacts are studied of carrier types, biofilm thickness restraint design of carriers, and varying carbonaceous loading rates on MBBR performance, biofilm morphology, biofilm thickness, biofilm mass, biofilm density, biofilm detachment rate, solids production, particle size distribution (PSD) and particle settling velocity distribution (PSVD). With this aim, three MBBR reactors housing three different carrier types were operated with varying loading rates. In order to investigate the effect of carrier geometrical properties on the MBBR system, the conventional, cylindrically-shaped, flat AnoxK™ K5 carrier with protected voids was compared to two newly-designed, saddle-shaped Z-carriers with the fully exposed surface area. Moreover, the AnoxK™ Z-200 carrier was compared to the AnoxK™ Z-400 carrier to evaluate the biofilm thickness restraint design of these carriers, where the Z-200 carrier is designed for greater biofilm thickness-restraint. The Z-200 carrier is designed to limit the biofilm thickness to the level of 200 µm as opposed to 400 µm for the Z-400 carrier. Finally, to investigate the effects of varying carbonaceous loading rates on system removal performance, biofilm characteristics and solids characteristics, further analyses were performed at three different loading rates of 1.5 to 2.5 and 6.0 g-sBOD/m2·d in steady-state conditions. The PSD and the PSVD analyses were combined to relate these two properties. A settling velocity distribution analytical method, the ViCAs, was applied in combination with microscopy imaging and micro-flow imaging to investigate the relation of PSD and settling behaviour of MBBR produced particles. The obtained results have indicated that the carrier type significantly impacted the MBBR performance, biofilm, and particle characteristics. As such, the K5 carrier MBBR system demonstrated a statistically significantly higher carbonaceous removal rate and efficiency (3.8 ± 0.3 g-sBOD/m2·d and 59.9 ± 3.0% sBOD removal), higher biofilm thickness (281.1 ± 8.7 μm), higher biofilm mass per carrier (43.9 ± 1.0 mg), lower biofilm density (65.0 ± 1.5 kg/m3), lower biofilm detachment rate (1.7 ± 0.7 g-TSS/ m2·d) and hence lower solids production (0.7 ± 0.3 g-TSS/d) compared to the two Z-carriers. The Z-carriers' different shape exposes the biofilm to additional shear stress, which could explain why the Z-carriers have thinner and denser biofilm, resulting in higher solids production and lower system performance in comparison with K5. Moreover, the carrier type was also observed to impact the particle characteristics significantly. PSD analysis demonstrated a higher percentage of small particles in the Z-carrier system effluent and hence a significantly lower solids settling efficiency. Therefore, the solids produced in the K5 reactor have shown enhanced settling behaviour, consisting of larger particles with faster settling velocities compared to Z-carriers. This dissertation also investigated the effects of restraint biofilm thickness on MBBR performance by comparing the Z-200 biofilm thickness-restraint carrier to the Z-400 carrier. No significant difference was observed in removal efficiency, biofilm morphology, biofilm density, biofilm detachment rate, and solids production between the Z-200 to the Z-400 carriers. The PSD and the PSVD analyses did not illustrate any significant difference in the particles’ settling behaviour for these two biofilm thickness restraint carriers, indicating that the biofilm thickness-restraint carrier design was not a controlling factor in the settling potential of MBBR produced solids. Finally, this research studied the effect of varying loading rates and demonstrated a positive, strong linear correlation between the measured sBOD loading rate and the removal rate, indicating first-order BOD removal kinetics. The biofilm thickness, biofilm density and biofilm mass decreased when the surface area loading rate (SALR) was increased from 2.5 to 6.0 g-sBOD/m2·d. The solids retention time (SRT) was also shown to decrease by increasing the SALR, where the lowest SRT (1.7 ± 0.1 days) was observed at the highest SALR, with the highest cell viability (81.8 ± 1.7%). Significantly higher biofilm detachment rate and yield were observed at SALR 2.5, with the thickest biofilm and a higher percentage of dead cells. Consequently, a higher fraction of larger and rapidly settling particles was observed at SALR of 2.5 g-sBOD/m2·d, which leads to a significantly better settling behaviour of the MBBR effluent solids. This study expands the current knowledge of MBBR-produced particle characteristics and settling behaviour. A comprehensive understanding of the MBBR system performance and the potential influencing factors on the MBBR produced solids, particle characteristics, and their settleability will lead to optimized MBBR design for future pilot- and full-scale applications of the MBBR.

This study conceptualizes the married woman's experience of relocation as a passage through a moving 'career'. This passage follows a prescribed, regularized sequence of stages involving decision-making, planning, relocation, and settling-in. Such a conceptualization allows the examination of geographic mobility as a process occurring over time and within the context of other life events; and of the role of the previous environment in shaping the definition of, and response to, the new social world. The data for this study were collected through interviews with 123 married women who moved with their spouses into the metropolitan area of Hamilton and Burlington, Ontario. All had moved within Canada, but not less than 35 miles; had not lived in the target area within the preceding five years; and were interviewed within a year of their move. They were contacted through the cooperation of national van lines agents, a federal government mobility programme, and a municipal department of social services. A focus of the research is on the wife's role in and response to her moving career. Her control over that career varies considerably with each stage. Women have little control over the initiation of the passage during the decision-making stage, but have substantial control over what they consider to be the 'mundane' tasks which comprise the planning and relocation stages. During the settling-in stage, however, most women play the key role in establishing the home and making the move successful for their families. Thus many women feel responsible for the success of a moving career which they had little role in initiating. This research also addresses the question of whether, why, and in what ways women perceive their experience of relocation as different from that of their spouse. Most wives felt that moving was more difficult for them than for their husbands. The major differentiating factor was not the husband's occupational career per se, but rather the continuity of that career through working for the same employer or in a related field. Few women in this study experienced such occupational continuity. The husband's experience of relocation not only differed from but also complicated that of his wife. This was most apparent in his leaving for the new community weeks or months before the wife and children. Although rarely examined by migration researchers, this sequencing of the moving career is an important aspect of wives' experiences of relocation. Many women found this period of separation from the spouse the most difficult and disruptive stage of the moving career. Family life cycle stage also emerged as an important factor distinguishing wives' experiences of geographic mobility. Women who became mothers or whose children left the nuclear family at the time of the move found themselves in competing status passages. Relocation complicated the experiences of those who became mothers; for those who launched children from the home, the moving career both initiated and complicated passage through this family life cycle stage. Migration researchers fundamentally disagree on whether the experience of relocation has primarily beneficial or disruptive consequences for people. In the short term, most women found moving to be highly disruptive of routine, taken-for-granted reality, and social life. There was no support for the proposition that as familiarity with the role of mover increases, women learn techniques for easing the disruptiveness of the passage. While the wives could generalize the passage so that the physical aspects of relocation became easier, the experience of social and emotional disruption actually increased with repeated relocation. Nevertheless, most women felt that they had personally benefitted from geographic mobility, by becoming more independent, confident, and assertive. The long term consequences of relocation are more uncertain, however. Many women suffered a sense of rootlessness and lacked a concept of a life-plan, of where and who they would be when the moves were over. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The accumulation of microplastics (MPs) are a growing concern for the environment, the maximum contributor to the MP pollution is tyre wear particles or TWPs. TWPs can accumulate in the environment and remain there for long periods of time and hence have the ability to disrupt ecosystems. With nearly 6,000,000 tons of TWPs being emitted each year globally there is a need to study theiroccurrence and fate in terms of why and how these particles get created and where they end up in the environment. The occurrence and fate of tyre wear particles (TWPs) were investigated, and a model was created in Python to simulate the flow of TWPs in a stormwater system at a test site on Highway E18 in Sweden. In the literature review it was found that the generation of TWPs is highly dependent on annual average daily traffic and the type of the road; it is also dependent on the driving behaviour such as acceleration, making unnecessary turns and the use of studded tyres in the winter. The TWPs are generally transported via stormwater but wind also plays a crucial role in transporting TWPs which are of a smaller size than 10 µm. Although the common notion is that the TWPs get washed into rivers,the literature review also suggests that most TWPs get trapped in soil that is covered with vegetation. Three processes were simulated in the developed model, namely transport, hetero-aggregation and settling. The results clearly show that a rainfall with an intensity of 40 mm during 15 min providesminimum settling in the stormwater system, and a 10 mm rainfall with a duration of more than 30 hasmaximum settling. Hetero-aggregation and settling is directly dependent on particle size and hence larger particle sizes have a higher probability of attaching to another particle or to settle in the pipes or wells of the stormwater system. It was also observed that the flow patterns such as depth, discharge and velocity of flow largely affect the settling and hetero-aggregation in the stormwater system. Most particles remain unaffected in short duration and high intensity rainfalls; the opposite is true for the longer duration and lower intensity rainfalls. Using the model, a stormwater system can be designed to trap or to flush out TWPs from the system. Also, the concentration of TWPs in the sinks can be known using the model that is created in this study

Two sets of triplicate pilot algal raceway ponds (1000-L, 0.30-m deep, paddle wheel mixed) were operated for 14 months at a California wastewater treatment plant to treat wastewater and generate algal-bacterial biomass as biofuel feedstock. Two experiments were run to determine the effect on biomass productivity of (1) hydraulic residence time (HRT: 2, 3, 4, or 4.5 days) and (2) feeding schedule (18 small pulses during 8 AM-4 PM [diurnal] versus 20 large pulses during 4 AM-12 AM [diel]). The target productivity was at least 20 g volatile suspended solids per m2 of pond per day. Additional output variables were followed during the experiments: treatment performance and the effectiveness of biomass harvesting though bioflocculation. Productivity was consistently higher in ponds with a 2-d HRT versus longer HRTs. Average productivity for the 2-d HRT ponds and the variable-HRT ponds (3.6-d average HRT) were 30.1 and 23.4 g/m2-d, respectively. Productivity data collected during the feed regime experiment were highly variable, and average productivities were the same at 26 g/m2-d. During both experiments, both pond sets exceeded the target of 20 g/m2-d on an annual basis. During the hydraulic residence time experiment, the average pond productivity throughout the HRT experiment for the 2-d HRT and 3-d HRT ponds were 30.1 and 23.4 g/m2-d, respectively. Settling efficiency was high for both 2- and 3-d HRT ponds with average turbidity removal of 87-89%. However, total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) concentrations in the 2-day HRT pond effluent were 50-94% higher than in the 3-d HRT pond effluents, although effluent TAN concentrations in both ponds were approximately the same during mid-summer. Furthermore, effluent biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) concentrations were similar, with the supernatant of Imhoff cones settled for 24 hours containing 24-27 mg/L BOD5 (81-92% removal). In general, the 3-d HRT ponds provided better treatment than the 2-d HRT ponds. During the feeding regime experiment, no productivity or BOD5 removal differences were evident. However, the 3-d HRT ponds had consistently 8 mg/L more effluent TAN than the 2-d HRT ponds.

Each year in the United States, large volumes of material are dredged out of lakes and waterways and are dumped in confined disposal facilities so that they can consolidate. A mathematical model is proposed to predict the settling of the dredged material by predicting the ?primary? self-weight consolidation curve of silt particles under zone settling conditions. Using a relatively ?pure? specimen of silt, self-weight consolidation tests were performed at concentrations ranging from 10 to 200 grams per liter. To generate the predicted curve, the model requires the location of the zone interface at 180, 600, and 720 seconds and the assumed A-value. The A-value is used to ?fine-tune? the predicted curve so that it will fit the experimental curve. When values of ?A? from 0.85 to 0.95 are used, the predicted curve will fit the experimental curve for all concentrations considered. Thus, to predict the ?primary? self-weight consolidation of the dredged material, a sedimentation test using a sample of the dredged material must first be performed.

No description available.