Understanding of the processes affecting solute transport in flowing water is important for the possibility to predict the evolution with time of polluted stream systems. This thesis presents tracer experiment methodology and model developments for solute transport in streams, with special focus on retention processes and their effect on solute stream transport. Results are presented from a tracer experiment in the Säva Stream, Uppland County, Sweden, where both a conservative (3H as tritiated water) and a reactive (51Cr as trivalent chromium ion) tracer were injected simultaneously. The time and length scales of the experiment were prolonged compared to previous studies, which allowed for new critical tests of different model concepts. It was found that the hyporheic exchange greatly affected the solute transport of both tracers. However, the retention of chromium was significantly more pronounced. About 76% of the injected chromium was lost from the stream water phase directly after the passage of the pulse 30 km downstream of the injection point. The inventory of chromium in the sediments indicated that the main part was retrieved in the hyporheic zone. Both a diffusive and an advective hyporheic exchange model were developed and evaluated versus independent observations in the stream water and hyporheic zone. Analytical expressions for the central temporal moments of the breakthrough curve and semi-analytical solutions for the solute concentration in the Laplace domain were derived. Both models were found useful in representing the observations. For the transport of the reactive solute, it was found essential to consider a kinetic sorption on to particulate matter in the hyporheic zone. The time needed for a wash-out of 75% of the maximum uptake in the hyporheic zone was found to be ~85 times longer for the reactive solute, compared to the conservative solute. Neglecting the sorption kinetics in the transport model yielded significant errors in the central temporal moments, which implied an incorrect description of the wash-out process from the hyporheic zone. Independent observations in the stream water and hyporheic zone as well as choice of evaluation method are essential for a correct interpretation of the processes. A first attempt was also made to link model parameters such as the residence time in the hyporheic zone with measurable parameters of the stream. Such a relationship offers the possibility to generalize results for other streams and stream conditions. A generic study of the transport of an inert solute in the Lule River, Sweden, using this kind of relationship, indicated that the hyporheic exchange can have a large practical implication.

Le développement de l’hydrogène en tant que nouveau vecteur d’énergie demande de pouvoir le stocker à grande échelle, dans des conditions d’encombrement, de coût énergétique et de sécurité acceptables. Le stockage sous forme solide dans des hydrures métalliques réversibles, constitue une solution particulièrement sûre et intéressante pour des applications dans le secteur des transports. Parmi de nombreux matériaux possibles, le système Mg/MgH2, constitue l’un des meilleurs candidats : abondant, bon marché, capacité de stockage réversible et élevée (7,6 % H2 en masse). Son utilisation à l’échelle industrielle est néanmoins limitée par les cinétiques de sorption très lentes et la stabilité thermodynamique importante (enthalpie de formation élevée) nécessitant des températures de fonctionnement supérieure à 300 °C. Ce projet vise au développement de composites à base de MgH2 et d’additifs avec des propriétés de stockage améliorées. L’originalité des travaux menés repose sur le type d’additifs choisi, les complexes de métaux de transition (centre métallique : Ni et Ru, ligands organiques : phosphines). En effet, ces derniers ne sont pour le moment que très peu utilisés dans la littérature. L’objectif de ce travail de thèse est donc d’explorer leur potentiel et leur efficacité pour améliorer les propriétés de stockage du système Mg/MgH2. Différents composites "MgH2 + complexe" ont été préparés par broyage et imprégnation et les cinétiques de sorption des systèmes obtenus ainsi que leurs paramètres thermodynamiques ont été déterminés par analyse thermique (DTP, DSC, PCT). Enfin, de nombreuses techniques de caractérisation physico-chimiques (DRX, RMN, XPS, MEB, MET) ont été utilisées afin de comprendre les phénomènes se déroulant lors de l’hydrogénation et la déshydrogénation des composites préparés. Le meilleur système « MgH2 + complexe » préparé durant ce travail (MgH2 dopé avec 20 % du complexe NiHCl(PCy3)2) est capable d’absorber 6 % en masse d’H2 à 100 °C en 30 min et de libérer son hydrogène sous vide à 200 °C. Les énergies d’activation apparentes et enthalpies de formation de ce composite sont respectivement de 22 et –65 kJ/mol H2 pour l’hydrogénation (contre 200 et –74,7 kJ/mol H2 pour du Mg commercial) et de 127 et 63 kJ/mol H2 pour la déshydrogénation (contre 239 et 74,7 kJ/mol H2 pour du MgH2 commercial) / Although hydrogen is widely recognized as a promising energy carrier, its widespread adoption as alternative to fossil fuels depends critically on the ability to store hydrogen at adequate densities, cost and security. Application devices are far from a valuable technology, and fundamental research is still required. In this regard, solid-state systems present the advantage of denser and safer hydrogen storage. Among them, Mg/MgH2 is considered as a highly promising material in terms of reversibility, cost, gravimetric and volumetric capacity. However, high thermodynamic stability (high formation enthalpy) and slow hydrogen sorption kinetics limits its practical applications.This project aims to develop Mg/MgH2-based systems with improved hydrogen storage properties thanks to the use of additives. The originality of this work is brought by the kind of additive chosen, transition metal complexes (Ni and Ru based, with phosphine ligands). Indeed, they are, for now, only very little used in the literature. The objective of this work is therefore to study their potential and their efficiency to improve the hydrogen storage properties of the Mg/MgH2 system. Different “MgH2 + complex” composites were prepared by ball milling and impregnation method and the sorption kinetics and thermodynamic parameters of the formed systems were studied by TPD, DSC and PCT analyses. Finally, XRD, NMR, XPS, SEM and TEM techniques were used to understand the phenomena taking place during the hydrogenation and the dehydrogenation of the prepared composites.The best “MgH2 + complex” system prepared during this work (MgH2 doped with 20 wt% of NiHCl(PCy3)2 complex) is able to absorb 6 wt% of H2 at 100 °C in 30 min, and to release the stored hydrogen at 200 °C under vacuum. The apparent activation energies and the formation enthalpies of the composite are respectively of 22 and –65 kJ/mol H2 for the hydrogenation reaction (against 200 and –74,7 kJ/mol H2 for commercial Mg) and of 127 and 63 kJ/mol H2 for dehydrogenation (against 239 and 74,7 kJ/mol H2 for commercial MgH2).

De nombreux exemples de matériaux composites obtenus par l’association de fibres végétales et de polymères ont permis des allègements conséquents de structures dans divers domaines d’application. Cependant, la question demeure quant de la durabilité de ces pièces en service, essentiellement par manque de connaissances sur le vieillissement des fibres végétales, sur leurs interactions avec la matrice polymère et sur le comportement hydrothermique des composites biosourcés au cours du temps. Dans cette étude, nous avons étudié les cinétiques et mécanismes de sorption du matériau composite afin d’appréhender son comportement hydrique lors des vieillissements hydrothermiques par immersion dans l’eau à 23°C et 70°C. Cette étude a mis en évidence l’influence des fibres végétales sur les grandeurs caractéristiques de l’absorption en eau du matériau composite : forte prise en eau, gonflement anisotrope. Elle a également permis l’identification des mécanismes de dégradation des fibres de lin ; le rôle très nocif des résidus d’écorce rappelle l’importance du rouissage et du défibrage sur les performances de ces fibres. L’étude du comportement des constituants et du composite confrontés à des vieillissements hydrothermiques a ensuite été entreprise afin d’identifier et quantifier l’influence de chacun des matériaux constitutifs, ainsi que leur synergie. Il en ressort que la détérioration des fibres de lin est la principale cause de l’abattement des propriétés mécaniques du matériau composite. Si une immersion à 23°C pendant 70 jours n’a que peu d’effet sur les propriétés mécaniques, l’élévation de la température à 70°C induit des endommagements importants dès 14 jours d’immersion. La destruction des parois cellulaires et la dégradation des interfaces fibre/matrice sous l’effet de la présence d’eau détériorent le transfert de charge matrice/fibre. La corrélation entre les vieillissements accélérés et naturel a fait ressortir une similitude entre le maintien pendant 70 jours dans l’eau à 23°C et l’exposition aux conditions naturelles pendant 24 mois ; l’immersion à 70°C s’avère trop sévère. Une solution d’amélioration serait d’accentuer le rouissage des fibres afin de supprimer davantage les composés pectiques de la lamelle mitoyenne et de la paroi primaire. L’élimination de ces composés facilement hydrolysables par l’eau permettrait de prétendre à une meilleure qualité de l’interface fibres/matrice tout au long du vieillissement. / A great number of plant fiber – reinforced polymer composites allowed substantial lightening of structures in various fields of application. However, the question remains about the durability of these parts in service, mainly for lack of knowledge about the aging of plant fibers, their interactions with the polymer matrix and the hydrothermal behavior of biosourced composites over time. In this work, water absorption mechanisms and kinetics by the composite material are studied in order to understand the hydric behavior during hydrothermal aging by immersion in deionized water at 23°C or 70°C. The results show that water absorption by the composite is characterized by a high water uptake and an anisotropic swelling. It also allowed the identification of the degradation mechanisms of flax fibers; the very harmful role of bark residues recalls the importance of retting and decortication on the performance of these fibers.The investigation of the behaviors of the constituents and the composite under hydrothermal aging was then undertaken with the aim to identify and quantify the influence of each on the constituent materials, as well as their synergy. It shows that the deterioration of the flax fibers is the main cause of the reduction of the mechanical properties of the composite. If immersion at 23 ° C for 70 days has little effect on the mechanical properties, raising the temperature to 70 ° C induces significant damage from 14 days of immersion. The destruction of the cell walls and the degradation of the fiber/matrix interfaces due to water deteriorate the load transfer efficiency by the fiber/matrix interface. The correlation between accelerated and natural aging showed a similarity between holding for 70 days in water at 23 ° C and exposure to natural conditions for 24 months; immersion at 70 ° C is too severe. An improvement solution would be to increase the retting of the fibers in order to further remove the pectic compounds from the middle lamella and the primary wall. The elimination of these compounds easily hydrolysable by water would claim to a better quality of the fiber / matrix interface throughout aging.

Polymer nanocomposites are promising materials for dielectrical use in high voltage applications and insulations. This work presents a study of nanocomposites based on poly(ethylene-co-butyl acrylate) with two different comonomer compositions and two different aluminium oxide nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were either untreated, or surface-treated with two different silanes, aminopropyl triethoxy silane and octyltriethoxy silane. The best level of dispersion was found for the polymer with 13 wt. % of butyl acrylate (EBA-13) whereas the low melt viscosity of the polymer with 28 wt. % of butyl acrylate (EBA-28) resulted in insufficient mixing with uneven dispersion as a result. Octyltriethoxy silane-treated particles were best dispersed in the polymer. The nanoparticles acted as nucleation agents in EBA-28, increasing the crystallization temperature by several degrees. Studies of the water uptake in the nanocomposite materials showed the effect of the enormous interfacial surfaces and great number of polar groups present on the nanoparticle surfaces. For the well-dispersed nanomaterials, the water sorption data could be modeled by a single Fickian equation, whereas materials that contained a sizeable fraction of large nanoparticle agglomerates showed a two stage sorption process, first a fast process associated with the saturation of the polymer phase and second, a slow diffusion process due to water sorption of large particle agglomerates. The long-term performance and interaction between the nanoparticles and the phenolic antioxidant (Irganox 1010) was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry in order to assess the oxidation induction time (OIT); the latter being proportional to the concentration of efficient antioxidant. It was found that the stabilizer was adsorbed to the untreated Al2O3 nanoparticles, resulting in a significant reduction in OIT. However, silanization of the nanoparticles resulted in an increase in OIT, compared to the materials containing untreated particles. Furthermore, it was shown that the stabilizer was not irreversibly adsorbed to the particles, allowing a gradual release of stabilizer with ageing time. / Polymera nanokompositer är lovande material för användning som dielektriskt material inom högspänningsområdet. I detta arbete studeras nanokompositer framställda av två olika sampolymerer av eten och butylakrylat (EBA-13 med 13 vikt% butylakrylat samt EBA-28 med 28 vikt% och två olika typer av nanopartiklar av Al2O3. Nanopartiklarna användes antingen som obehandlade eller efter silanisering med aminopropyltrietoxysilan- eller oktyltrietoxysilan. Den bästa partikeldispergeringen observerades för de material som baserats på EBA-13 medan den låga smältviskositeten hos EBA-28 resulterade i låga skjuvkrafter under kompounderingen och en observerat ojämn dispergering och förekomst av mikrometerstora agglomerat. Partiklar som silaniserats med oktyltrietoxysilan var lättast att dispergera. Nanopartiklarna fungerade som kärnbildare i EBA-28 vilket medförde en höjning av kristallisationstemperaturen. Vattensorptionsstudier demonstrerade dels effekten av den stora specifika gränsytan mellan partikel och matris och dels av förekomst av polära grupper lokaliserade till nämnda gränsyta. Kompositer med väldispergerade partiklar uppvisade en enkel Ficksk sorptionsprocess medan de material som innehöll en betydande mängd stora agglomerat påvisade en tvådelad process. Den första processen var kopplad till mättningen av polymermatrisen och den andra kunde länkas till vattenupptaget i de stora agglomeraten. Vidare undersöktes långtidsegenskaperna hos nanokompositerna, samt om det fanns någon växelverkan mellan nanopartiklar och en fenolbaserade antioxidant (Irganox 1010). DSC användes för att bestämma induktionstiden för oxidation (OIT) vilket är ett mått på koncentrationen av aktiv fenolisk antioxidant. Det framgick det att Irganox 1010 adsorberades på nanopartiklarna, vilket ledde till en minskning av OIT. Det framgick även att de material som innehöll silaniserade nanopartiklar hade högre OIT jämfört material med obehandlade partiklar. Antioxidanten var däremot inte irreversibelt bunden till nanopartiklarna, utan frigjordes från deras ytor och blev aktiv under åldringen. / QC 20110128