<p>The anaerobic treatment of waste water has been studied with an emphasis on the Up- flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) reactor. A model to describe the processes occurring in a UASB reactor was developed and an experimental study of the anaerobic wastewater treatment systems in Nicaragua was also performed.</p><p>Experimental work was carried out in order to link the study to the wastewater treatment situation in Nicaragua, a developing country. In order to assess the performance of the treatment plants, the methanogenic activity of sludge from seven anaerobic wastewater treatment plants was first addressed. Due to a lack of Standards for the measurement of methanogenic activity, a laboratory method was developed based on the methods found in the literature. An additional aim of this study was to find adequate inoculum for the wastewater treatment plant in a brewery using an anaerobic reactor. Physic-chemical characteristics of the sludge were also determined to provide a basis for decisions regarding the agricultural employment of the sludge from the treatment plants.</p><p>A one-dimensional model describing the physical and biological processes occurring in an Up-flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket reactor has been developed. These processes are advection, dispersion and reaction in the granule, including mass transport at the interface and diffusion within the particle. The advection-dispersion equation is used to describe these phenomena in the reactor. Dispersion is mainly caused by the gas bubbles rising up through the reactor and the granules in the ascending flow. The extent of the dispersion is expressed by the dimensionless Peclet (Pe) number. It is assumed that the biological degradation takes place at the surface and within the granules. The processes occurring in the granules formed by the microorganisms are described in detail; they include diffusion in the stagnant film around the granule, diffusion within the particle, and a degradation reaction. From these processes, the reaction term is analytically determined. The granules were modelled as spherical porous biocatalysts of different sizes. The biochemical degradation reactions were assumed to follow Monod type kinetics of the first order. For the numerical solution of the model, a standard program was used (Within MATLAB). The model was applied to some experimental data taken from the literature.</p><p>An important characteristic of the model is that it can simultaneously take into account reactions in granules of different sizes. At present, the parameters of the model are calculated using data from the literature; but experimental measurements of the main parameters are planned. The impact of the different parameters was studied by numerical simulation and its validity was tested using experimental data reported in the literature. The model could be a useful tool in the performance optimization of UASB reactors by predicting the influences of different operational parameters.</p>

<p>Is it possible for a minimal model of anaerobic muscle contraction to describe measured data? There have been many models trying to describe separate parts of the human body with various results. In this thesis a model has been created to describe all the essential biochemical reactions of anaerobic muscle metabolism during contraction but with as few states and parameters as possible. A toolbox in Matlab was used for simulation and also for parameter estimation. The best model eventually got validated to see statistically how well it can describe the measured data. During the simulations an unnecessary assumption got revealed which helped us to understand the system better. The vision of a whole-body model may not be so far into the future as many think and the first step is to understand smaller biochemical systems like muscle contraction.</p>

En säker bakteriediagnostik kräver en korrekt provtagningsteknik, ett lämpligt transportsätt och rätt odlingsteknik. På grund av centralisering av verksamheter och ekonomiska begräsningar, är transport av prover till mikrobiologilaboratorium mycket vanligt. Detta medför behov av ett transportmedium som håller känsliga bakterier vid liv under långa transport- och förvaringstider. Dessutom skall transportrören klara av maskinell utodling som kräver ett vätskebaserat provtagningsmedium. Denna övergång minskar även arbetsbelastning och förbättra ergonomin hos personalen. I denna studie utvärderades viabilitet av Propionibacterium acnes (n=3), Bacteroides fragilis (n=2) och Neisseria gonorrhoeae (n=3) i transportmediet från COPAN E-swab™. Alla tre bakterier förvarades i transportrören i 24, 48 och 72 timmar (h) och dessutom i 120h för P. acnes och B. fragilis. Den ursprungliga koncentrationen samt den procentuella viabilitetsförlusten över tid beräknades med hjälp av viable count. Efter 120h förvaring i transportmediet hade viabiliteten minskat till 47 – 80 % för P. acnes, 18 % för B. fragilis 1 och 73 % för B. fragilis 2. N. gonorrhoeae visade en minskad viabilitet med 96 – 99,97 % efter 24h förvaring i 4°C och rumstemperatur. P. acnes och B. fragilis kunde förvaras i transportmediet i upp till 5 dygn utan att diagnostiken äventyrades. N. gonorrhoeae kunde förvaras i transportmediet i 24h för att diagnostik genom odling ska vara möjlig. / Safe bacterial diagnostics requires proper sampling techniques, suitable specimen transport and correct inoculation techniques. As a result of centralization of operations and economic restraints, transportation of samples to microbiology laboratories is very common. This entails the need for a transport medium that keeps sensitive bacteria alive under the long transport and storage time. Additionally, the transport tube should be convenient for automatic inoculation that requires a liquid based medium. This transition also reduces workload and improves ergonomics of the staff. In this study the survival of Propionibacterium acnes (n = 3), Bacteroides fragilis (n = 2) and Neisseria gonorrheae (n = 3) in the transport medium Copan E-swab™   was evaluated. All the species were inoculated in the tubes for 24, 48, 72h and also 120h for B. fragilis and P. acnes.  Initial concentration at start time and the percentage survival over time was calculated with the help of viable count. Viability decreased to 47 – 80 % for P. acnes, 18 % for B. fragilis 1 and 73% for B. fragilis 2 after 120 h storage in the transportmedium. N. gonorrhoeae showed a reduction in viability of 96 – 99,97 % after 24h storage in the medium at 4°C and in room temperature. P. acnes and B. fragilis can be stored in the medium for up to 5 days, without endangering a diagnosis. N. gonorrhoeae can be stored in the transport medium for up to 24h to secure a diagnosis through culturing.

Background: Practical blood flow restriction (pBFR) combined with resistance training has been proven to facilitate muscle strength despite training at low intensity. However, research investigating the effects of long-term pBFR-training and its periodization with strength training (ST) at a higher intensity is lacking, as well as the effects of occlusion training on blood lactate levels (BLL) over time. Purpose: To compare the effects of 2 weeks of pBFR training followed by 2 weeks of ST (BFR-ST) with 2 weeks of ST followed by 2 weeks of pBFR training (ST-BFR) on anaerobic performace and BLL. Method: 5 adults (age 23 ± 2 years) with a minimum of 1 year of ST experience were recruited and randomized into BFR-ST (n=2) or ST-BFR (n=3). Anaerobic performance was measured using a 30-s Wingate-test and BLL samples were collected &lt;1 and 5 minutes post-Wingate. Data and samples were collected before the intervention and after the 2 protocols. Results: No differences were seen between groups in anaerobic output or BLL after 4 weeks of training (p&gt;0,1 for all values). A decrease in time to peak power (tPP) were seen in both groups with an advantage for BFR-ST (-37 ± 8 %) over ST-BFR (-27 ± 22 %). BLL decreased after 2 weeks of pBFR (-14 ± 26 % at &lt;1 min and -7 ± 14 % at 5 min) and increased after 2 weeks of ST (+26 ± 45 % at &lt;1 min and +8 ± 20 % at 5 min). Conclusion: The results of this study suggests that occlusion training in conjunction with resistance training can reduce tPP, that BFR-ST has greater impact on this quality compared to ST-BFR and that pBFR-training seems to lower post-Wingate BLL. Thus pBFR-training combined with ST could be an interesting alternative to a traditional periodized resistance training program.

Bioenergy has the potential to reduce the world's dependence on fossil fuels, and to decrease the CO2 emissions due to fossil combustion. Lignocellulosic and algae biomass have been presented as promising feedstocks for bioenergy production. In this study, a comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been developed to evaluate the environmental impacts associated with different energy products via different routes across the whole life of algal and lignocellulosic bioenergy. Results were compared per energy basis, the production of 1 million BTU of energy products. For the development of the comparative algae biomass conversion LCA, algal biomass was converted to liquid biofuels via a thermochemical gasification and Fisher-Tropsch Synthesis (FTS) process; and to electricity and heat via anaerobic digestion and combined heat and power (CHP) process. Overall results from the algae biomass conversion LCA showed that the process that converts algae biomass through anaerobic digestion and CHP process to electricity and heat had the highest overall environmental impact. Results also showed that the impact categories that appear to contribute the most to the overall impacts are ecotoxicity, human health non-cancer, and human health cancer. For the development of the comparative lignocellulosic biomass conversion LCA, lignocellulosic biomass was converted to ethanol and higher alcohols through thermochemical gasification and alcohol synthesis process, to liquid biofuels via thermochemical gasification and FTS process, and to liquid biofuels via a thermochemical gasification and FTS process that uses methane. Overall results from the lignocellulosic biomass conversion LCA showed that the process that converts lignocellulosic biomass into alcohols has the highest overall environmental impact. Results also showed that the impact categories that appear to contribute the most to the overall impacts are ecotoxicity, human health non-cancer, human health cancer, and global warming. This study determined that cultivated algae biomass feedstock has much higher environmental impacts compared with lignocellulosic biomass feedstock from forestation and agriculture byproducts. It was also concluded that thermochemical gasification and FTS process showed higher efficiency when converting biomass to bioenergy. In addition, the five biomass to bioenergy conversion pathways used in the development of this LCA study were compared. Results showed that the pathway with lignocellulosic biomass (feedstock), thermochemical gasification and alcohol synthesis process (conversion process), and ethanol and higher alcohols (energy products) has the largest environmental impact.

Three continuously stirred tank reactors (CSTR) were operated in semi continuous mode treating swine waste using anaerobic digestion. The reactors were used to test the effect of solid retention time (SRT) on CH4 yield, total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) concentrations, % volatile solids (VS), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and volatile fatty acids (VFA) removal, readily biodegradable COD concentration and the denitrification potential for the effluent in a biological nutrient removal (BNR) system. During Phase I of the study, the three reactors were operated at the same 28 day SRT for 16 weeks. SRTs were then changed during the 12 week Phase II period. The SRTs studied were 14, 21 and 28 days, with the same organic loading rate (OLR) of 1.88 ± 0.2 kg VS/ m3-day. The reactor with the lowest SRT (14 days) had the highest VS and VFA removal at 73.6 and 67.6% and lowest TAN concentration at 0.78 g NH4+-N/L, followed by the 21 day and 28 day reactors. This was likely due to the fast microbial growth rates and substrate utilization rates in this reactor compared with the other two. The 14 day reactor had the highest CH4 yield at 0.33 m3CH4/kg VS added and readily biodegradable COD concentration at 0.93 COD/L. The variations in CH4 yield and readily biodegradable COD concentrations between the three reactors were not statistically significant. Denitrification potential for the reactors was 1.20, 0.73 and 0.56 g COD/g N for 14, 21 and 28 day reactors, respectively, and the differences were statistically significant. None of the reactors achieved a denitrification potential of 5 g COD/g N, the amount required to use effluent of anaerobically digested swine waste as an internal carbon source in a BNR. This was attributed to operating conditions such as freezing and thawing of the raw swine waste that maximized CH4 yield and lowered the readily biodegradable COD concentration. In addition the 14 day reactor had low TAN concentrations thus increasing the denitrification potential of the centrate from that reactor.

The purpose of this research is to determine if anaerobic adhesive can be used as a prevailing torque locking feature. Maintaining preload in critical joints is the usual standard that anaerobic adhesives are held to in aerospace and other industry. To test if anaerobic adhesive can be used as a prevailing torque locking feature a test procedure was developed and implemented to measure the removal torque of threaded fasteners after an allotted cure time. In total, 191 threaded fasteners of different material and coatings were tested in the unseated and seated states with various strengths and varieties of anaerobic adhesive. A series of three tests were conducted: initial use, reuse with no added anaerobic adhesive, and a third test with added product to the bolt and nut to see how removal torque would behave in these conditions. It was found that using anaerobic adhesive as a prevailing torque locking feature is viable in many cases. No published work to date analyzes anaerobic adhesive at the standard of a prevailing torque locking feature.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether 3 days of dietary nitrate supplementation has positive effects on exercise performance and energy metabolism at rest and during strenuous knee exercise, and exercise recovery. The experimental protocol was a double blind, placebo-controlled, two-period, and within-subjects design. Fourteen healthy nonsmoking males (22.71 ± 0.72yr, 72.93 ± 2.35kg, and 47.67 ± 1.56 ml/kg/min VO2max) participated in the study. Two supplements (nitrate lozenge; NO-L or placebo; PLA) were orally administrated randomly at 48 and 24 hours before each trial day and again 40 minutes before each exercise trial. Total work, peak torque, and respiratory gases were automatically collected during repeated knee extensions/flexions (isokinetic concentric contractions with dominant leg; 4 sets of 28 repetitions at 180°/sec with 30 sec rest intervals) and recovery (6 contractions of 1 repetition maximum with 120 vii sec between contractions). For these results, peak torque, rate of fatigue, work efficiency, and rate of recovery were calculated. Blood specimens were collected at rest before and after the treatment, post exercise, and end of recovery to track the changes in blood glucose and lactate concentrations. There was a significant inverse correlation for total work during knee extension exercise and oxygen consumption (PLA: r = -.560 and NO-L: r = -.546; p < .01, respectively). During the exercise, RER was significantly higher for PLA compared with NO-L (PLA: 1.42 ± 0.02 vs. NO-L: 1.38 ± 0.02: p = .03). Work within each set and total work performed were higher for NO-L, but these differences were not significant. However, NO-L enhanced exercise efficiency by 3.3% when compared with PLA (PLA: 2497.5 ± 134.56 ft-lb/L/min vs. NO-L: 2578.7 ± 132.24 ftlb/L/min; p = .05). Extensor peak torque recovery rate slope was not significant, but meaningfully faster for NO-L (PLA: 2.39 ± 0.52% vs. NO-L: 3.06 ± 0.54%; p = .09) and significant interaction effect (p = .02) was found during recovery contractions, especially from contractions 2 to 3 (p = .03). It is also worth noting that differences in time to peak torque during knee extension exercise for NO-L and PLA approached significances (PLA: 0.213 ± 0.01 sec vs. NO-L: 0.200 ± 0.01 sec; p = .08). The results suggest that 3 days of dietary nitrate supplementation improves rate of exercise recovery and enhances work efficiency during vigorous resistance exercise. / text

Fat, oil, and grease residues, food particles, solids and some kitchen wastewaters are collected in grease traps which are separate from the municipal wastewater stream. Grease traps are emptied periodically and grease trap waste (GTW) is hauled for treatment. This dissertation focuses on anaerobic co-digestion of un-dewatered (raw) GTW with municipal wastewater treatment sludge (MWS) at wastewater treatment plants. In particular, this research focuses on the biochemical methane potential of un-dewatered GTW as well as the stability and performance of anaerobic co-digestion of MWS and un-dewatered GTW. A set of modified biochemical methane potential tests was performed to determine the methane potential of un-dewatered GTW under mesophilic conditions (35 °C). Methane potential of un-dewatered GTW in this study was 606 mL CH₄/g VS [subscript added] which is less than previously reported methane potentials of 845 - 1050 mL CH₄/g VS [subscript added] for concentrated/dewatered GTW. However, the methane potential of un-dewatered GTW (606 mL CH₄/g VS [subscript added]) was more than two times greater than the 223 mL CH₄/g VS [subscript added] reported for MWS digestion alone. A comprehensive study was performed to determine the stability and performance of anaerobic co-digestion of MWS with un-dewatered GTW as a function of increasing GTW feed ratios. The performance of two semi-continuously fed anaerobic digesters at 35 °C was evaluated as a function of increasing GTW feed ratios. Anaerobic co-digestion of MWS with un-dewatered GTW at a 46% GTW feed ratio (on a volatile solids basis) resulted in a 67% increase in methane production and a 26% increase in volatile solids reduction compared to anaerobic digestion of MWS alone. On the other hand, anaerobic co-digestion of un-dewatered GTW resulted in a higher inhibition threshold (46% on VS basis) than that of dewatered GTW. These results indicate that using un-dewatered GTW instead of dewatered GTW can reduce the inhibition risk of anaerobic co-digestion of MWS and GTW. Recovery of the anaerobic digesters following upset conditions was also evaluated and semi-continuous feed of digester effluent into upset digesters yielded of the biogas production level of the undisrupted digestion. Finally, a mathematical model was used to describe the relationship between methane potential and GTW feed ratio on a VS basis. The results of this research can be used to predict methane production and identify suitable GTW feeding ratios for successful co-digestion of un-dewatered GTW and MWS. / text

published_or_final_version / Civil and Structural Engineering / Master / Master of Philosophy