Sustainability has gained a lot of attention in the field of research. Researchers and consumers both prioritize sustainability and environmental issues over previously dominant materials, such as plastic. Packaging and disposable items that used to be made of plastic have largely been replaced with paper. Unfortunately, paper does not perform as well as plastic regarding barrier properties against grease, oxygen, or water vapor. Barrier properties are an important factor when choosing packaging material for food, among other things, as they help maintain the shelf life of the product. In order to improve the properties of the paper packaging and expand its use, the paper is coated with a polymer. However, the polymer contributes to challenges in the recycling of the products as some of the polymer attaches to the fibers, causing difficulties in the separation of each material. Small fragments of plastic may end up in the material streams and the recycled pulp due to the existing challenges in completely removing plastic from cellulosic substrates during recycling. This thesis analyzes the possibilities of identifying and classifying plastic fragments of polyethylene (PE) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) in recycled paper sheets using near-infrared spectroscopy together with multivariate data analysis. The purpose of the work is to develop models that can identify possible residues that may appear in recycled products from various industries. Paper sheets of two different grammages and six different compositions of recycled fiber and virgin fiber were created and scanned by NIR, with and without plastic film under the sheets. The scans were used to develop classification models to identify and categorize scans not included in the calibration data set. The performance of the models was tested by applying them to images of sheets of paper with plastic fragments of different sizes and different type underneath. The results indicated potential in the method. The prediction of the paper sheets with a lower grammage was mostly correct, whereas the classification of polyethylene showed the best performance. There was some noise in the prediction of the plastic fragments, regardless of the grammage of the paper. The noise may be due to a wide variation in the calibration data set since it consisted of paper sheets of six different compositions. A large part of the noise was incorrectly classified as polyvinyl alcohol, which can be due to differences in the manufacturing process of the plastic films. The conclusion of the thesis is that it is feasible to identify and categorize plastic fragments of polyethylene and polyvinyl alcohol in recycled paper sheets with a certain margin of error. It can be stated that the method shows promise, but further research and development in the field is required to build models that can be applied to a wider range of samples.

Flamskyddsmedel har visat sig ha en stor påverkan på både miljö och hälsa. Den grupp flamskyddsmedel som i stor utsträckning har använts sedan slutet på 70-talet till början av 00-talet för textilier är polybromerade difenyletrar (PBDE). De är halogenerade ämnen som är svårnedbrytbara, persistenta, i vissa fall även bioackumulerande och toxcistiska. Studier har visat att dessa ämnen upptäckts i både miljö och i människokroppen. Människan exponeras av dessa ämnen, framförallt genom damm och livsmedel. I synnerhet feta fiskar eftersom PBDE drar sig till organismer och fettvävnader. I takt med att brandkraven i många länder ökar är behovet av ett substitut för bromerade flamskyddsmedel stort. Flera typer av PBDE är idag förbjudna i Europa men problemet kvarstår då det fortfarande existerar i importerade produkter. För att komma ifrån flamskyddsmedel i lös inredning, exempelvis soffor och madrasser skulle ett barriärmaterial innehållande naturligt flamskyddade material vara ett bra substitut.   För lös inredning är det viktigt med komfort, det fanns i studien ett intresse av att se hur naturligt flamskyddat material tillsammans med ull betedde sig vid en flamspridning. Ull i sig har en hög komfort och har ett naturligt flamskydd på grund av sitt höga LOI. För att uppnå ett resultat på vilken FR-fiber som skulle studeras vidare tillsammans med ull, har flamtester på Kevlar, Nomex, Protex och Flamestop utförts. De är uppbyggda med olika typer av naturligt flamskydd i form av aramider, modakryl och fosfor behandlad viskos.   Med resultatet från flamtesterna utfördes vidare tester och analyser på tre kombinationer av Flamestop/Ull, innehållande tre olika procentsatser. Testmetoder i form av antändning och flamspridning har utförts på de olika kombinationerna, för att göra det möjligt att analysera om hur de flamskyddade materialet uppförde sig tillsammans med ull. Samt om det gjorde någon skillnad vilken procentandel Flamestop kombinationen innehöll.   Resultatet av testmetod för antändning på tre spridda procentandelar Flamestop/Ull som erhölls, var att en högre procentandel Flamestop gentemot ull gjorde det möjligt för materialet av självslockna i ett tidigt stadie. I flamspridningstestet visade det sig att procentandelarna inte gjorde någon skillnad för spridningens framfart. Det gick att utläsa av testerna att proverna med flamskydd i vinkelrät riktning mot flammans riktning bildade ett skyddande skikt av förkolnad fosfor från Flamestop. Flamman och Flamestop i längsgående riktning resulterade i större skada på materialet. För att göra det möjligt att undersöka mer om riktningen på det flamskyddade materialet hade det varit intressant att studera flamspridningen med materialet i både väft och varp. / Flame-retardants have a great impact on the environment and health. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) are the group of flame-retardants that mainly has been used since its entrance in the late 70s until the early 00s. PBDEs consist of Organobromine compounds, different types of halogenated compounds, which are highly resistant to degradation, persistent and in some cases even bioaccumulative and toxic. It has been ensured in previously studies that PBDEs has been found in the human body and in the environment. Humans are exposed every day to these pollutants through dust, food and especially from fatty fishes, as living organisms and fatty tissues are easily attracted to PBDE. A lot of the existing PBDE are forbidden in Europe; however, the issue still exist as imported products can contain PBDE. As the fire safety regulations in many countries increases, it is necessary to find a substitute for flame-retardants. To lessen or completely remove flame-retardants in loose interiors, as couches and mattresses a barrier-material could be a good substitute.   Comfort is an important component for loose interiors; in this study there was an interest to see how a material with inherent natural flame resistance behaved with wool. Wool, that has a good comfort and a natural resistance of flame, due to its high LOI. To decide which FR-fibre that will be looked into and analysed in this essay an ignition test on Kevlar, Nomex, Protex and Flamestop were made. These materials have different structures of flame resistance, in form of aramids, modacrylic and phosphorus viscose.   Three different percentages of Flamestop/Wool were created from the results of the previous mentioned ignition test. These three percentages were weaved into a plain weave, tested and analysed. Ignition and flame spread were tested on the weaves, analysed to see how the natural flame resistant material behaved together with wool and if there were any differences when comparing the different test specimens.   The result of the ignition and flame spread tests showed that the percentages of Flamestop played a role in the ignition test; the ability to extinguish was greater with a higher percentage of Flamestop in the weave. It was not possible to see a difference in the test of flame spreading. The test specimens with the FR-fibre perpendicular to the flames direction showed a better result than the test specimens with the FR-fibre in a longitudinal direction to the flame. It would be of interest to study weaves with FR-fibres in both directions of warp and weft.