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Formaldehyde is a ubiquitous and hazardous indoor air pollutant and reducing concentrations in indoor environments is a public health priority. The goals of this doctoral work were to advance analytical methods for continuous monitoring of formaldehyde at very low concentrations (sub-20 ppb[subscript v]) and to improve fundamental, mechanistic understanding of how structural and chemical properties of activated carbon influence removal of formaldehyde from indoor environments. To achieve these goals, emerging sensor-based technology was evaluated for its ability to detect and quantify ppb[subscript v]-level formaldehyde concentrations on a continuous basis at relative humidity levels characteristic of residential indoor environments. Also, a combination of spectroscopic and selective titration techniques was employed to characterize molecular-level structural and chemical properties of traditional and chemically treated granular activated carbon (GAC). In addition to selecting two different commercially available GACs for study, design and preparation of a laboratory-prepared, chemically treated GAC was pursued to create nitrogen-doped GAC with desirable surface chemical properties. Performance of all GACs was evaluated with respect to formaldehyde removal through a series of packed bed column studies. With respect to continuous formaldehyde monitoring, a method detection limit for emerging sensor technology was determined to be approximately 2 ppb[subscript v], and for relative humidity levels characteristic of indoor environments (> 40%), quantitative, continuous formaldehyde measurements less than 10 ppb[subscript v] were robust. The two commercially available GACs tested were both capable of removing formaldehyde; however, the GAC with greater density of basic surface functional groups and greater electron-donating potential (Centaur) removed twice as much formaldehyde (on a GAC mass basis) as the less basic GAC (BPL). A laboratory-prepared GAC (BPL-N) was successfully created to contain pyridinic and pyrrolic nitrogen, which was associated with increased surface density of basic functional groups, as well as with increased electron-donating potential. BPL-N exhibited better removal capacity for formaldehyde than BPL and Centaur. Furthermore, packed bed column studies of BPL-N and BPL formaldehyde removal performance yielded evidence to support the hypothesis that electron-donating potential, especially nitrogen functional groups at the BPL-N surface, promote catalytic removal of gas-phase formaldehyde via oxidation. / text

This essay will analyse how Asperger’s syndrome and autism spectrum disorder is made in two municipal high schools. I have interviewed school personnel and analysed the schools’ policy documents and diagnostic manuals. In this essay AS and ASD are being deconstructed as political and ideological object and I analyse techniques in school, that makes these objects to subjects. The school’s mission is to foster and educate pupils to become desirable citizens and at the same time its aim is to provide an equivalent school. The diagnostics function as explanatory models for behaviors’ that are made problematic in school, in the interaction of the aims of the school. The diagnostics are used as explanatory models that enable efficiency in the disciplining of the pupil, based on political interests. The medical discourse, the school’s compensatory discourse and the discourse of "a school for everybody" is manifested by a therapeutical ideology which directs thoughts about problems, such as illness, away from structures and towards individuals. The individuals will be directed to activation so that they strive to develop a behavior that is desired by the dominating order.

Thesis (PhD) -- Macquarie University, Division of Law, Centre for Environmental Law, 2007. / "July 2007". Bibliography: p. 334-369. Also available in print form.

Air quality legislation in South Africa is entering a transformation phase, shifting the concept of atmospheric emission control towards pollution prevention and emission minimisation through a more integrated approach. This transformation, along with public pressure and increased foreign trade, is providing industries with incentives to consider their effect on the environment and to take action where required. To assist South African industries in determining what air pollution control technologies are best suited to power plants, gasification and refining processes in South Africa; an assessment of air pollution control technologies used in other countries was carried out. This assessment concluded that the best available technologies for power plants to control air emissions are electrostatic precipitators, low-NOx burners, selective catalytic reduction systems and wet flue gas desulphurisation (limestone) systems. For gasification processes it was found that the main air pollution contributor is the gas handling and treatment process. Releases from this process are controlled through dust collection, wet scrubbing, conversion of sulphide compounds, sulphur recovery and the incineration of final vent gases before release to the atmosphere. For refining processes the catalytic cracking unit is normally the largest single air emission source and controlling emissions from this unit avoids controlling multiple minor sources. Emissions from this unit are controlled via wet scrubbing, selective catalytic reduction systems and carbon monoxide boilers. An assessment of the financial effects associated with air pollution control at power plants was conducted by completing a cost analysis. This analysis demonstrated that by increasing capital expenditure on control technologies by R 1,7 billion, the external costs associated with producing electricity can be reduced by almost R 3,4 billion. Formulation of external cost factors for South African conditions, and the development of a software database for the information obtained from the different countries, will promote future technology selections. / Dissertation (MASTER OF ENGINEERING(Environmental Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Chemical Engineering / unrestricted

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My dissertation addresses how engineers, scientists, and bureaucrats generated knowledge about pollution, crafted an institution for environmental protection, and constructed a collective identity for themselves. I show an important shift in regulators\' priorities, from stringent health-based standards to flexible technology-based ones through the development of end-of-pipeline pollution control devices, which contributed to the emergence of economic incentives and voluntary management programs. Drawing on findings from archival documents, published sources, and oral history interviews, I examine the first decade of the EPA amid constant organizational changes that shaped the technological and managerial character of environmental policy in the United States. Exploring the EPA\'s internal research and development processes and their relationship with scientific and engineering communities sheds light on how the new fields of environmental engineering and policy were co-produced in the 1970s. I argue that two competing approaches for environmental management, a community health approach and a control technology approach, developed from EPA\'s responses to bureaucratic, geographical, and epistemic challenges. I focus on researchers and managers from the Office of Research and Development at Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, as they were engaged in (1) controversy about integrated aerometry and epidemiology research intended to correlate air pollution and health, (2) intra-agency debate about the government\'s responsibility for introducing catalytic converters for tailpipe emissions reduction and responding to the potential environmental and social consequences, and (3) inter-agency activities for the demonstration of scrubbers for smokestack emissions and further application of the control technology approach in energy-related environmental problems. My principal conceptual contribution is "regulatory engineering." I define regulatory engineering as an approach to sociotechnical problems in which engineering practices are incorporated into regulatory and organizational changes, which in turn influences technical knowledge and identity formation. As EPA activities became closely associated with energy and economic issues toward the end of the 1970s, I argue that engineers took the initiative in demonstrating and evaluating control technologies for pollution abatement and energy development, scientists carefully studied environmental and health effects of these technologies, and regulators set up pollution standards and attainment deadlines accordingly. Studying the co-production of knowledge, institution, and identity through the lens of regulatory engineering helps us to understand technoscientific and managerial aspects of environmental governance beyond the 1970s EPA where technical feasibility considerations, economic incentives, and cooperative management expanded into legislation and regulation. / Ph. D.

Human health risk assessments are used by environmental regulatory agencies to determine risk from Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs). In this study, the Human Exposure Model (HEM-3) was used to compare the cancer and non-cancer inhalation health effects of a single organic chemical manufacturing facility in Geismar, Louisiana prior to and after Maximum Achievable Control Technologies (MACT) were implemented. The results indicate significant reductions in both cancer risk and non-cancer hazards. The analysis also indicated that the equivalent cancer risk reduction could have been achieved by addressing MACT in only one production process and one single pollutant (ethylene dichloride) within that process. This demonstrates the value that these risk assessments have at evaluating emissions at the facility level, and how they could be used in the control strategy decision making process.

This paper presents a comparison of controllers, specifically between conventional PID controllers with different structures and a Fuzzy Logic Controller. The performance has been evaluated by conducting experiments with the Ball and plate system, which is a system that is used to balance a ball on a plate. Furthermore, a large part of this work has been to assess how intuitive and straightforward the controllers are to design and implement. The results show that a PD controller with a proportional-on-error structure performs well for the Ball and plate system. Still, proportional-on-measurement is a viable alternative if a conservative controller is required. At the same time, the Fuzzy Logic Controller is a good alternative if you want more control over the system. Furthermore, the Fuzzy Logic Controller provides a design process that is easier to understand and closer to how we naturally think. However, it is more time-consuming than designing a conventional PID controller. Future work in the field should focus on optimizing this process to reduce the time required. / Denna studie består av en jämförelse mellan ett antal regulatorer. Dessa är olika strukturer av PID-regulatorer och en Suddig logik regulator. Prestandan har utvärderats genom att utföra experiment med Boll och platta systemet vilket är ett system som används för att balansera en boll på en platta. Vidare har en stor del av detta arbete handlat om hur intuitivt och enkelt det är att designa och implementera respektive regulator. Resultatet visar att en PD regulator med en proportionell-på-felet struktur presterar bra för Boll och platta systemet. Även proportionell-på-mätvärdet fungerar bra som ett mer konservativt alternativ. Dessutom är Suddig logik regulatorn ett bra alternativ om man vill ha mer kontroll över systemet. Designprocessen av denna är lättare att förstå och efterliknar hur man naturligt tänker i högre grad än de andra regulatorerna. Dock är denna mer tidskrävande att designa i jämförelse med de traditionella PID-regulatorerna. Framtida arbete bör fokusera på att optimera designprocessen så att den blir mindre tidskrävande.

Esta pesquisa propõe-se estudar a viabilidade de um ensaio de aderência aço-concreto apropriado (Appropriate Bond Test - ABT) para estimativa da resistência à compressão axial do concreto, objetivando empregá-lo como complemento ao controle de qualidade do concreto armado em campo. Originalmente os autores Lorrain e Barbosa (2008) apresentaram a utilização de um ensaio de aderência apropriado, denominado APULOT, para estimar a resistência à compressão do concreto, aumentando as possibilidades de controle tecnológico do concreto armado em canteiros de obras. Os mesmos propõem uma adaptação do método pull-out test (POT) tradicional, normalizado pela RILEM CEB/FIP RC6:1983, por ser este um ensaio de baixa complexidade e de custo reduzido. Para viabilizar o uso de um ensaio de aderência apropriado como ensaio de controle tecnológico do concreto em canteiro de obras é necessário definir um padrão para o mesmo e adaptá-lo da prática experimental do laboratório para o campo. O presente trabalho buscou avaliar os seguintes parâmetros: (1) Tipo de carregamento do ensaio (pull-out e push-in); (2) Influência do tipo de configuração geométrica das barras de aço; (3) Análises da preparação, moldagem, cura e estocagem dos corpos de prova do ABT; (4) Análises quanto à execução do ABT referentes à idade de ruptura, taxa de carregamento e tipo de ruptura; (5) Implementação do ABT em canteiro de obras, avaliando a sua potencialidade de efetuar estimativas da resistência à compressão a partir dos dados da tensão de aderência. Para tanto, foram ensaiadas 26 composições de concreto de classes distintas, com idades entre 3 e 28 dias. Foram, ainda, testadas 8 configurações distintas de barras de aço com diâmetros nominais de 8 e 12,5 mm. Os resultados obtidos mostram que, sob condições padronizadas de ensaio e adotando os coeficientes adequados, a correlação entre a tensão máxima de aderência e a resistência à compressão do concreto é satisfatória, fortalecendo o propósito de consolidar este ensaio como uma alternativa complementar para controle de qualidade do concreto armado. / This research proposes a study on the feasibility of bond test steel-concrete appropriate (Appropriate Bond Test - ABT) to estimate the compressive strength of concrete, aiming to use them as a supplement in the quality control of concrete in situ. Originally the authors Lorrain and Barbosa (2008) proposed the use of a modified bond test, called APULOT to estimate the compressive strength of the concrete, increasing the possibilities for technological control of reinforced concrete on construction sites. They propose an adaptation of the traditional method pull-out test (POT), normalized by the CEB / FIP RC6: 1983, because it is a test of low complexity and low cost. To enable the use of the test as a test technological control of concrete in construction site is necessary to define a standard for yourself and adapt it practice experimental laboratory to the field. This study evaluated the following parameters: (1) Type of load test (pull-out and push-in); (2) Influence of the type of geometric configuration of steel bar; (3) Analyses of preparation, molding, curing and storage of specimens of ABT; (4) Review of the implementation of ABT on age rupture, loading rate and type of fracture; (5) Implementation of ABT in construction site, evaluating its potential to make estimates of compressive strength from the data of bond stress. Therefore, 26 different compositions of concrete classes, aged between 3 and 28 days, were tested. Were also tested 8 different configurations of steel bars with nominal diameters of 8 and 12.5 mm. The results indicate that, under standard testing and adopting the appropriate coefficients conditions, the correlation between the maximum bond stress and the compressive strength of concrete is satisfactory, strengthening the purpose of consolidating this test as a complementary alternative to quality control reinforced concrete.