Dans de nombreux procédés industriels apparaît une étape de séparation liquide/solide qui est très souvent effectuée en combinant en série une séparation mécanique et une séparation thermique (séchage). L'intégration d'un apport thermique dans un équipement de séparation mécanique offre de nombreux avantages (investissement réduit, productivité améliorée, encombrement limité...). Par ailleurs, l'utilisation simultanée des effets mécaniques et thermiques peut conduire dans certains cas à des synergies permettant une utilisation optimisée de l'énergie. Un apport thermique par chauffage diélectrique peut être adapté à une essoreuse. L'objectif de la thèse est de concevoir et réaliser un prototype à l'échelle semi-industrielle dans le but de démontrer l'intérêt énergétique d'une telle technique. Les résultats obtenus sont : le développement et l'instrumentation complète d'un pilote d'essoreuse autorisant l'insertion des micro-ondes. La mise en évidence d'une synergie entre les phénomènes de séchage induits par un chauffage diélectrique et les effets centrifuges liés à la rotation du panier dans de cas des bobines textiles.La modélisation de différents phénomènes physiques liés à l'essorage de gâteaux de filtration, à l'évaluation de leur permittivité complexe, à la connaissance du champ électromagnétique, aux écoulements d'air utilisés pour l'extraction de la vapeur et à la détermination des transferts de masse et de chaleur. / In a lot of industrial processes, liquid/solid separation is carried out by combination of mechanical and thermal separation (drying). Thermal drying in a mechanical separation device offers a lot of advantages (lower investment, higher productivity, limited footprint. . . ). Moreover, coupling mechanical and thermal effects may lead in some cases to synergic effects allowing an optimal use of energy.Thermal input by dielectric heating may be adapted to a centrifuge. The objective of the project is to design and produce a prototype at pilot scale in order to point out the energetic interest of such a process. So, mechanical separation (centrifuge filtration, drainage) and dielectric heating have to be used simultaneously. Pilot instrumentation will allow to control key parameters of the coupled operation and the global energy consumption. Main results are : the development and the full instrumentation of a centrifuge pilot allowing implement of microwaves. The demonstration of a synergy, in the case of textile spools, between drying effects generated by dielectric heating and centrifuge effects generated by centrifuge basket rotation. The simulation of different physical phenomena linked to filtration cake drainage, dielectric constants assessment, determination of electromagnetic field, air flow used for vapor extraction and determination of heat and mass transfers.

Up to date, sludge filterability has been characterized by the Ruth&rsquo / s classical filtration theory and quantified by the well-known parameter specific cake resistance (SCR). However, the complexity of the actual phenomenon is clearly underestimated by the classical filtration theory and SCR is often not satisfactory in describing filterability. Although many scientific studies were conducted for a better analysis and understanding of the filtration theory, still a practically applicable solution to replace the classical theory for a better description of filterability has not been proposed yet. In the present study, blocking filtration laws proposed by Hermans and Bred&eacute / e, dating back to 1936, which have been extensively used in the membrane literature for the analysis of fouling phenomenon and the multiphase filtration theory developed by Willis and Tosun (1980) highlighting the importance of the cake-septum interface in determining the overall filtration rate have been adopted for the analysis of filterability of sludge systems. Firstly, the inadequacy of the classical filtration theory in characterizing the filterability of real sludge systems and also the lack of the currently used methodology in simulating filtration operation was highlighted. Secondly, to better understand the effect of slurry characteristics and operational conditions on filtration, model slurries of spherical and incompressible Meliodent particles were formed. Finally, a methodology was developed with the gathered filtration data to assess the filterability of the sludge systems by both theories. The results clearly show that both approaches were superior to the classical approach in terms of characterizing the filterability of sludge systems. While blocking laws yielded a slurry specific characterization parameter to replace the commonly used SCR, the multiphase theory provided a better understanding of the physical reality of the overall process.

<p>Most of the water fed into a paper machine is removedmechanically in the forming and press sections. One of thefactor which has an important influence on mechanicaldewatering, i.e. in both forming and pressing, is thestress-strain behaviour of the fibre network.</p><p>The focus of this thesis is on the development of improvedmathematical descriptions of the stress-strain behaviourexhibited by fibre networks in the forming and press sections.The first part of the thesis presents a physically based modelof the forming and densification of fibre mats in twin-wireformers. The model can calculate the ecect of the applicationof a varied load through the forming section. It was developedfrom mass and momentum balances of the fibre and liquid phases,the fibre mat stress-porosity relation and an expression forthe permeability as a function of the porosity. The fibre-matstress-porosity relation used is rate-independent and presentshysteresis. Simulations have been conducted to study theeffects of roll pressure, blade pulses, wire tension andbeating. The effect of sequential blade pressure pulses afterthe forming roll on the dewatering and the concentrationgradients could be characterised. The simulations alsoexhibited rewetting by expansion when the fibre mats left theforming roll. Increasing wire tension resulted in increaseddewatering, but the rate of increase diminished rapidly withincreasing tension. The simulation results also indicated thatbeating has a large influence on dewatering.</p><p>The second part of the thesis presents two models of therate-dependent stress-strain behaviour of the fibre networkthat is observed in wet pressing. The first model was based onthe approach pioneered by Perzyna (1966) for strain-ratedependent plasticity and was quite satisfactory for calculatingthe stress-strain behaviour of the fibre network in singlepress nips. It was successfully applied for studyingdensification and dewatering in both normal wet pressing andhigh temperature wet pressing. However, the first model onlyincludes rate dependence in the compression phase of thecompressionexpansion cycle; the expansion phase is treated asbeing rate independent</p><p>The second model of the stress-strain behaviour of the fibrenetwork treats both compression and expansion as being ratedependent, according to experimental observations. It is basedon the idea that the wet fibre web may be conceived as alayered network of restricted swelling gels. A swollen fibre isa restricted gel, the inner swelling pressure in a swollenfibre wall being balanced by the stresses in the fibre wallstructure. The observed rate dependence of wet webs in bothcompression and expansion phases was attributed to the flow ofwater out of and into the fibre walls. The second model gavepredictions that are in good agreement with results fromuniaxial experiments using pressure pulses of arbitrary shapefor both a single pulse and a sequence of pulses. It maytherefore be used as a general model for the rheologicalbehaviour of the wet fibre network in wet pressing, providedthe model parameters are estimated from experimental data withsmall experimental error.</p><p><b>KEYWORDS:</b>Paper, modelling, dewatering, forming, wetpressing, fibre network stress, rheology, hysteresis,intra-fibre water, compressibility, structural stress,stress-strain, restricted gels, swelling.</p>

Using chilled water within South African gold mines is paramount to the purpose of extracting gold ore efficiently. Using water for cooling, drilling and sweeping and the release of underground fissure water causes the accumulation of vast amounts of water in underground dams. Deep mines use cascading pump systems for dewatering, which is an electrical energy intensive dewatering method. Due to the recent equalisation of demand to generation capacity of electrical energy in South Africa, various methods towards demand side reduction have been implemented. With the introduction of a time-of-use (TOU) tariff structure by Eskom, the implementation of projects that shift load from peak TOU times to times of the day when electrical energy is less expensive has increased. To enable load shifting on mine dewatering pumps, preparation before and recovery after peak TOU is needed for effective results. This induces a preparation- and comeback load in the standard TOU. With an annual increase in TOU tariffs and the rate of increase of standard TOU being greater than that of the peak TOU, a reduction in electrical energy consumption before and after peak TOU is needed. To enable this, a step-by-step control technique was developed to promote the shifting of load from standard- to off-peak TOU, while still realising a full load shift from peak TOU. This technique entails dynamic control ranges of underground dam levels as opposed to the conventional constant control range method. Two case studies were used to test the developed technique. Results indicated significant additional financial savings when compared to conventional control methods. Additional savings of R1,096,056.65 and R579,394.27 per annum were respectively achieved for both case studies. / MIng (Mechanical Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Submitted by Sabrina Mariel Correa da Silva null (sabrina-mcs@hotmail.com) on 2017-09-09T20:28:49Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Avaliação do leito de secagem com piso de blocos drenantes para lodos gerados em Estação de Tratamento de Esgoto Sanitário.pdf: 5804082 bytes, checksum: 8cc37b8853ee2d81114909c7918f9163 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Monique Sasaki (sayumi_sasaki@hotmail.com) on 2017-09-11T20:56:50Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 silva_smc_me_bauru.pdf: 5804082 bytes, checksum: 8cc37b8853ee2d81114909c7918f9163 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-11T20:56:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 silva_smc_me_bauru.pdf: 5804082 bytes, checksum: 8cc37b8853ee2d81114909c7918f9163 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-07-31 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Esta pesquisa sobre leito de secagem modificado com piso de blocos drenantes (wedge wire) foi desenvolvida em três etapas, sendo um acompanhamento em escala real com descartes de lodo aeróbio, outra realizada em escala piloto com descartes de lodo anaeróbio, ambos gerados em estação tratamento de esgoto sanitário (ETE), e a terceira etapa foi um levantamento de dados operacionais de alguns leitos com piso de blocos drenantes existentes no Brasil. O leito de secagem convencional de areia ainda é o método mais utilizado no Brasil para desaguamento de lodo em ETE de pequeno e médio porte. No entanto, devido ao aumento de fiscalização por órgãos ambientais, aumento de exigência por qualidade no tratamento de água e esgoto, custos elevados no gerenciamento, além de problemas com a eficiência de secagem final do lodo, odores e manutenção dos leitos, as empresas têm buscado alternativas de novas tecnologias, e/ou até mesmo por otimizações nos próprios leitos. Uma alternativa que tem se mostrado eficiente no desaguamento de lodos é o leito modificado com piso de blocos drenantes. Porém, ainda há pouca experiência com relação ao dimensionamento do leito, à sua operação e à sua eficiência por ser uma tecnologia pouca explorada no exterior e recém-chegada ao Brasil. Portanto esta pesquisa teve como objetivo avaliar o desaguamento de lodo de esgoto em leito com piso de blocos drenantes nas fases de drenagem e secagem. A drenagem do lodo foi avaliada através da vazão de drenagem após filtração de lodo no bloco drenante, da redução de volume de lodo no leito e da caracterização da qualidade da água drenada. Já a secagem foi avaliada a partir da variação do teor de sólidos totais do lodo durante o período de secagem. Como é um processo natural de secagem, o acompanhamento das condições climáticas local foi realizada. Os resultados foram satisfatórios tanto para o lodo aeróbio quanto para o anaeróbio. Em relação a drenagem, após um dia do descarte de lodo no leito com piso de blocos drenantes houve redução em torno de 90% do volume para lodo aeróbio e 70% para lodo anaeróbio. Já o teor de sólidos totais final obtido na secagem variou de acordo com o tipo de lodo, volume, taxa de aplicação de sólidos e condições climáticas. O melhor resultado de secagem para o lodo aeróbio foi de 95,3% de sólidos totais em 36 dias de secagem, e para o lodo anaeróbio, o máximo atingido foi de 63,5% em 24 dias, em condições de secagem diferentes. / This research about wedge wire floor sludge bed was developed in three stages, first one was a monitoring in real scale with aerobic sludge discards, another one performed in a pilot scale with anaerobic sludge discard, both generated in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), and the third stage was a survey of operational information of some wedge wire floor sludge bed in operation in Brazil. The conventional sand drying bed is still the most used system in Brazil for dewatering and drying of sludge generated during sewage treatment in small and médium size WWTP. However, due to the increase in inspection by environmental agencies, increased demands for quality in treatment, high costs in management, as well as problems with final sludge drying efficiency, odors and bed maintenance, the companies have been looking for alternatives to new technologies, and even optimizations in existing beds. An alternative that has proven efficient in the dewatering of sludge is the modified sludge bed with wedge wire floor. However, there is still little experience with the dimensioning of the bed, its operation and efficiency because it is a technology that has not been used abroad and recently arrived in Brazil. Therefore, this research had as objective to evaluate the dewatering of sewage sludge in wedge wire bed in the drainage and drying phases. The drainage of the sludge was evaluated through the drainage flow after filtration in the wedge wire floor, the reduction of sludge volume in the bed and the characterization of the quality of the drained water. Drying was evaluated by increasing the total solid content of the sludge during the entire drying period. As it is a natural drying process, monitoring of the local climatic conditions was performed. The results were satisfactory for both aerobic and anaerobic sludge. In relation to the drainage, after one day from discharge in the bed, there was a reduction of around 90% of the volume for aerobic sludge and 70% for anaerobic sludge. However, the final solid content obtained in the drying varied according to the type of sludge, volume, solids application rate and climatic conditions. The best drying result for aerobic sludge was 95.3% of total solid in 36 days of drying, and for anaerobic sludge the maximum reached was 63.5% in 24 days, in different climate conditions.

Cerca de 230 milhões de toneladas de bauxita são produzidas por ano e, destas, 60 milhões são provenientes de operações que beneficiam esta bauxita usando água como meio para separar as frações mais finas. Como consequência do beneficiamento, estima-se que mais de 25 milhões de toneladas de rejeito sejam dispostas todo ano. Estas frações têm grandes quantidades de caulinita, um argilomineral de difícil desaguamento. Estes sólidos estão tipicamente em uma suspensão com água a cerca de 15% de concentração em massa antes de operações de desaguamento. As formas de desaguamento variam, bem como as opções de disposição. Este texto discorre sobre opções de desaguamento como sedimentação natural, espessamento, filtragem e centrifugação. Também se discorre sobre alternativas de disposição. Estas são condicionadas pela concentração de sólidos do material a ser disposto e são a disposição hidráulica em diques ou reaterro na mina. Após a descrição de cada uma das alternativas, são feitas análises de combinações destas formas de desaguamento e disposição, além de uma avaliação do fluxo de caixa livre descontado acumulado para cada uma. Esta abordagem, feita para um caso específico, permite avaliar qual opção implica em menor despesa financeira para a operação. Foram feitas considerações para avaliar características não econômicas de cada uma das operações, como o consumo de água, área ocupada pelo depósito, perigos de cada opção e seus descomissionamentos. A opção que apontou menor desembolso no período da operação, bem como a minimização de perigos, é o desaguamento com centrífugas e disposição do material reaterrando áreas lavradas. / More than 230 million tonnes of bauxite are produced each year and, from these, nearly 60 million come from operations that use water to beneficiate the ore, separating the finer fractions. By reason of this mineral treatment, it is estimated that more than 25 million dry tonnes of reject are disposed each year. The finer fractions have high kaolinite concentrations, a challenging to dewater mineral. These solids are typically in a suspension with about 15% solids concentration in mass before any dewatering. Both the dewatering options and disposal possibilities may vary. This text discusses dewatering options such as natural settling, thickening, filtering and centrifugation. It also describes alternatives of disposing the material. These options depend on the water concentration and consist of hydraulic disposition or using the dewatered material as mine backfill. After describing each alternative, an analysis of possible combinations among those is made along with an accumulated discount free cash flow evaluation for each one. Considerations were made to evaluate non-economic characteristics of each operation including the water consumption, surface occupied, operational hazards, decommissioning and closure. The option that has shown the lowest cost during the life of the operation, simultaneously reducing operational hazards is dewatering with centrifuges and using the material as backfill in mined out areas.

O estudo dos fatores intervenientes, micro e macropropriedades dos lodos de estação de tratamento de água (ETA), no desaguamento por sistemas naturais, com uso de leito de drenagem, constituiu o principal foco desta pesquisa. Assim, ensaios de desaguamento por leito de drenagem foram realizados com amostras de lodos de sulfato de alumínio e de cloreto de polialumínio (PA\'CL\') e monitoramento das variáveis climáticas. Os resultados comprovaram o desempenho do leito de drenagem para redução de volume, da ordem de 80% e 90% para os lodos de PA\'CL\' e sulfato de alumínio e teor de sólidos final respectivamente de 30 a 90%, sem consumo de energia. Na fase de drenagem, independente do tipo e volume de lodo aplicado, a vazão de drenagem foi maior quanto menor o valor da taxa de aplicação de sólidos - TAS (Kg/\'M POT.2\') (fração volumétrica de partículas). As variáveis analisadas, teor de sólidos, distribuição de tamanho de partículas, morfologia e composição das partículas entre outros, na massa de lodo bruto e desaguado indicaram diferentes mecanismos de secagem e conseqüente influencia na velocidade de secagem. O uso do fluxo de massa de água evaporada revelou-se adequado para avaliar a fase de secagem. O estudo das micro e macropropriedades do lodo mostram-se decisivos para balisarem pesquisas de desenvolvimento dos sistemas de desaguamento e de reúso dos lodos de ETAs. / The study of involved factors, micro and macroproperties of sludge from water treatment plants (WTP) in dewatering by natural systems with the use of draining beds is the main focus of this research. For this purpose, dewatering assays by draining beds were done with samples from aluminium sulphate and polyaluminium chloride (PA\'CL\') sludge, and monitoring of the climatic variables along the experiments. The results proved the performance of the draining beds in reducing the volume, ranging from 80 to 90% for the sludges from PA\'CL\' and aluminium sulphate and the final rate of solids from 30 to 90%, without consuming the energy. In dewatering phase, independently of the type and volume of the applied sludge, the bigger the flow of dewatering the lesser the value of the applied rate of solids (TAS, Kg/\'M POT.2\', volumetric fraction of particles). The analised variables, solid rates, distribution of the height of the particles, morphology, and composition of the particles among others, in the mass of the brute and dewatered sludge indicated different mechanisms of drying and consequently influence in the rate of drying. The use of the flow of mass of humidity revealed adequate to evaluate the drying phase. The studies of micro and macroproperties of the sludge were decisive to conduct researches of development of dewatering systems and reusing of the sludges from WTP´s.

Abstract Paper recycling is an ecological strategy for disposing of waste paper, but more importantly, recovered paper is an important source of raw material in the paper and board industry. Deinked pulp production from recovered paper has proved economically viable by comparison with virgin fibre pulp manufacturing, but this viability is now threatened by increasing waste disposal costs, as up to 25% of the raw material available for deinked pulp production can end up in the reject streams, which then have to be disposed of. The most common practice at present is incineration and disposal of the resulting ash in landfills, but tightening legislation has meant that landfills have become very expensive and are likely to be completely banned in the near future. Thus new ways have to be sought for managing the waste problem in deinked pulp production in order to ensure that the recycled paper production remain both economically and environmentally feasible. The aim of this thesis was to study means of improving the material efficiency of a deinked pulp mill without excessively detracting from end product quality or the performance of the combined sludge dewatering stage. First, an analytical procedure was developed for determining the utilisation potential of reject streams, and a considerable potential for material recovery from these streams was identified. The results presented here show that 80% of the most valuable long fibres from the fine-screening rejects and 15% of the fine material from the flotation froth reject can be recovered. Altogether, with the simultaneous recovery of both categories of reject, it would be possible to improve the material efficiency at the deinked pulp mill by a total of about 5 percentage units, which can be considered significant for process efficiency. Moreover, this would enable the fibre content of the combined sludge to be kept above a certain limit, so that the combined sludge dewatering properties would not be affected. Consequently, the results presented in this thesis provide several widely applicable means for improving the resource efficiency of a deinked pulp mill. / Tiivistelmä Paperin kierrätys uusiksi paperituotteiksi on ympäristöystävällinen tapa jätepaperin käsittelemiseksi. Uusiomassan valmistus on myös taloudellisesti kannattavaa verrattuna paperimassan valmistukseen neitseellisistä raaka-aineista. Taloudellinen kannattavuus on kuitenkin vaarassa jätemaksujen alati kasvaessa, sillä siistausmassan valmistuksessa jopa 25&#160;% kierrätyspaperiraaka-aineesta päätyy jätejakeisiin, jotka hävitetään yleisesti polttamalla ja läjittämällä syntynyt tuhka kaatopaikalle. Lainsäädäntö on rajoittanut kaatopaikkasijoittamista ja se on nykyään hyvin kallista. Tulevaisuudessa jätteiden kaatopaikkasijoittaminen voi olla jopa täysin kiellettyä. Jäteongelman ratkaisemiseen tarvitaan siis uusia menetelmiä, jotta kierrätyspaperin valmistus säilyisi sekä taloudellisista että ympäristöllisistä näkökulmista kannattavana toimintana. Tämän väitöskirjatyön tavoitteena oli etsiä keinoja parantaa siistausmassan valmistuksen resurssitehokkuutta palauttamalla käyttökelpoisia materiaaleja jätevirroista takaisin prosessiin siten, ettei heikennetä lopputuotteen laatua eikä lietteidenkäsittelyprosessin toimintaa. Väitöstyön alussa kehitettiin analyysiproseduuri rejektivirtojen hyötykäyttöpotentiaalin arvioimiseksi ja siistamon rejektijakeissa havaittiin merkittävästi hyödynnettävää materiaalia. Tulokset osoittavat, että 80&#160;% hienolajittelun rejekteissä poistuneista arvokkaista pitkistä kuiduista voidaan palauttaa takaisin prosessiin. Lisäksi flotaation vaahtorejektistä voidaan palauttaa 15&#160;% hienoainetta. Palauttamalla yhtäaikaisesti sekä kuituja hienolajittelun rejekteistä että hienoainetta flotaation vaahtorejektistä, voidaan siistausmassan valmistuksen materiaalitehokkuutta parantaa yhteensä noin 5 prosenttiyksikköä, mikä on merkittävä parannus prosessitehokkuuteen. Kuitujen ja hienoaineen samanaikainen palauttaminen pitää lisäksi lietteiden käsittelyssä seoslietteen kuitupitoisuuden tarpeeksi korkeana, jotta sen vedenerotusominaisuudet säilyvät hyvinä. Tämän tutkimuksen tuloksena löydettiin siis useita laajalti sovellettavissa olevia keinoja siistausmassan valmistuksen resurssitehokkuuden parantamiseksi.

I en värld med ökande koldioxidhalter i atmosfären och höjd medeltemperatur, råder det inga tvivel om att vi står inför en rad utmaningar för att minska användandet av bland annat fossila bränslen som generar skadliga utsläpp. Det finns många alternativ till oljebaserade bränslen, och ett som har ökat markant de senaste åren är bränslepellets. Bränslepellets är ett träbaserat biobränsle som i sitt kompakta tillstånd erbjuder ett bra värmevärde och är klimatneutralt. För att tillverka pellets måste råmaterialet först termiskt torkas, från en fukthalt på ca 55 % till ca 10 %, vilket i dagsläget kan motsvara upp till en fjärdedel av hela energiåtgången i pelleteringsprocessen. Med den ökade efterfrågan av bränslepellets finns också ökade förutsättningar för energieffektiviseringar i pelletsproduceringen, speciellt i torkningssteget.  Drinor AB har tagit fram en avvattningsmaskin av biomaterial som heter CDP, och med den är det möjligt att avvattna biomaterial till ca 30 %, vilket skulle reducera både tiden och energin det tar att termiskt torka materialet. Avvattningen sker under tryck på minst 40 ton, där vattnet mekaniskt pressas ut ur råmaterialet. Hur avvattningen påverkar råmaterialet, speciellt i en pelletframställning, är oklart och syftet med detta arbete var att ta reda på hur pelleteringsegenskaperna påverkas efter pressning med CDP, och om det finns möjligheter att spara energi i malningsdelen i pelleteringsprocessen. Målet med arbetet var att ta reda på hur CDP påverkar pelletskvaliteter i form av hårdhet och densitet, samt om friktionsutvecklingen i pelleteringsmatrisen förändras, genom att framställa pellets ur 3 scenarion. I ett scenario ska en traditionell pelletsframställning liknas, med endast termisk torkning och i de resterande två scenarion implementeras CDP som försteg till den termiska torkningen. I ett av dessa två scenarion mals inte träflisen innan pelletering, för att se om energi kan sparas utan att offra pelletskvalitet. Ett annat mål var att, per scenario, ta reda på vid vilken fukthalts- och temperaturkombination de bästa pelletsen tillverkades med avseende på hög densitet och hårdhet samt låg friktionsutveckling. Resultaten visade att scenariot med CDP som komplement till termisk torkning och utan malningprocess, producerade pellets med högst hårdhet, högst densitet och lägst friktionsutveckling under båda fukthalterna på pelleteringsmaterialet och nästintill samtliga matristemperaturer. Det scenario som hade endast termisk torkning producerade pellets med lägst densitet och hårdhet samt högst friktion under nästan alla temperaturer och fukthalter. När den bästa fukthalts- och temperaturkombinationen togs fram per scenario, så var scenariot med CDP och utan malning bäst. Pellets producerade där hade ökad densitet, nästan tredubblad hårdhet samt mer än halverad friktionsutveckling i pelleteringsmatrisen, jämfört med scenariot som imiterade traditionell pelletsframställning med endast termisk torkning. Skulle det scenariot med CDP och utan malningsprocess implementeras i en verklig industriell skala skulle det innebära stora förutsättningar för ökad produktion av pellets med bättre kvalitet, samt ett minskat energianvändande i form av reducerad termisk torkning och minskat användande av malningsprocessen. / In a world with growing carbon dioxide contents in the atmosphere and elevated average temperature, there is no doubt that we are faced with a number of challenges to reduce the use of, among other things, fossil fuels that generate harmful emissions. There are many alternatives to oil-based fuels, and one that has increased markedly in recent years is fuel pellets. Fuel pellets are a wood-based biofuel that, in its compact state, offers a good thermal value and is climate neutral. In order to produce pellets, the raw material must first be thermally dried, from a moisture content of about 55 % to about 10 %, which can currently account for up to at least a quarter of the total energy consumption in the pelleting process. With the increased demand for fuel pellets, there are also increased possibilities for energy efficiency in the pellet production, especially in the drying stage. Drinor AB has developed a biomaterial dewatering machine called CDP, with which it is possible to drain the biomaterial to a moisture content of about 30%, which would reduce both the time and the energy it takes to thermally dry the material. The dewatering pressure is at least 40 tonnes, where the water is mechanically squeezed out of the raw material. How the dewatering affects the raw material, especially in a pellet production, is unclear and the purpose of this work was to find out how the pelleting properties are affected after pressing with CDP and if there is potential for saving energy in the grinding process in the pelleting process. The aim of the work was to find out how CDP affects pellet qualities in terms of hardness and density, and if the friction development in the pelleting dye changes, by making pellets out of 3 scenarios. In one scenario, traditional pellets production should be resembled, with only thermal drying, and in the remaining two scenarios, CDP is implemented as a complement to thermal drying. In one of these two scenarios, the wood chips were not milled before pelleting, to see if energy can be saved without sacrificing pellet quality. Another goal was to determine, by each scenario, what moisture and temperature combination the best pellets were produced with respect to high density and hardness and low friction development. The results showed that the CDP scenario, as a complement to thermal drying and without grinding process, produced the hardest pellets, highest density and lowest friction development during both moisture levels of the pelleting material and almost all die temperatures. The scenario that only had thermal drying produced pellets with the lowest density and hardness, as well as maximum friction under almost all temperatures and moisture levels. When the best moisture and temperature combination was achieved by each scenario, the scenario with CDP and without grinding was the best. Pellets produced there had increased density, almost triple the hardness, and more than half the friction development in the pelleting die, compared to the scenario that imitated traditional pellets production with only thermal drying. Should the scenario with CDP and without grinding process be implemented on a real industrial scale, it would provide great conditions for increased production of better quality pellets, as well as reduced energy use in the form of reduced thermal drying and reduced use of the grinding process.

Several geotechnical processes can only be reliably interpreted by taking account of the soil-atmosphere interactions. This thesis investigates two geotechnical problems involving soil-atmosphere interactions that drive water flow through the soil skeleton in two opposite directions; Problem 1: slope failure in expansive soils induced by water infiltration, Problem 2: large strain consolidation of soft soils induced by water evaporation. Both problems are of practical interest for safe and economical design of various geotechnical infrastructures. Two major geotechnical activities in the world; namely, the construction of water transfer canal in expansive soil area in China and the deposition of oil sands and hard rock tailings in Canada can be cited as classic examples of Problems 1 and 2, respectively. In such problems, substantial zones of the domain may switch between an unsaturated and saturated condition. Therefore, rational analysis requires simultaneous modelling of both unsaturated and saturated soil behaviour. The first goal of this thesis is to investigate the influence of swelling (the most characteristic behaviour of expansive soils) on slope stability using numerical methods. Swelling of expansive soils contributes to slope instability during rainfall because of two key reasons (i) soil swelling affects the flow process that actually induces swelling, (i.e. a typical coupling phenomenon), and (ii) swelling-induced stress redistribution and displacement development. In this thesis, the first effect is studied by a coupled (mechanical-hydraulic) numerical analysis of the response of a slope to rainfall using commercial software (GeoSlope). The second effect, the swelling-induced stress redistribution and displacement development after wetting, is tracked using a newly developed numerical program. In the program strain softening behaviour is introduced into the elasto-plastic Mohr-Coulomb Model for modelling unsaturated soil. A novel stress (net stress and suction)-dependent model for moduli of elasticity, combined with the predictive model for shear strength based on Soil Water Retention Behaviour are incorporated into the numerical program to achieve a smooth transition between saturated and unsaturated states. The results show that soil swelling can decrease the factor of safety by accelerating the wetting front depth due to hydro-mechanical coupling, while changes of sliding mass geometry has a negligible influence. The change of stress regime associated with soil swelling is significant to induce plastic strain softening (swelling-induced softening) and contribute to the slope failures. The second goal of thesis is to develop a novel computer program for simulation of large strain consolidation of soft soil under both self-weight and evaporation conditions. This program is both theoretically sound and practically applicable. Several basic/advanced constitutive models for unsaturated soils, including State Surface Model (SSM), Barcelona Basic model (BBM), Glasgow Coupled model (GCM) and bounding surface water retention model, are innovatively implemented into a piece-wise linear framework solved using finite difference technique. The developed program is referred to as UNSATCON-(ML), which has been tested using (a) existing analytical/numerical solutions and (b) various laboratory and field studies for single-layer and multiple-layer deposition of hard rock and oil sands tailings. Features of UNSATCON-(ML) that are improvements over existing models typically used to analyze consolidation-desiccation in soft soils include: (i) coupling of soil large deformation with true unsaturated water flow; (ii) correct reproduction of the shrinkage behaviour of soil under evaporation-induced desiccation; (iii) smooth transition between saturated and unsaturated states despite that some selected models are established using two independent stress variables, (iv) ensuring strictly mass conservation of water, and (v) simulation of irrecoverable volume change and hydraulic hysteresis to properly analyze multilayer tailings deposition. A number of hypothetical field case analyses are carried out using UNSATCON-ML, illustrating its applicability to industry.