In the production of biodiesel via the transesterification of vegetable oils, purification to international standards is challenging. A key measure of biodiesel quality is the level of free glycerol in the biodiesel. In order to remove glycerol from fatty acid methyl ester (FAME or biodiesel), a membrane separation setup was tested. The main objective of this thesis was to develop a membrane process for the separation of free glycerol dispersed in FAME after completion of the transesterification reaction and to investigate the effect of different factors on glycerol removal. These factors included membrane pore size, pressure, temperature, and methanol, soap and water content. First, a study of the effect of different materials present in the transesterification reaction, such as water, soap, and methanol, on the final free glycerol separation was performed using a modified polyacrylonitrile (PAN) membrane, with 100 kD (ultrafiltration) molecular weight cut off for all runs at 25°C. Results showed low concentrations of water had a considerable effect in removing glycerol from the FAME. The mechanism of separation of free glycerol from FAME was due to the removal of an ultrafine dispersed glycerol-rich phase present in the untreated (or raw) FAME. The size of the droplets and the free glycerol separation both increased with increasing water content of the FAME. Next, three types of polymeric membranes in the ultrafiltration range with different molecular weight cut off, were tested at three fixed operating pressures and three operating temperatures (0, 5 and 25oC) to remove the free glycerol from a biodiesel reactor effluent. The ASTM standard for free glycerol concentration was met for the experiments performed at 25°C. The results of this study indicate that glycerol could be separated from raw FAME to meet ASTM and EN standards at methanol feed concentrations of up to 3 mass%. The process was demonstrated to rely on the formation of a dynamic polar layer on the membrane surface. Ceramic membranes of different pore sizes (0.05 µm (ultrafiltration (UF) range) and 0.2 µm (microfiltration (MF) range)) were used to treat raw FAME directly using the membrane separation set up at temperatures of 0, 5 and 25°C. The results were encouraging for the 0.05 µm pore size membrane at the highest temperature (25°C). The effect of temperature on glycerol removal was evident from its relation with the concentration factor (CF). Higher temperatures promoted the achievement of the appropriate CF value sooner for faster separation. Membrane pore size was also found to affect separation performance. A subsequent study revealed the effect of different variables on the size of the glycerol droplets using dynamic light scattering (DLS). A key parameter in the use of membrane separation technology is the size of the glycerol droplets and the influence of other components such as water, methanol and soaps on that droplet size. The effect of water, methanol, soap and glycerol on the size of suspended glycerol droplets in FAME was studied using a 3-level Box-Behnken experimental design technique. Standard statistical analysis techniques revealed the significant effect of water and glycerol on increasing droplet size while methanol and soap served to reduce the droplet size. Finally, a study on the effect of trans-membrane pressure (TMP) at different water concentrations in the FAME phase on glycerol removal using UF (0.03 µm pore size, polyethersulfone (PES)) and MF (0.1 and 0.22 µm pore sizes, PES) membranes at 25, 40 and 60°C was performed. Results showed that running at 25°C for the two membrane types produced the best results for glycerol removal and exceeded the ASTM and EN standards. An enhancement of glycerol removal was found by adding small amounts of water up to the maximum solubility limit in biodiesel. An increase in temperature resulted in an increase in the solubility of water in the FAME and less effective glycerol removal. Application of cake filtration theory and a gel layer model showed that the gel layer on the membrane surface is not compressible and the specific cake resistance and gel layer concentration decrease with increasing temperature. An approximate value for the limiting (steady-state) flux was reported and it was found that the highest fluxes were obtained at the lowest initial water concentrations at fixed temperatures. In conclusion, dispersed glycerol can be successfully removed from raw FAME (untreated FAME) using a membrane separation system to meet the ASTM biodiesel fuel standards. The addition of water close to the solubility limit to the FAME mixture enables the formation of larger glycerol droplets and makes the separation of these droplets straightforward.

Due to the current world scenery of energy, the biodiesel presents a great potential as option to consumption of fuels of the finite sources. The largest use of the biodiesel in the world is with the methyl ester of soybean oil, due to the production scale. In general its use happens in form of blends with diesel oil in different rates. This work of research shows the influence of different levels of biodiesel blends and diesel oil. They were tested using a dynamometer hydraulic bench for evaluation of a diesel engine of 4 times with indirect injection, naturally aspirated. The fuels used were obtained by blends of soy bean methyl ester oil with conventional diesel with levels ranging from 5% to 100% biodiesel. I t hás been compared to the results obtained by different mixes with the B2 diesel oil, with no changes or adjustments in the engine. The best results of speci fic consumption were reached with blends up to 20% of biodiesel, otherwise tenors above 50% present médium consumption up to 7,2% larger than the convent ional diesel. The torque showed a declining while the ve getable fuel concentration was increased, which the worst result was present by B100 that had lost 6,8% compared to the testifier trial. The noxious exhaust ion gasses, to the environment, have the emi ssion decreased with the introduction of the biodiesel, except the NOx that presents rise when the levels of the added biodiesel are superior to 20%. The results suggest that largers tenors than 20% in the mixture (B20) demand modifications or adjustments in the motor for a better performance. / Diante do atual cenário mundial de energia, o biodiesel apresenta um grande potencial como opção ao consumo de combustíveis de fontes finitas. A maior utilização do biodiesel no mundo é com o éster metílico de óleo de soja, devido a sua escala de produção. Em geral sua utilização ocorre na forma de misturas com óleo diesel em diferentes proporções. Esse trabalho de pesquisa estuda a influência de diferentes níveis de mistura de biodiesel e diesel de petróleo sobre o desempenho e emissões do motor. Foram realizados ensaios utilizando-se um dinamômetro hidráulico de bancada para avaliação de um motor diesel de 4 tempos de injeção indireta com aspiração natural. Os combustíveis utilizados foram obtidos através da mistura de éster metílico de óleo de soja com o diesel convencional com teores variando de 5% até 100% de biodiesel. Comparou-se os resultados obtidos pelas diferentes misturas com o apresentado pelo óleo diesel B2, sem qualquer modificação ou ajuste do motor. Os melhores resultados de consumo específico foram alcançados com misturas de até 20% de biodiesel, já teores acima de 50% apresentam consumo médio até 7,2% maior que o diesel convencional. O torque apresentou um decréscimo a medida que foi aumentada a concentração de combustível de origem vegetal, sendo o pior resultado apresentado pelo B100 que teve uma perda de 6,8% em relação ao ensaio testemunha. Os gases de exaustão nocivos ao meio ambiente tem sua emissão diminuída com a introdução do biodiesel, com exceção do NOx que apresenta aumento quando os níveis de biodiesel adicionado são superiores a 20%. Os resultados sugerem que teores maiores que 20% na mistura (B20) exigem modificações ou ajustes no motor para um melhor desempenho do mesmo.

O uso de drogas por mulheres em idade reprodutiva é considerado um grave problema de saúde pública mundial. O mecônio é a primeira excreção do recém-nascido e tem sido utilizado como uma matriz alternativa em análises toxicológicas. A extração em fase sólida (SPE) é um método amplamente utilizado para a purificação e concentração dos analitos em amostras biológicas no campo da análise forense. A maioria dos produtos de SPE convencionais requerem volumes relativamente grandes de solventes levando a um custo acrescido por amostra e um aumento no tempo de processamento da amostra. As ponteiras de extração com fase sólida modificada (DPX) foram utilizadas como uma alternativa aos cartuchos SPE tradicionais. A técnica combina eficiência e rapidez no procedimento de extração, com redução significativa no consumo de solvente e na quantidade de amostra. O objetivo desse estudo foi desenvolver e validar um método para a determinação de nicotina, cotinina, cocaína, benzoilecgonina, cocaetileno e éster metil anidroecgonina em amostras de mecônio usando DPX e cromatografia em fase gasosa acoplada à espectrometria de massa (GC/MS). Os resultados da validação indicaram uma extração eficiente, exata e precisa, com recuperação entre 50-98%, exatidão entre 92-106%, precisão intra-ensaio 4-12% e precisão inter-ensaio 6 a 12%. As curvas de calibração foram lineares com valores de R2 superiores a 0,99; os limites de detecção (LOD) variaram entre 2,5-15 ng/g e os limites de quantificação (LOQ) entre 10-20 ng/g. O método DPX-GC/MS mostrou ser eficaz para análise traços de drogas presentes em amostras de mecônio. Após desenvolvimento e validação, o método foi aplicado em 50 amostras de mecônio coletadas no berçário da Maternidade do Complexo Aeroporto (MATER) na cidade de Ribeirão Preto - São Paulo, Brasil. / Drug abuse by pregnant women is considered a serious public health problem worldwide. Meconium is the first excretion in newborns and has been used as an alternative matrix to evaluate in utero drug exposure. Solid phase extraction (SPE) is widely employed to prepare and cleanup samples in the field of forensic analysis. Most SPE products require large volumes of solvent, which culminates in longer sample processing times; increased cost per sample and higher limits of detection. Disposable Pipette Extraction tips (DPX) have been used as an alternative to traditional SPE cartridges. They combine efficient and rapid extraction with reduced solvent consumption. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a method to determine nicotine, cotinine, cocaine, benzoylecgonine, cocaethylene and methyl ester anhydroecgonine in meconium using DPX and GC/MS. Validation results indicated extraction efficiency, ranged between 50-98%, accuracy 92-106%, intra-assay precision 4-12% and inter-assay precision 6 to 12%. Linear calibration curves resulted in R2 values greater than 0.99; limits of detection ranged from 2.5 - 15 ng/g and the limit of quantitation from 10 - 20 ng/g. The DPX-GC/MS method provided to selectively analyze trace concentrations of drugs in meconium samples. Finally, the developed and validated method was applied to 50 meconium samples collected at the nursery of Maternidade do Complexo Aeroporto (MATER) in the city of Ribeirão Preto - São Paulo, Brazil.

In the production of biodiesel via the transesterification of vegetable oils, purification to international standards is challenging. A key measure of biodiesel quality is the level of free glycerol in the biodiesel. In order to remove glycerol from fatty acid methyl ester (FAME or biodiesel), a membrane separation setup was tested. The main objective of this thesis was to develop a membrane process for the separation of free glycerol dispersed in FAME after completion of the transesterification reaction and to investigate the effect of different factors on glycerol removal. These factors included membrane pore size, pressure, temperature, and methanol, soap and water content. First, a study of the effect of different materials present in the transesterification reaction, such as water, soap, and methanol, on the final free glycerol separation was performed using a modified polyacrylonitrile (PAN) membrane, with 100 kD (ultrafiltration) molecular weight cut off for all runs at 25°C. Results showed low concentrations of water had a considerable effect in removing glycerol from the FAME. The mechanism of separation of free glycerol from FAME was due to the removal of an ultrafine dispersed glycerol-rich phase present in the untreated (or raw) FAME. The size of the droplets and the free glycerol separation both increased with increasing water content of the FAME. Next, three types of polymeric membranes in the ultrafiltration range with different molecular weight cut off, were tested at three fixed operating pressures and three operating temperatures (0, 5 and 25oC) to remove the free glycerol from a biodiesel reactor effluent. The ASTM standard for free glycerol concentration was met for the experiments performed at 25°C. The results of this study indicate that glycerol could be separated from raw FAME to meet ASTM and EN standards at methanol feed concentrations of up to 3 mass%. The process was demonstrated to rely on the formation of a dynamic polar layer on the membrane surface. Ceramic membranes of different pore sizes (0.05 µm (ultrafiltration (UF) range) and 0.2 µm (microfiltration (MF) range)) were used to treat raw FAME directly using the membrane separation set up at temperatures of 0, 5 and 25°C. The results were encouraging for the 0.05 µm pore size membrane at the highest temperature (25°C). The effect of temperature on glycerol removal was evident from its relation with the concentration factor (CF). Higher temperatures promoted the achievement of the appropriate CF value sooner for faster separation. Membrane pore size was also found to affect separation performance. A subsequent study revealed the effect of different variables on the size of the glycerol droplets using dynamic light scattering (DLS). A key parameter in the use of membrane separation technology is the size of the glycerol droplets and the influence of other components such as water, methanol and soaps on that droplet size. The effect of water, methanol, soap and glycerol on the size of suspended glycerol droplets in FAME was studied using a 3-level Box-Behnken experimental design technique. Standard statistical analysis techniques revealed the significant effect of water and glycerol on increasing droplet size while methanol and soap served to reduce the droplet size. Finally, a study on the effect of trans-membrane pressure (TMP) at different water concentrations in the FAME phase on glycerol removal using UF (0.03 µm pore size, polyethersulfone (PES)) and MF (0.1 and 0.22 µm pore sizes, PES) membranes at 25, 40 and 60°C was performed. Results showed that running at 25°C for the two membrane types produced the best results for glycerol removal and exceeded the ASTM and EN standards. An enhancement of glycerol removal was found by adding small amounts of water up to the maximum solubility limit in biodiesel. An increase in temperature resulted in an increase in the solubility of water in the FAME and less effective glycerol removal. Application of cake filtration theory and a gel layer model showed that the gel layer on the membrane surface is not compressible and the specific cake resistance and gel layer concentration decrease with increasing temperature. An approximate value for the limiting (steady-state) flux was reported and it was found that the highest fluxes were obtained at the lowest initial water concentrations at fixed temperatures. In conclusion, dispersed glycerol can be successfully removed from raw FAME (untreated FAME) using a membrane separation system to meet the ASTM biodiesel fuel standards. The addition of water close to the solubility limit to the FAME mixture enables the formation of larger glycerol droplets and makes the separation of these droplets straightforward.

Le présent travail de thèse porte sur l’étude de l’impact de la texturation par DIC (Détente Instantanée Contrôlée) sur les deux opérations d’extraction d’huile et de transestérification in-situ appliquées aux graines de colza et fèves de Jatropha Curcas. Une analyse fondamentale a prouvé l’importance de la diffusion du solvant ou réactif dans la matrice solide, et permis d’identifier les processus d’intensification au travers des trois caractéristiques physiques de diffusivité effective, d’accessibilité initiale et de rendement d’extraction ; ainsi que la cinétique de transestérification in-situ et le rendement d’ester méthylique d’acides gras. Une étude phénoménologique a permis de déterminer les diverses valeurs de ces caractéristiques en fonction des paramètres opératoires DIC (pression de vapeur d’eau saturée P et temps de traitement t).Dans le cas d’extraction, la diffusivité effective (Deff) de produits traités par DIC peut atteindre 8,01 10-12 m2/s contre 0,715 10-12 m2/s pour le colza non traité et 5,90 10-12 m2/s contre 2,42 10-12 m2/s pour le jatropha non traité. Le taux d’accessibilité initiale de produits traités par DIC peut atteindre 80,53% contre 26,71% pour le colza non traité et 92,58% contre 75,91% pour le jatropha non traité. Au plan du rendement, la DIC a pu impliquer un rendement de 153% pour le colza et 112% pour le jatropha.Dans le cas de la transestérification in-situ, les rendements d’esters méthyliques d’acides gras totaux (FAME total) obtenus pour les produits traités par DIC sont systématiquement supérieurs à ceux de la matière première non traitée par DIC pour les deux cas de colza et de jatropha. Le temps de réaction a été réduit à 30 - 45 minutes contre 120 minutes pour le produit non traité par DIC (cas de colza) et à 15 minutes au lieu de 60 minutes pour le produit non traité par DIC (cas de fèves de jatropha). / The present work has concerned the impact of Instant - Controlled Pressure Drop (DIC) texturing on both operations of oil extraction and in-situ transesterification, carried out with the rapeseed and the kernels of Jatropha Curcas. A fundamental analysis proved the importance of the reactive or solvent diffusion within the solid matrix. By texturing the natural product, the whole operation can be intensified. The process is revealed through three characteristics, which are the effective diffusivity, the starting accessibility, and the yields of extraction. Also, the kinetics and yield of fatty acid methyl ester of in-situ transesterification are discovered. A phenomenological study allowed determining the value of these characteristics versus DIC operating parameters (saturated steam pressure P and treatment time t).A 2 h solvent extraction of DIC treated material allowed the total oil yields to be improved by 153% for colza and 112% for jatropha, the effective diffusivity (Deff) can reach up to 8.014*10-12 m2/s as against 0.715*10-12 m2/s for colza untreated by DIC, and up to 5.90*10-12 m2/s as against 2.42*10-12 m2/s for the untreated jatropha. The rate of initial accessibility of products treated by DIC can reach up to 80.53% as against 26.71% for untreated colza and can reach up to 92.58% as against 75.91% for the product untreated jatropha. In the case of in situ transesterification, the total yield of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME total) obtained from the DIC treated products is systematically higher than that of untreated colza and jatropha raw material. The reaction time was decreased to 30 - 45 min instead of 120 min in the case of colza, and to 15 min instead of 60 min in the case of jatropha kernel.

Atualmente os dados epidemiológicos sobre a exposição ao crack no Brasil são preocupantes, principalmente entre crianças e adolescentes na capital de São Paulo. É sabido que o crack apresenta um potencial maior que o correspondente a outras formas de uso da cocaína para causar dependência. Apesar de haver numerosos estudos e métodos validados para identificação e quantificação de cocaína em fluidos biológicos, o mesmo não ocorre para a caracterização de seu uso na forma de crack. Todos os métodos descritos para diferenciação de exposição ao crack empregam equipamentos de alto custo e que nem sempre são viáveis para a realidade econômica dos laboratórios públicos brasileiros. Este trabalho objetivou desenvolver e aplicar um método eficiente e viável economicamente para identificação e quantificação dos indicadores de uso do crack em amostras de urina provenientes do Núcleo de Toxicologia Forense do Instituto Médico-Legal de São Paulo. O método mostrou-se linear na faixa de interesse (intervalo dinâmico de 0,2 a 20 µg/mL) para éster metilanidroecgonina. Os limites de detecção e quantificação foram de 0,1 e 0,2 µg/mL respectivamente e os testes de estabilidade mostraram-se satisfatórios (degradação menor que 10% após 30 dias). Foram analisadas trinta e sete amostras de urina sendo que onze foram positivas para o indicador escolhido mostrando a utilidade do método no esclarecimento de ocorrências no âmbito forense, no sentido de indicar se a intoxicação da cocaína se deu por esta forma de exposição (utilização de crack). / At the present time, epidemiologic data on the prevalence of crack in Brazil is alarming, principally as it concerns young children and teenagers in the capital city of São Paulo of São Paulo State. It is known that with crack there is a greater potential for dependency than that corresponding to other forms of cocaine use in causing dependency. Although numerous studies and methods have been validated for the identification and quantification of cocaine in biological fluids, the same is not true for the characterization of its use in the form of crack. All the methods described for differentiating the exposure to crack employ very expensive equipment, which is not always viable to the economic reality of the Brazilian public laboratories. This study had as its objective the development and application of a method that is efficient and economically viable for the identification and quantification of products of crack biomarkers in urine samples from the Forensic Toxicology Lab of the Legal Medicine Institute of São Paulo. The method showed to be linear in the interest range (dynamic range from 0.2 to 20 µg/mL ) for anhydroecgonine methyl ester. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.1 and 0.2 µg/mL respectively, and the stability tests proved to be satisfactory (less than 10% lost after 30 days). Thirty seven urine samples were analyzed such that these 11 were positive for the chosen biomarker, showing the usefulness of the method for clarification purposes in the forensic environment, in the sense of indicating whether the intoxication from cocaine was of this form of exposition (crack use).

Atualmente os dados epidemiológicos sobre a exposição ao crack no Brasil são preocupantes, principalmente entre crianças e adolescentes na capital de São Paulo. É sabido que o crack apresenta um potencial maior que o correspondente a outras formas de uso da cocaína para causar dependência. Apesar de haver numerosos estudos e métodos validados para identificação e quantificação de cocaína em fluidos biológicos, o mesmo não ocorre para a caracterização de seu uso na forma de crack. Todos os métodos descritos para diferenciação de exposição ao crack empregam equipamentos de alto custo e que nem sempre são viáveis para a realidade econômica dos laboratórios públicos brasileiros. Este trabalho objetivou desenvolver e aplicar um método eficiente e viável economicamente para identificação e quantificação dos indicadores de uso do crack em amostras de urina provenientes do Núcleo de Toxicologia Forense do Instituto Médico-Legal de São Paulo. O método mostrou-se linear na faixa de interesse (intervalo dinâmico de 0,2 a 20 µg/mL) para éster metilanidroecgonina. Os limites de detecção e quantificação foram de 0,1 e 0,2 µg/mL respectivamente e os testes de estabilidade mostraram-se satisfatórios (degradação menor que 10% após 30 dias). Foram analisadas trinta e sete amostras de urina sendo que onze foram positivas para o indicador escolhido mostrando a utilidade do método no esclarecimento de ocorrências no âmbito forense, no sentido de indicar se a intoxicação da cocaína se deu por esta forma de exposição (utilização de crack). / At the present time, epidemiologic data on the prevalence of crack in Brazil is alarming, principally as it concerns young children and teenagers in the capital city of São Paulo of São Paulo State. It is known that with crack there is a greater potential for dependency than that corresponding to other forms of cocaine use in causing dependency. Although numerous studies and methods have been validated for the identification and quantification of cocaine in biological fluids, the same is not true for the characterization of its use in the form of crack. All the methods described for differentiating the exposure to crack employ very expensive equipment, which is not always viable to the economic reality of the Brazilian public laboratories. This study had as its objective the development and application of a method that is efficient and economically viable for the identification and quantification of products of crack biomarkers in urine samples from the Forensic Toxicology Lab of the Legal Medicine Institute of São Paulo. The method showed to be linear in the interest range (dynamic range from 0.2 to 20 µg/mL ) for anhydroecgonine methyl ester. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.1 and 0.2 µg/mL respectively, and the stability tests proved to be satisfactory (less than 10% lost after 30 days). Thirty seven urine samples were analyzed such that these 11 were positive for the chosen biomarker, showing the usefulness of the method for clarification purposes in the forensic environment, in the sense of indicating whether the intoxication from cocaine was of this form of exposition (crack use).

<p>På SSAB i Borlänge har man upptäckt att avgaser från färgen förorenar ugnarna vid härdning. Avgaserna består av lösningsmedel och andra flyktiga föreningar som sedan förkolnas och faller ner på lackerade plåtband. För att komma runt det här problemet har SSAB tillsammans med Akzo Nobel Industrial Finishes AB, i Gamleby, tillverkat en färg som inte ska ge ifrån sig något lösningsmedel och på så sätt minska bildandet av föroreningar i ugnarna. Färgen heter NOVA GreenCoat och innehåller rapsmetylester, RME, som är ett reaktivt lösningsmedel och ska binda till bindemedlet i färgen och på så sätt hindras från att avgå vid härdning.</p><p>Syftet har varit att undersöka om en viss metod fungerar bra för att samla upp avgaser vid härdning. Avgaserna analyserades med GC-MS och härdningen studerades med FTIR. Arbetet har utförts både i Borlänge och i Gamleby.</p><p>Metoden för uppsamling av avgaserna visade sig fungera, dock inte särskilt effektivt. Den skulle därför behöva optimeras.</p><p>Härdningen kunde till viss del följas med hjälp av FTIR. Förändring i IR-spektrumet syntes för hydroxyltoppen vid cirka 3500 cm^-1. En skillnad kunde ses för en topp vid 2858 cm^-1 som uppkom i det ohärdade materialet innehållande RME, men den försvann under härdning. Toppen ökade med ökad mängd RME och syntes inte alls för de prover som inte innehöll RME.</p><p>Samtliga gjorda analyser indikerade att RME avgick vid härdning. Vid analys med GC-MS kunde de föreningar som avgick från RME identifieras som: metyl-14-metyl pentadekanoat och/eller metyl hexadekanoat, olika former av metyl oktadekanoat samt olika former av metyl eikosanoat. Andra föreningar från klarlacken som avgick var lösningsmedel x och y samt i två av proverna hexametoximetylmelamin, HMMM.</p> / <p>Problems with exhaust gases from paint that contaminates the ovens have been discovered at SSAB in Borlänge.  The exhaust gases contain solvents and other volatiles that vaporize from the paint and later on carbonize and fall down on the next coming sheets. SSAB and Akzo Nobel Industrial Finishes AB have developed a paint that is not supposed to vaporize any solvents and therefore reduce the contaminations of the ovens. The paint is called NOVA GreenCoat and contains rapeseed methyl ester, RME. RME is a reactive solvent that is supposed to react with the binder in the paint and therefore be prevented from leaving during thermal cure.</p><p>The purpose was to investigate whether a specific method worked well, for collecting the exhaust gases during thermal cure, or not. The collected exhaust gases were analyzed by using GC-MS and the cure was studied with FTIR. The work was executed both in Borlänge and Gamleby.</p><p>The method for collecting the exhaust gases worked, unfortunately it wasn’t particularly effective. It therefore needs to be optimized.</p><p>The cure could partially be studied by using FTIR. Changes in the IR-spectrum could be followed by looking at the hydroxyl peak at approximately 3500 cm^-1. A certain difference was observed for a peak at 2858 cm^-1 that appeared in the uncured material containing RME. The peak disappeared during cure. It increased with increased amount of RME and could not be observed at all for the samples that did not contain RME.</p><p>All the analyzed samples indicated that RME vaporize during cure. When analyzed with GC-MS the volatiles that vaporize from RME were identified as: hexadecanoic acid methyl ester and/or penta decanoic acid methyl-14-methyl ester, different forms of octadecanoic acid methyl ester and different forms of eicosanoic acid methyl ester. Other volatiles that vaporize from NOVA GreenCoat were solvent x and solvent y and for two of the samples hexa metoxy methyl melamine, HMMM, was also found.</p>

På SSAB i Borlänge har man upptäckt att avgaser från färgen förorenar ugnarna vid härdning. Avgaserna består av lösningsmedel och andra flyktiga föreningar som sedan förkolnas och faller ner på lackerade plåtband. För att komma runt det här problemet har SSAB tillsammans med Akzo Nobel Industrial Finishes AB, i Gamleby, tillverkat en färg som inte ska ge ifrån sig något lösningsmedel och på så sätt minska bildandet av föroreningar i ugnarna. Färgen heter NOVA GreenCoat och innehåller rapsmetylester, RME, som är ett reaktivt lösningsmedel och ska binda till bindemedlet i färgen och på så sätt hindras från att avgå vid härdning. Syftet har varit att undersöka om en viss metod fungerar bra för att samla upp avgaser vid härdning. Avgaserna analyserades med GC-MS och härdningen studerades med FTIR. Arbetet har utförts både i Borlänge och i Gamleby. Metoden för uppsamling av avgaserna visade sig fungera, dock inte särskilt effektivt. Den skulle därför behöva optimeras. Härdningen kunde till viss del följas med hjälp av FTIR. Förändring i IR-spektrumet syntes för hydroxyltoppen vid cirka 3500 cm-1. En skillnad kunde ses för en topp vid 2858 cm-1 som uppkom i det ohärdade materialet innehållande RME, men den försvann under härdning. Toppen ökade med ökad mängd RME och syntes inte alls för de prover som inte innehöll RME. Samtliga gjorda analyser indikerade att RME avgick vid härdning. Vid analys med GC-MS kunde de föreningar som avgick från RME identifieras som: metyl-14-metyl pentadekanoat och/eller metyl hexadekanoat, olika former av metyl oktadekanoat samt olika former av metyl eikosanoat. Andra föreningar från klarlacken som avgick var lösningsmedel x och y samt i två av proverna hexametoximetylmelamin, HMMM. / Problems with exhaust gases from paint that contaminates the ovens have been discovered at SSAB in Borlänge.  The exhaust gases contain solvents and other volatiles that vaporize from the paint and later on carbonize and fall down on the next coming sheets. SSAB and Akzo Nobel Industrial Finishes AB have developed a paint that is not supposed to vaporize any solvents and therefore reduce the contaminations of the ovens. The paint is called NOVA GreenCoat and contains rapeseed methyl ester, RME. RME is a reactive solvent that is supposed to react with the binder in the paint and therefore be prevented from leaving during thermal cure. The purpose was to investigate whether a specific method worked well, for collecting the exhaust gases during thermal cure, or not. The collected exhaust gases were analyzed by using GC-MS and the cure was studied with FTIR. The work was executed both in Borlänge and Gamleby. The method for collecting the exhaust gases worked, unfortunately it wasn’t particularly effective. It therefore needs to be optimized. The cure could partially be studied by using FTIR. Changes in the IR-spectrum could be followed by looking at the hydroxyl peak at approximately 3500 cm-1. A certain difference was observed for a peak at 2858 cm-1 that appeared in the uncured material containing RME. The peak disappeared during cure. It increased with increased amount of RME and could not be observed at all for the samples that did not contain RME. All the analyzed samples indicated that RME vaporize during cure. When analyzed with GC-MS the volatiles that vaporize from RME were identified as: hexadecanoic acid methyl ester and/or penta decanoic acid methyl-14-methyl ester, different forms of octadecanoic acid methyl ester and different forms of eicosanoic acid methyl ester. Other volatiles that vaporize from NOVA GreenCoat were solvent x and solvent y and for two of the samples hexa metoxy methyl melamine, HMMM, was also found.

Ces travaux de thèse traitent de la valorisation des huiles végétales comme plateforme pour la synthèse de polyesters d’architecture hyper-ramifiée. Pour ce faire, l’approche par polycondensation de monomères de type ABn (n ≥ 2) a été privilégiée. Des précurseurs plurifonctionnels portant des fonctions ester (A) et alcool (B) ont ainsi été préparés par modification chimique d’huiles végétales et/ou d’esters méthyliques d’acide gras. Plusieurs méthodologies de synthèse simple, sûres et efficaces ont été mises en place afin de garantir une réalité industrielle à ce projet. Deux plateformes de monomères de type ABn ont été obtenues par (1) hydrolyse acide d’huiles végétales époxydées et (2) en faisant appel à des réactions d’addition de thiol-ène et de métathèse. Le développement de procédés de polycondensation en masse, a alors permis l’accès à de nouveaux polyesters hyper-ramifiés. La densité de ramifications ainsi que les propriétés thermo-mécaniques de ces matériaux ont été modulées par le choix adapté de la structure chimique des précurseurs ‘gras’ utilisés. Enfin, un travail exploratoire a été conduit concernant la post-fonctionnalisation du coeur comme de la périphérie de ces polyesters hyper-ramifiés dans le but de moduler leurs propriétés et ainsi d’étendre la portée de leurs applications, des plastiques de commodité aux matériaux avancés. / The aim of this thesis was to use vegetable oils as a platform for the design of more sustainable polyesters of hyperbranched architecture. For that purpose, the approach by polycondensation of ABn-type monomers (n ≥ 2) was favored. Plant oils and/or fatty acid methyl esters were chemically modified to synthesize multifunctional precursors featuring ester (A) and alcohol moieties (B). Simple, safe and efficient chemical transformations were considered to provide industrial perspectives to this work. Two main platforms of ABn-type monomers were developed by (1) acid hydrolysis of epoxidized vegetables oils and (2) thiol-ene/metathesis coupling reactions. The subsequent polycondensation of these oily-derived monomers, performed in bulk, gave access to novel renewable hyperbranched polyesters. The branching density as well as the thermo-mechanical properties of these materials were adjusted by designing and selecting the chemical structure of the fatty acid-based monomers. Finally, an exploratory work was carried out regarding the post-functionalization of both the core and the periphery of these hyperbranched polyesters with the aim at tuning their properties and thus opening the scope of their applications, from commodity plastics to advanced materials.