Os reatores anaeróbios em batelada (ASBR) de leito fixo, em desenvolvimento no Instituto Mauá de Tecnologia e na Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos, têm apresentado desempenho satisfatório no tratamento de esgotos sanitários. A escolha do leito suporte é um dos importantes aspectos dessa etapa de desenvolvimento, além do aprofundamento do conhecimento dos aspectos fundamentais do processo e daqueles relacionados à operação do reator. Esta investigação estudou o comportamento de um ASBR de leito fixo, em escala de bancada, formado por matrizes de pedra pome, para suporte da biomassa, provido de agitador mecânico, no tratamento de esgotos sanitários coletados no Campus da USP, em São Carlos. O reator, com volume total de 7,2 L, foi operado em ciclos de 8 horas de duração, durante 86 dias, totalizando 216 ciclos. A DQO média afluente, no período, foi de 446 ± 169 mg/L, com valores médios, no efluente, respectivamente iguais a 233 ± 52, 64 ± 31, 32 ± 15 e 141 ± 32 mg/L para a DOQ total, fração particulada, coloidal e solúvel. Esses valores confirmam o bom desempenho do reator na remoção da fração particulada da matéria orgânica (eficiência de remoção de 84%). O modelo cinético para a velocidade de decaimento da DQO, que melhor se ajustou aos dados experimentais foi o de primeira ordem com residual (k1ap = 0,63 ± 0,06/h). Apesar do bom desempenho do reator, a presença, no efluente, de concentrações elevadas de sólidos solúveis fixos e valores anormais de alcalinidade e pH, alertaram para a necessidade de estudo mais aprofundado do leito, concluindo-se que a pedra pome sintética não apresenta a estabilidade química necessária para seu uso como material suporte nesse tipo de reator, pois ocorreu a perda contínua de cálcio do leito que resultou na perda da estabilidade estrutural das matrizes / The anaerobic sequencing batch reactors (ASBR) with immobilized biomass, that are under development at Mauá Institute of Technology and at São Carlos Engineering School, presented good performance in the wastewater treatment. Recent researches are trying to improve this reactor design and operation. The choice of the support material is one of the important aspects of this development stage, besides the knowledge enhancement of the fundamental process aspects and the ones related with the reactor operation and its influence in the performance. This work presents the results of the ASBR operation and their influence in its performance, in bench scale, filled with pumice stones matrices used as biomass support. The reactor was provided with a mechanical agitator to treat the sewage collected at USP-São Carlos. The reactor volume was 7,2 liters and was operated with 8 hours duration cycles, during 86 days, totalizing 216 cycles. The mean inflow COD was 446 ± 169 mg/L, obtaining mean values, in the effluent, respectively equal to a 233 ± 52, 64 ± 31, 32 ± 15 e 141 ± 32 mg/L for total COD, particulate fraction, colloidal fraction and soluble fraction. This data confirm the good reactor performance in the removal of the particulate fraction of the organic matter (removal efficiency of 84%). The kinetic model for the COD decay rate that best fit the experimental data was a first order model with residual (k1ap=0,63 ± 0,06 /h). Despite of the good reactor performance, the high fixed soluble solids concentration in the effluent, as the abnormal alkalinity and pH values, took the matrices study further. It was concluded that the synthetic pumice stones, does not present a chemical stability necessary for its use as support material in this kind of reactor, because the matrices continuously lost calcium, resulting in the lost of its structural stability

Os reatores anaeróbios em batelada (ASBR) de leito fixo, em desenvolvimento no Instituto Mauá de Tecnologia e na Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos, têm apresentado desempenho satisfatório no tratamento de esgotos sanitários. A escolha do leito suporte é um dos importantes aspectos dessa etapa de desenvolvimento, além do aprofundamento do conhecimento dos aspectos fundamentais do processo e daqueles relacionados à operação do reator. Esta investigação estudou o comportamento de um ASBR de leito fixo, em escala de bancada, formado por matrizes de pedra pome, para suporte da biomassa, provido de agitador mecânico, no tratamento de esgotos sanitários coletados no Campus da USP, em São Carlos. O reator, com volume total de 7,2 L, foi operado em ciclos de 8 horas de duração, durante 86 dias, totalizando 216 ciclos. A DQO média afluente, no período, foi de 446 ± 169 mg/L, com valores médios, no efluente, respectivamente iguais a 233 ± 52, 64 ± 31, 32 ± 15 e 141 ± 32 mg/L para a DOQ total, fração particulada, coloidal e solúvel. Esses valores confirmam o bom desempenho do reator na remoção da fração particulada da matéria orgânica (eficiência de remoção de 84%). O modelo cinético para a velocidade de decaimento da DQO, que melhor se ajustou aos dados experimentais foi o de primeira ordem com residual (k1ap = 0,63 ± 0,06/h). Apesar do bom desempenho do reator, a presença, no efluente, de concentrações elevadas de sólidos solúveis fixos e valores anormais de alcalinidade e pH, alertaram para a necessidade de estudo mais aprofundado do leito, concluindo-se que a pedra pome sintética não apresenta a estabilidade química necessária para seu uso como material suporte nesse tipo de reator, pois ocorreu a perda contínua de cálcio do leito que resultou na perda da estabilidade estrutural das matrizes / The anaerobic sequencing batch reactors (ASBR) with immobilized biomass, that are under development at Mauá Institute of Technology and at São Carlos Engineering School, presented good performance in the wastewater treatment. Recent researches are trying to improve this reactor design and operation. The choice of the support material is one of the important aspects of this development stage, besides the knowledge enhancement of the fundamental process aspects and the ones related with the reactor operation and its influence in the performance. This work presents the results of the ASBR operation and their influence in its performance, in bench scale, filled with pumice stones matrices used as biomass support. The reactor was provided with a mechanical agitator to treat the sewage collected at USP-São Carlos. The reactor volume was 7,2 liters and was operated with 8 hours duration cycles, during 86 days, totalizing 216 cycles. The mean inflow COD was 446 ± 169 mg/L, obtaining mean values, in the effluent, respectively equal to a 233 ± 52, 64 ± 31, 32 ± 15 e 141 ± 32 mg/L for total COD, particulate fraction, colloidal fraction and soluble fraction. This data confirm the good reactor performance in the removal of the particulate fraction of the organic matter (removal efficiency of 84%). The kinetic model for the COD decay rate that best fit the experimental data was a first order model with residual (k1ap=0,63 ± 0,06 /h). Despite of the good reactor performance, the high fixed soluble solids concentration in the effluent, as the abnormal alkalinity and pH values, took the matrices study further. It was concluded that the synthetic pumice stones, does not present a chemical stability necessary for its use as support material in this kind of reactor, because the matrices continuously lost calcium, resulting in the lost of its structural stability

In the Heretaunga Plains area, New Zealand, parts of the low lying land adjacent to the Awanui Stream are flooded annually. The purpose of the study was to find out if the flooding water trapped in the field gets sealed off from infiltrating the soils in any way (and hence is unavailable to replenish the stream flow). What would be the effects on stream base flow if pumping of the flooding water would occur direct to the stream after wet periods and heavy rains? The method of this project was to investigate the infiltration, soil type and ground water conditions in the field. The infiltration was investigated with the help of a double ring infiltration test, a disc permeameter that measures hydraulic conductivity, and pvc-pipes with core samples were saturated for an extended period of time to find out if there was any kind of seal forming during saturated conditions. The soil in field was sampled and a soil fraction test was performed. The potential evaporation was measured with an evaporation pan and calculated with data from a climate station in field. With flow records from the outgoing drain, potential evaporation and precipitation data a rough water balance model could be created. The results showed that there is no seal formed in the top part of the soil profile preventing the water from infiltrating. The flooding water is the result of a rising groundwater table, on top of a thick clay layer seven meters down in the ground. Once the flooding water has drained and evaporated away there is nothing wrong with the infiltration rate in field. There are very fine particles of silt and clay in the top soil that decreases the infiltration rate and can cause a separation of the ground water and the water above land surface. When the project was finished two recommendations could be given to the landowner to solve the problem with the flooding. The recommendations were to either re-level the field to get the surface water to runoff towards the drains instead of being trapped in the current low parts of the field. Or to dig drains from Horonui Drain and Cambell Drain into the field's low parts and in that way drain the flooding water away. / I området Heretaunga Plain, Nya Zeeland, översvämmas årligen delar av det låglänta området kring floden Awanui Stream. Syftet med den här studien var att ta reda på om översvämningsvattnet i fält hindras från infiltration i jorden på något sätt (och kan där med inte bidra till basflödet till floden). Vad skulle effekterna på basflödet i floden bli om översvämningsvattnet pumpades direkt ut i floden efter våtare perioder och större regn? Metoden för att svara på detta var att undersöka infiltrationen, jordtyperna och grundvattenförhållandena i fält. Infiltrationen undersöktes med hjälp av dubbelring infiltrationstest, en s.k. disc permeameter användes för att undersöka den hydrauliska konduktiviteten och PVC-rör med borrkärnor ställdes under vattenmättadeförhållanden en längre tid för att ta reda på om infiltrationen då skulle förändras. Jorden i fält provtogs och ett kornstorlekstest utfördes. Den potentiella avdunstningen mättes med en evaporationspanna och beräknades med data från en klimatstation i fält. Med flödesdata från diket med utgående vatten, potentiell avdunstning och nederbördsdata kunde en grov uppskattning av vattenbalansen i fält göras. Resultaten visade att det inte bildas någon hinna som hindrar infiltrationen av vatten i den övre delen av jordprofilen. Översvämningen är ett resultat av en stigande grundvattenyta, som stiger från ett tjockt lager av lera 7 meter ner i marken. När vattnet har dräneras och avdunstat bort är det ingenting som hindrar infiltrationen i fält. Det är dock väldigt fina partiklar av silt och lera i den översta torvjorden som minskar infiltrationshastigheten och kan orsaka en separation av grundvatten över och under markytan. När projektet var avslutat kunde två rekommendationer ges till landägaren om hur man kan lösa problemet med översvämningen. Rekommendationerna var att antingen skulle landägaren kunna göra om marknivån i fält för att få ytvattnet att rinna av mot dikena istället för att vara fast i de lägre partierna av fältet. Eller att gräva diken in i fältet från Horonui Drain och Cambell Drain in till de lägre översvämmade områdena i fält för att dränera bort översvämningsvattnet.

The middle Holocene cataclysmic eruption of Mount Mazama blanketed Walker Rim, in south central Oregon, with 270 cm to 300 cm of pumice, causing capture of surface water systems by groundwater, stream relocation, and the formation of biologically diverse fens and seasonal wetlands. The pumice aquifer at Round Meadow, an 8.6 km2 basin, hosts both a fen and seasonally ponded wetlands. The Round Meadow watershed lies within a closed basin between the upper Klamath and Deschutes river basins. As the highest meadow at Walker Rim, it is a relatively well-constrained system to study the effects of hydrological disruption. A water budget was calculated for the basin, hydraulic conductivity was evaluated for the three main sediment layers in the meadow, recharge sources and evaporative trends were studied using stable isotope analysis, and aquifer residence times were estimated using CFC tracer water age dating. Water year 2014 was a drought year and observation of the system under stressed conditions allowed discrimination of four independently functioning components of the hydrogeologic system. These were the meadow, which is by far the largest component in terms of water storage, the fen where iron cementation and up to 1 m of peat holds water in a berm above the meadow, three springs which are sourced from deeper groundwater hosted in the bedrock which underlies the pumice deposit, and the outflow area. In all cases, the aquifer material is pumice, but the influence of the pre-eruption landscape and post-eruption modifications of the aquifer material have resulted in partial isolation of the components. The water budget analysis indicated that the basin lost 44 cm of water storage during WY 2014. Hydraulic conductivity values of 1x10-6, 2x10-2, and 4x10-5 cm/s, were determined for the diatomaceous silt underlying the pumice, the Plinian pumice fall aquifer, and for the diatomaceous silt overlying the pumice, respectively. The pumice is characterized as a perched, weakly confined aquifer and residence times in the pumice are much longer (decades) than for water near the surface of the meadow. Water discharging at the springs is isotopically different (lighter) than either the surface water or groundwater in the pumice aquifer. The fen at Round Meadow appears dependent on seasonal precipitation to recharge water, and responds to fluctuations in annual precipitation. The wetland meadows are volumetrically the main water-storing features at Round Meadow, and these are not homogenous features, but a combination of discrete components.

Betong är ett av världens mest använda byggnadsmaterial, men kan också vara en stor miljöbov. Cementklinker är en betydande beståndsdel i betong som vid tillverkning frigör stora mängder koldioxid, av den anledningen optimeras betongrecept idag genom att ersätta en del av cementen med flygaska som är en restprodukt från kolkraftsindustrin. I takt med att samhället rör sig mot en fossilfri produktion beräknas tillgången till flygaska att avta och material med liknande egenskaper undersöks som alternativa bindemedel i betong.  Syftet med studien är att, genom litteraturstudier och laboratoriska tester, undersöka huruvida naturliga puzzolaner kan ersätta mängden flygaska i en cementsammansättning utan att försämra betongens hållfasthetsegenskaper. Tryckhållfastheten samt hållfasthetsutvecklingen har undersökts hos 150x150x150 mm provkuber med varierande mängd flygaska samt vulkanaska av isländsk pimpsten respektive jordanska tuffer. Målet med studien är att minska mängden, eller helst ersätta hela andelen flygaska i en klimatförbättrad betongsammansättning.  De laboratoriska testerna har utförts enligt svensk standard där totalt 48 provkroppar gjutits. Referenskuben i undersökningen består av 80% portlandkalkstencement och 20% flygaska. Totalt har 6 olika kombinationer av provkuber gjutits där andelen flygaska ersätts med 20%, 15% eller 10% vulkanaska. Vardera provkub har utsatts för tryckhållfasthetsmätning efter 2, 7 samt 28 dygn.  Resultatet av provtryckningen visade att provkuberna innehållande isländsk pimpsten gav en ökad eller oförändrad hållfasthet vid samtliga mätningar, jämfört med referenskuben. Provkuberna innehållande jordanska tuffer medförde däremot en reducering av hållfastheten vid samtliga mätningar, jämfört med referenskuben. Provkuberna innehållande vulkanaska från isländsk pimpsten gav högst sluthållfasthet då ingen flygaska förekom i sammansättningen och något sämre värden vid inblandning av flygaska, till skillnad från provkuberna innehållande vulkanaska från jordanska tuffer som utan flygaska i princip stannade av i sin hållfasthetstillväxt efter 7 dygn. Skillnaden i resultatet mellan vulkanaska av pimpsten respektive tuffer antyder att vilken typ av material det är samt dess ursprung har betydelse för hur det presterar som bindemedel i betong. / Concrete is one of the most widely used building materials in the world, but it can also be a major environmental culprit. Cement clinker is a significant component of concrete that releases large amounts of carbon dioxide during production. For this reason, concrete recipes are now optimized by replacing some of the cement with fly ash, which is a byproduct from the coal power industry. As society moves towards fossil-free production, the availability of fly ash is expected to decrease, and materials with similar properties are being investigated as alternative binders in concrete.  The purpose of the study is to investigate, through literature review and laboratory tests, whether natural pozzolans can replace the amount of fly ash in a cement composition without deteriorating the strength properties of the concrete. The compressive strength and strength development have been studied on 150x150x150 mm test cubes with varying amounts of fly ash and volcanic ash from Icelandic pumice and Jordanian tuffs. The goal of the study is to reduce the amount, or preferably replace the entire portion, of fly ash in a climate-improved concrete composition. The laboratory tests have been performed according to Swedish standards, where a total of 48 test specimens have been cast. The reference cube in the study consists of 80% Portland limestone cement and 20% fly ash. A total of 6 different combinations of test cubes have been cast, where the proportion of fly ash is replaced with 20%, 15%, or 10% volcanic ash. Each test cube has been subjected to compressive strength measurement after 2, 7, and 28 days. The results of the compression testing showed that the test cubes containing Icelandic pumice provided increased or unchanged strength at all measurements, compared to the reference cube. However, the test cubes containing Jordanian tuffs resulted in a reduction of strength at all measurements, compared to the reference cube. The test cubes containing volcanic ash from Icelandic pumice provided the highest final strength when no fly ash was present in the composition, and slightly lower values when fly ash was added, unlike the test cubes containing volcanic ash from Jordanian tuffs which essentially plateaued in their strength development after 7 days without fly ash. The difference in results between volcanic ash from pumice and tuffs suggests that the type and origin of the material are significant factors in how they perform as a binder in concrete.

Το θέμα της παρούσης Διδακτορικής Διατριβής είναι η συστηματική μελέτη του Αυτοσυμπυκνούμενου Κισσηροδέματος (ΑΣΚ). Ο βασικός σκοπός της υπήρξε η παραγωγή μειγμάτων δομικού ΑΣΚ, προτείνοντας παράλληλα μία μεθοδολογία σύνθεσης, εφαρμόσιμη για κάθε είδος Αυτοσυμπυκνούμενου Σκυροδέματος (ΑΣΣ). Ακόμη, έγινε προσπάθεια να διερευνηθούν τομείς στους οποίους η γνώση για το Αυτοσυμπυκνούμενο Ελαφροσκυρόδεμα (ΑΣΕΣ) είναι ακόμη ελλιπής, όπως η συνάφεια χάλυβα-ΑΣΕΣ, η συμπεριφορά γραμμικών στοιχείων οπλισμένου ΑΣΕΣ έναντι κάμψης και διάτμησης, η κατανομή και οι μέγιστες τιμές των πιέσεων που ασκεί το νωπό ΑΣΕΣ σε ξυλοτύπους και τα χαρακτηριστικά ανθεκτικότητάς του. / In this study an extended investigation of PASCC properties is conducted. The main scope was to produce structural PASCC mixtures, by proposing a mix design methodology applicable for every type of Lightweight Aggregate Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC). Moreover, there has been an attempt to investigate fields where the available knowledge for LWASCC is limited, such as the steel-PASCC bond characteristics, the response of reinforced PASCC elements under reversed bending and shear actions, the formwork pressure development during and after PASCC casting and selected PASCC durability characteristics.