The Study aims to evaluate what kind of systems buyers of raw materials use for handling the flow of information in their supply chain of raw materials. Due to the complexity of the topic, the Study is only examining the continuous exchange of information between suppliers and buyers of raw materials. The purpose of the Study is to provide recommendations to Boliden on which system is suitable for implementation at the company. The Study’s results were achieved by collecting both primary and secondary data. The primary data was collected through interviews with raw materials buyers and trade organisations. A total of fifteen interviews were conducted in the Study. The secondary data was collected through a literature study. The results of the Study indicate that there exists four different solutions for managing the flow of information in a supply chain of raw materials. The most common solution among buyers of raw materials is to use the so-called “traditional” systems, i.e. e-mail, telephone and physical meetings. The second most common solution is to use an external information handling system provided by a trade organisation. The third most common solution is to use a commercial information handling system, i.e. a system provided by a commercial provider. Lastly, the least common solution is to develop an information handling system on its own, i.e. a proprietary information handling system. The conclusion of the Study is that Boliden should use two information handling system simultaneously, i.e. an external information handling system and the traditional information handling systems. However, Boliden should also look into the option of developing a proprietary information handling system.

Το Μεταπόντιο (Μπαζιλικάτα, Ν. Ιταλία) αποτελεί μια από τις πρώτες και σημαντικότερες ελληνικές αποικίες της Αχαΐας, ενώ ταυτόχρονα θεωρείται ως η πρώτη επιτυχημένη προσπάθεια αποικιακού κινήματος σε παγκόσμια κλίμακα. Οι ανασκαφές που έχουν πραγματοποιηθεί στην ευρύτερη περιοχή από τη δεκαετία του 1970 έχουν επιτρέψει την ανάπτυξη μιας ενδελεχούς διεπιστημονικής προσέγγισης σε μια πληθώρα θεματολογιών που αφορούν την ανθρωπολογία, την γεωργία, την αστική γεωγραφία, τις διατροφικές συνήθειες, τις πολιτικές σχέσεις μητρόπολης-αποικίας κ.α. Οι ανασκαφές που έχουν διεξαχθεί στους αρχαιολογικούς χώρους των περιοχών Sant’ Angelo Vecchio, Pantanello και Kerameikos στην περιοχή του Μεταπόντιου έχουν αποκαλύψει εργαστηριακούς χώρους παραγωγής, αρχαίων κεραμικών υλικών αρχαϊκής, ελληνιστικής και ρωμαϊκής περιόδου αναδεικνύοντας την περιοχή ως ένα από τα πλέον σημαντικά κέντρα παραγωγής κεραμικής των περιόδων αυτών. Έχοντας ως απώτερο στόχο να αποτελέσει τη βάση της αρχαιομετρικής μελέτης της κεραμικής ειδωλίων και πήλινων πλακών τύπου Terracotta που αποτελεί σήμα κατατεθέν της συγκεκριμένης περιοχής, η παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία έχει ως σκοπό να προσφέρει τις απαραίτητες εκείνες πληροφορίες που απαιτούνται για τις πρώτες ύλες που είναι διαθέσιμες στην περιοχή, τον πετρογραφικό και γεωχημικό χαρακτηρισμό της τοπικής κεραμικής αλλά και για την τεχνολογία και την παραγωγική διαδικασία που ακολούθησαν οι αρχαίοι κεραμείς. Για την απόληψη πρώτων υλών πραγματοποιήθηκαν διατρήσεις βάθους έως 2 μέτρων εντός των αρχαιολογικών χώρων του Sant’ Angelo Vecchio και του Pantanello. Ως κεραμικό υλικό επιλέχθηκε να μελετηθούν κεραμικά δομικά υλικά, κυρίως κέραμοι αλλά και πλάκες κάλυψης ταφικών δομών και πήλινοι αγωγοί αποστράγγισης. Συνολικά επιλέχθηκαν 37 δείγματα αρχαίων κεράμων, 2 κονιάματα, 6 δείγματα αργιλικών πρώτων υλών και 2 δείγματα άμμων. Ο κύριος σκοπός της μελέτης αυτής ήταν ο προσδιορισμός των ιστολογικών και συστασιακών τους χαρακτηριστικών ώστε να καθοριστεί η προέλευση των δειγμάτων αυτών με τη χρήση ορυκτολογικών, πετρογραφικών και γεωχημικών αναλύσεων. Τα συμπεράσματα που προέκυψαν, επέτρεψαν το σχηματισμό και χαρακτηρισμό συστασιακών ομάδων βάσει της ορυκτολογικής, πετρογραφικής και χημικής τους σύστασης, καθώς και την εξαγωγή συμπερασμάτων για τις συνθήκες όπτησης του αρχαιολογικού υλικού. Στα παραπάνω αποτελέσματα στηρίχθηκε και ο σχεδιασμός του πειραματικού σταδίου, που συμπεριέλαβε την παρασκευή κεραμικών δοκιμίων (briquettes) από τα επιλεγμένα δείγματα αργιλικών πρώτων υλών και εν συνεχεία την πειραματική τους έψηση. Η σύγκριση των πετρογραφικών και χημικών δεδομένων μεταξύ των κεράμων και των αργιλικών πρώτων υλών οδήγησε στην ταυτοποίηση των αργίλων από την περιοχή Sant’ Angelo Vecchio ως πηγή της πρώτης ύλης που χρησιμοποιήθηκε σε μέγιστο βαθμό για την κεραμική ύλη στην περιοχή αυτή. Στην περιοχή του Pantanello, αντίθετα δεν κατέστη δυνατή η άμεση συσχέτιση των πρώτων υλών που αναλύθηκαν με τις αρχαίες κεράμους που μελετήθηκαν από την περιοχή, ωστόσο τα αποτελέσματα έδωσαν σημαντικά στοιχεία που υποδεικνύουν μια περισσότερο πολύπλοκη διαδικασία παραγωγής. / The colonization of the Metaponto area (Basilicata, Southern Italy) is considered as the first successful colonial movement worldwide. The strong relationship of the colonies established therein with the area of Achaia (Greece) has indicated the latter as the possible Metropolis. The archaeological excavations carried out in the area since the 1970s, have triggered the interest of the archaeologists and led them to apply several multi-disciplinary research projects in a variety of themes relating to anthropology, agriculture, urban geography, eating habits, social-economic relations between metropolis-colony etc. The excavations that carried out at the archaeological sites of Sant' Angelo Vecchio, Pantanello and Kerameikos in Metaponto, have revealed ancient ceramics of Archaic, Hellenistic and Roman periods at ceramic workshops and indicated this area as one of the most important pottery production centers throughout time. Coroplastic figurines and Terracotta plates as well as table ware and cooking ware constitute some of the most important expressions of the ceramic artisans in this area. Aiming to build a scientific foundation for the detailed archaeometric study of likewise material, the effort of the present study was to establish the means and the tools towards such an approach. In order to achieve this, the local ceramic production should have been characterized by means of compositional and textural parameters aiming to play the role of local reference groups. In this respect, clayey raw materials and ceramic tiles have been selected from the study area and studied by employing minero-petrographic and geochemical techniques. Sampling of the raw materials was performed in the archaeological sites of Sant' Angelo Vecchio and Pantanello by perforations to a depth of 2 meters. The ceramic materials selected comprise roof tiles, tomb tiles and drainage pipes. The selected material included 37 samples of ceramic tiles, 2 samples of mortars, 6 samples of Pliocene clayey sediments and 2 sand samples. The main purpose of the study was to establish local ceramic reference groups and draw conclusions about the conditions of firing of the ancient tiles. The laboratory work included the preparation of briquettes from the selected samples of clay sediments and their experimental firing in a high temperature kiln. The analyses performed in both the ceramic samples and the experimental briquettes comprised their macroscopic observation, mineralogical and petrographic examination and geochemical analysis. The comparison between them has permitted to identify the clays source employed for the manufacture of the tiles from Sant’ Angelo Vecchio. On the other hand, in Pantanello a similarly straightforward correlation between the tiles and the locally available clayey raw material was not easy to be highlighted. The results revealed important evidence suggesting a more complex production chain in that area

ZSM-5 is an aluminosilicate zeolite with high Si/Al ratio with suitable properties for catalysis, ion exchange, adsorption and membrane applications. The main goal of this thesis was to study the growth of ZSM-5 zeolite crystals from inexpensive natural sources of silica and alumina, as well as n-butylamine (NBA) as a low-cost structure directing agent. The first objective of this work was to develop pathways to synthesize ZSM-5 crystals from kaolin clay or diatomaceous earth, two inexpensive natural sources of silica and alumina (Paper I). In the case of kaolin, a heat treatment was used in order to form amorphous metakaolinite. Subsequently, dealumination of the raw materials by acid leaching made it possible to reach appropriate Si/Al ratios and to reduce the amount of impurities. Finally, leached metakaolinite or diatomaceous earth was reacted with sodium hydroxide and NBA. After synthesis optimization, both sources of aluminosilicates were found to behave differently during the course of synthesis and to lead to slightly different reaction products. The final products exhibited Si/Al ratios in the range 10-20. The use of leached diatomaceous earth allowed to reach higher yield of ZSM-5 crystals within comparable synthesis times. However, low amounts of mordenite were inevitably formed as a by-product, which was related to the high calcium content of diatomaceous earth. Therefore, the rest of the thesis focused on the kaolin system. In order to study the growth mechanism of ZSM-5 from leached metakaolinite, a proper methodology to gain local compositional data by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) on aluminosilicates was developed (Paper II). Zeolite A was used as a model system that could be ion-exchanged with various elements. In order to evaluate the reliability of the measurements, inductively coupled plasma-sector field mass spectrometry (ICP-SFMS) and EDS were compared. The EDS method developed in this work resulted in molar ratios very close to theoretical values and was therefore found more reliable than ICP-SFMS. Therefore, the method developed for zeolite A was applied in the rest of the thesis work to study the formation and growth of ZSM-5 crystals. The second part of this work focused on the kaolin system in order to understand the nucleation and growth processes of the ZSM-5 crystals. This system was heterogeneous, due to the formation of a gel upon heating of the synthesis mixture. First, the internal structure of the gel was investigated (Paper III). Second, a kinetic study was performed and compared with microstructural observations (Paper IV). Finally, the mechanisms leading to Al-zoning and dendritical growth of the zeolite crystals were investigated (Paper V). The characterization of the intermediate phases during the different stages of the hydrothermal synthesis were analyzed by different analytical techniques, such as inductively coupled plasma-sector field mass spectrometry (ICP-SFMS), dynamic light scattering (DLS), extreme high resolution-scanning electron microscopy (XHR-SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), high resolution-transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and nitrogen gas adsorption. These investigations led to several important conclusions: 1) The walls of the gel were shown for the first time to be inhomogeneous and to possess a biphasic internal structure consisting of a mesoporous skeleton of aluminosilicate nanoparticles embedded in a silicate-rich soluble matrix of soft matter. 2) The kinetic study and microstructural evidences indicated that the early crystals were fully embedded inside the gel phase and that crystal growth was retarded, as the formation of the gel occurred simultaneously with the early growth of the crystals. Hence, nucleation and growth appeared to be solution mediated.  3) Finally, the Al zoning of the crystals was related to the biphasic internal structure of the gel, since the silicate-rich matrix was preferentially consumed first. 4) The dendrites present at the surface of the crystals during most of the growth process were shown to be caused by the presence of a web of nanoparticles, most likely originating from the mesoporous skeleton inside the gel. In the future, these findings are expected to lead to optimized synthesis pathways of catalysts with homogeneous properties and to contribute to the development of poor regions in Bolivia.

Subject matter of the diploma thesis is a crisis on the market for secondary raw materials. The crisis was observed in the end of 2008 and in beginning of 2009. The diploma thesis is deal with current situation on the market for recycling and identifying its specifics. First, it is focused on the European Packaging Waste Directive institutional framework of the market for recycling. Consequently it is discussed how successful is implemented Directive in each European Union member country. The second chapter is about the market for recycling and about the recent crisis. In the third chapter we discover causes and consequences in connection with the collapse and we will confront with specialists through the interviews. In the last part of the diploma thesis is suggested original solution.

Os Aluminetos de Ferro tem, dentre muitas características predominantes, excelente resistência à corrosão a altas temperaturas devido à formação de uma camada protetora de alumina que favorece a sua aplicação em ambientes agressivos. Este trabalho tem por objetivo estudar a produção de ligas a partir de matéria-prima reciclada e a cinética de oxidação em alta temperatura de 800 graus Celsius a 1100 graus Celsius em forno mufla sem atmosfera protetora com tempo de permanência no forno de 10, 50, 100 e 200h. As ligas estudadas se baseiam na composição básica Fe30Al6Cr (os números representam a fração molar dos componentes). Duas ligas, nomeadas (A) e (B), foram obtidas seguindo a mesma rota de processamento, porém, diferenciando os cadinhos de fundição o que resultou em concentrações de carbono diferentes e conseqüente diferença na fração volumétrica de carbonetos. As ligas foram analisadas através de difração de Raio X para determinação das fases presentes e microscopia eletrônica de varredura para caracterização microestrutural. Foram também, submetidas ao ensaio de solubilização por 10 horas a uma temperatura de 1200 graus Celsius e precipitação a 800 graus Celsius por 10 min para determinação da evolução microestrutural. O resultados das análises de microdureza Vickers no material em estados bruto de fusão e tratado termicamente serviram para caracterizar os carbonetos presentes, bem como a resistência intrínseca da matriz. Os resultados do ensaio de oxidação realizado em 16 amostras de cada liga são apresentados sob forma de curvas de ganho de massa por unidade de área, (deltam/S), versus tempo de oxidação, (t). A avaliação feita das curvas dos gráficos não foi suficiente para determinar à cinética de formação de óxidos. / Iron aluminides have, among many outstanding characteristics, excellent resistance to high temperature oxidation due to the formation of a protective alumina layer which favors its use in harsh environments. This work aims at producing iron aluminides-based alloy using only recycled raw material and characterizing the results of studies of oxidation kinetic at high temperatures of 800 Celsius to 1100 Celsius in muffle furnace without protective atmosphere with residence time in oven 10, 50, 100 and 200h. The investigated alloy are based on the nominal composition Fe30Al6Cr (The numbers refer to the molar fraction of alloys elementes). Two alloys, namely (A) and (B), were obtained following the same processing route using, however, different crucibles which resulted in different carbon concentrations and consequently in different carbide volume fractions. The alloys were analyzed by X-ray diffraction to determine the phases and scanning electron microscopy for microstructural characterization. Sample taken from both alloys were also subjected to solubilization for 10 hours at 1200 Celsius and precipitation at 800 Celsius for 10 min to determine the microstructural evolution. The analytical results of Vickers microhardness of the material both in the as cast state as well as in the heat treated states were used to characterize the carbides and matrix mechanical properties. Oxidation results carried out in 16 samples of each alloy are presented in the form of mass gain per unit area (deltam / S) versus oxidation time (t) curves. The evaluation of the graphics curves used to observe the linear behavior was not enough to determine the oxidation kinetics law.

This project is an exploration of practices around the critical raw materialcobalt, it’s history, and current relevance in Swedish discourse. Critical raw materials are identified by the European Commission as materials of high importance to the EU’s economic system as well as the high risks related to their supply and production. As the demand for cobalt grows due to it’s usefulness in rechargeable batteries in for example smartphones, laptops and electric cars, the metal is predicted to become scarce in a near future. In Sweden there is a discourse on whether or not to mine for cobalt, among other earth elements, locally, and the industry is lookingfor ways to recycle old rechargeable batteries at larger scales to secure the resource. The criticality of cobalt does not only concern supply and economic importance however. In Congo some mines have been reported to still be dug by hand, under extremely poor conditions and risking the health and safety of the workers, as well as the surrounding societies. Through a critical research and design process these topics are explored alongside the more locally known use of cobalt oxide as a vibrant blue colour pigment for ceramics and glass. With the process I aim to create a design that engages with the criticality as well as a designerly fascinationwith the material. The end result being a speculative design fiction of the mythological creature cobelt, and how complex narratives can be unearthed in craft based practice.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-05T17:04:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 29 / Nenhuma / A atual crise energética repercute no contexto das sociedades e aponta para uma mudança nesta indústria no âmbito internacional e nacional. Neste contexto, o Brasil vem estruturando o Programa Nacional de Produção e Uso do Biodiesel (PNPB). Este trabalho está baseado no caso da BSBIOS, empresa gaúcha inserida no âmbito do PNPB. A pesquisa parte de uma análise geral e enfoca critérios utilizados para a escolha das matérias-primas agrícolas para suprir as usinas de biodiesel, fatores ora potenciais, ora limitantes à indústria de biodiesel. Para isso, desenvolve-se um modelo de referência que considera: i) contextualização sucinta do cenário energético atual, envolvendo o objeto da pesquisa; ii) conceitos estruturais ligados às matrizes produtivas escolhidas para este estudo (soja, canola, girassol e mamona); iii) aspectos conceituais relacionados com cadeia de produção, cadeia de suprimentos, logística e rede. Na seqüência, o trabalho sugere que a decisão sobre a adoção das matérias-primas agrícolas para a prod / The current energy crisis reflects in the context of societies and points out to a change in this industry under international and national levels. In this context, Brazil comes structuring the National Production and Use of Biodiesel Program (PNPB). This work is based on the case of BSBIOS, gaúcha company inserted under PNPB. The research part of a general analysis of this issue and focus on criteria used to select the raw materials to supply the plants of biodiesel, factors that enable the development of at moment potential and at moment limitations of biodiesel industry. For this, it was developed a reference model that considers: i) short contextualization of the current energy scenario, involving the object of search; ii) structural concepts related matrices productive chosen for this study (soybean, canola, sunflower and castor bean); iii) conceptual aspects related to the production chain, supply chain, logistics and network. Following, the work suggests that the decision on the adoption of agricultur

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-05T18:57:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 21 / Nenhuma / O crescimento econômico ocorrido a partir do final do século XX teve como fonte motora o desenvolvimento tecnológico sustentado pelo consumo de energias não renováveis, ou seja, derivadas basicamente do petróleo, do carvão e do gás natural. Esse modelo chegou a um ponto de inflexão em função do aumento crescente dos preços do petróleo e as previsões de esgotamento dessa fonte de energia. Neste contexto, os países estão buscando, através de políticas públicas, promover novas fontes de energias renováveis para manter o crescimento de forma sustentável. E a utilização de biodiesel como combustível vem despontando com um potencial promissor em todo o mundo, sendo um mercado que cresce rapidamente, em virtude principalmente dos aspectos ambientais envolvidos. A referente pesquisa parte da escolha de matérias-primas para a produção de biodiesel, especialmente oriundos da canola, girassol, mamona e soja. Onde a soja se configurou como a principal matéria-prima. Contudo, dentro dos limites do estado do Rio Grande do / The economic growth which occurred from the end of the twentieth century had as a source driving the technological development sustained by the consumption of non-renewable energy, which is mainly derived from oil, coal and natural gas. This model has reached a point of inflection in the light of increasing oil prices and forecasts of depletion of energy source. On this context, countries are seeking by public politics to promote new sources of renewable energy, to maintain growth in a sustainable way. And the use of biodiesel fuel is coming with a potential promising in the world, with a market that is growing quickly, mainly because of the environmental involved aspects. This research concerns the choice of materials for the biodiesel production, especially coming from canola, sunflower, castor bean and soybean, in which this last one is configured as the main raw material. In addition, inside the limits of Rio Grande do Sul state, the agricultural zoning enabled the canola development, sunflower and cast

A new approach to allocate environmental responsibility, the "value added-based responsibility" allocation, is presented in this article. This metric allocates total environmental pressures occurring along an international supply chain to the participating sectors and countries according to the share of value added they generate within that specific supply chain. We show that - due to their position in global value chains - certain sectors (e.g. services) and countries (e.g. Germany) receive significantly greater responsibility compared to other allocation approaches. This adds a new perspective to the discussions concerning a fair distribution of mitigation costs among nations, companies and consumers.

Growing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions have implied an increased attention to the development of renewable energy sources. Bioenergy from forest biomass is expected to be one of the cornerstones in reaching renewable energy targets, especially in forest-rich countries such as Sweden. However, forest biomass is a limited resource, and an intensified use of bioenergy could affect roundwood and forest products’ markets in several ways. The overall purpose of this thesis is to analyze price formation and resource allocation of forest raw materials in the presence of increased bioenergy demand. The empirical focus is on the competition for wood fibres between bioenergy use and the traditional forest industries, as well as synergy effects between the various sectors using forest raw materials. The methodologic approach is partial equilibrium modeling (forest sector model), and the geographical focus is on Sweden. The thesis comprises three self-contained articles, which all address the above issues. The first paper presents an economic assessment of two different policies – both implying an increased demand for forest ecosystem services – and how these could affect the competition for forest raw materials. A forest sector trade model is updated to a new base year (2016), and used to analyze the consequences of increased bioenergy use in the heat and power (HP) sector as well as increased forest conservation in Sweden. These overall scenarios are assessed individually and in combination. The results show how various forest raw material-using sectors are affected in terms of price changes and responses in production. A particularly interesting market impact is that bioenergy promotion and forest conservation tend to have opposite effects on forest industry by-product prices. Moreover, combining the two policies mitigates the forest industry by-product price increase compared to the case where only the bioenergy-promoting policy is implemented. In other words, the HP sector is less negatively affected in terms of increased feedstock prices if bioenergy demand target are accompanied by increased forest conservation. This effect is due to increasing pulpwood prices, which reduces pulp, paper and board production, and in turn mitiges the competition for the associated by-products. Overall, the paper illustrates the great complexity of the forest raw material market, and the importance of considering demand and supply responses within and between sectors in energy and forest policy designs. The second article investigates the forest raw material market effects from introducing second-generation transport biofuel (exemplified by Bio-SNG) production in Sweden. Increases in Bio-SNG demand between 5 and 30 TWh are investigated. The simulation results illustrate increasing forest industry by-product (i.e., sawdust, wood chips and bark) prices, not least in the high-production scenarios (i.e. 20-30 TWh). This suggests that increases in second-generation biofuel productions lead to increased competition for the forest raw materials. The higher feedstock prices make the HP sector less profitable, but very meagre evidence of substitution of fossil fuels for by-products can be found. In this sector, there is instead an increased use of harvesting residues. Fiberboard and particleboard production ceases entirely due to increased input prices. There is also evidence of synergy (“by-product”) effects between the sawmill sector and the use of forest raw materials in the HP sector. Higher by-product prices spur sawmills to produce more sawnwood, something that in turn induces forest owners to increase harvest levels. Already in the 5 TWh Bio-SNG scenario, there is an increase in the harvest level, thus suggesting that the by-product effect kicks in from start. Biofuels and green chemicals are likely to play significant roles in achieving the transition towards a zero-carbon society. However, large-scale biorefineries are not yet cost-competitive with their fossil-fuel counterparts, and it is therefore important to identify biorefinery concepts with high economic performance in order to achieve widespread deployment in the future. For evaluations of early-stage biorefinery concepts, there is a need to consider not only the technical performance and the process costs, but also the performance of the full supply chain and the impact of its implementation in the feedstock and products markets. The third article presents – and argues for – a conceptual interdisciplinary framework that can form the basis for future evaluations of the full supply-chain performance of various novel biorefinery concepts. This framework considers the competition for biomass feedstocks across sectors, and assumes exogenous end-use product demand and various geographical and technical constraints. It can be used to evaluate the impacts of the introduction of various biorefinery concepts in the biomass markets in terms of feedstock allocations and prices. Policy evaluations, taking into account both engineering constraints and market mechanisms, should also be possible. Overall, the thesis illustrates the importance of considering the market effects when designing and evaluating forest policies and bioenergy policy targets. The forest industry sector and the bioenergy sector are closely interlinked and can both make or break one another depending on the policy design. The results indicate that for an increased demand of bioenergy, an industrial transformation is to be expected, as well as increased roundwood harvest.