| 1. |
- Öhman, Marcus, et al.
(författare)
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Ash transformations during combustion of meat-, bonemeal, and RDF in a (bench-scale) fluidized bed combustor
- 2003
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Ingår i: Energy & Fuels. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0887-0624 .- 1520-5029. ; 17:5, s. 1153-1159
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Following the recent Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) experiences, thermal treatment of meat- and bonemeal (MBM) in existing fluidized bed combustion (FBC) plants for refuse-derived fuels (RDFs) has evolved as an interesting disposal and disintegration method. However, only a limited number of studies have previously been performed for combustion of MBM in fluidized beds. The objectives of the present work were, therefore, to determine the bed agglomeration tendencies of these materials during combustion in fluidized beds and to evaluate the effects of dolomite and kaolin addition to the fuel mix, as well as to elucidate the overall ash transformation mechanisms governing the potential bed agglomeration and fouling processes. By controlled agglomeration experiments in a 5 kW bench-scale fluidized bed reactor, the fuel-specific critical agglomeration temperatures in normal quartz bed material were determined for the different fuel/additive mixtures. All collected samples of bed materials, final bed agglomerates, and cyclone ashes were analyzed using SEM/EDS and XRD. The results indicated that the MBM fuels could be expected to be problematic concerning bed agglomeration in normal quartz beds, while kaolin and possibly dolomite addition could be used to reduce this risk to moderate levels. A significant elemental fractionation between the bed material and the cyclone ash was obtained. Apatite (Ca5(PO4)3(OH) or potentially some other calcium phosphates are elutriated from the bed and enriched in the fly ash, while sodium and potassium are enriched in the bed material. The characteristics and the corresponding melting behavior estimations of the necks formed between agglomerated bed particles suggest that silicate melts are responsible for the bed agglomeration. Results from XRD analysis of the fly ash formed from the fuels used in the present study indicated that the risk for melt-related fly ash problems seem relatively small.
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| 3. |
- Ahlborg, Liv, et al.
(författare)
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Individualized feedback during simulated laparoscopic training : a mixed methods study.
- 2015
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Ingår i: International Journal of Medical Education. - : International Journal of Medical Education. - 2042-6372. ; 6, s. 93-100
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the value of individualized feedback on performance, flow and self-efficacy during simulated laparoscopy. Furthermore, we wished to explore attitudes towards feedback and simulator training among medical students.METHODS: Sixteen medical students were included in the study and randomized to laparoscopic simulator training with or without feedback. A teacher provided individualized feedback continuously throughout the procedures to the target group. Validated questionnaires and scales were used to evaluate self-efficacy and flow. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to evaluate differences between groups regarding laparoscopic performance (instrument path length), self-efficacy and flow. Qualitative data was collected by group interviews and interpreted using inductive thematic analyses.RESULTS: Sixteen students completed the simulator training and questionnaires. Instrument path length was shorter in the feedback group (median 3.9 m; IQR: 3.3-4.9) as compared to the control group (median 5.9 m; IQR: 5.0-8.1), p<0.05. Self-efficacy improved in both groups. Eleven students participated in the focus interviews. Participants in the control group expressed that they had fun, whereas participants in the feedback group were more concentrated on the task and also more anxious. Both groups had high ambitions to succeed and also expressed the importance of getting feedback. The authenticity of the training scenario was important for the learning process.CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the importance of individualized feedback during simulated laparoscopy training. The next step is to further optimize feedback and to transfer standardized and individualized feedback from the simulated setting to the operating room.
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| 4. |
- Ahlborg, Liv, et al.
(författare)
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Simulator training and non-technical factors improve laparoscopic performance among OBGYN trainees
- 2013
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Ingår i: Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0001-6349 .- 1600-0412. ; 92:10, s. 1194-1201
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To investigate how simulator training and non-technical factors affect laparoscopic performance among residents in obstetrics and gynecology. DESIGN: In this prospective study, trainees were randomized into three groups. The first group was allocated to proficiency-based training in the LapSimGyn(®) virtual reality simulator. The second group received additional structured mentorship during subsequent laparoscopies. The third group served as control group. At baseline an operation was performed and visuospatial ability, flow and self-efficacy were assessed. All groups subsequently performed three tubal occlusions. Self-efficacy and flow were assessed before and/or after each operation. SETTING: Simulator training was conducted at the Center for Advanced Medical Simulation and Training, Karolinska University Hospital. Sterilizations were performed at each trainee's home clinic. POPULATION: Twenty-eight trainees/residents from 21 hospitals in Sweden were included. METHODS/MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Visuospatial ability was tested by the Mental Rotation Test-A. Flow and self-efficacy were assessed by validated scales and questionnaires. Laparoscopic performance was measured as the duration of surgery. Visuospatial ability, self-efficacy and flow were correlated to the laparoscopic performance using Spearman's correlations. Differences between groups were analyzed by the Mann-Whitney U-test. RESULTS: No differences across groups were detected at baseline. Self-efficacy scores before and flow scores after the third operation were significantly higher in the trained groups. Duration of surgery was significantly shorter in the trained groups. Flow and self-efficacy correlate positively with laparoscopic performance. CONCLUSIONS: Simulator training and non-technical factors appear to improve the laparoscopic performance among trainees/residents in obstetrics and gynecology.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Brus, Elisabet, et al.
(författare)
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Bed agglomeration characteristics of biomass fuels using blast-furnace slag as bed material
- 2004
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Ingår i: Energy & Fuels. - Washington, D.C. : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0887-0624 .- 1520-5029. ; 18:4, s. 1187-1193
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Agglomeration of bed material may cause severe operating problems during fluidized bed combustion. The attack or coating layers that are formed on the bed particles during combustion play an important role in the agglomeration process. To reduce bed agglomeration tendencies, alternative bed materials may be used. In this paper, bed agglomeration characteristics during the combustion of biomass fuels using a relatively new bed material (iron blast-furnace slag) as well as ordinary quartz sand were determined. Controlled agglomeration tests lasting 40 h, using five representative biomass fuels (bark, olive residue, peat, straw, and reed canary grass) were conducted in a bench-scale fluidized bed. The bed materials and agglomerates were analyzed using SEM/EDS and X-ray diffraction. Chemical equilibrium calculations were performed to interpret the experimental findings. The results showed that blast-furnace slag had a lower tendency to agglomerate than quartz sand for most of the fuels. The quartz particles showed an inner attack layer more often than did the blast-furnace slag. The blast-furnace slag had a lower tendency to react with elements from the fuel. The outer coating layer had similar characteristics and thickness for both bed materials when the same fuel was combusted. However, the inner attack layer thickness was larger for quartz particles. SEM/EDS analyses of the agglomerates showed that the inner Ca-K-silicate-rich attack layer was responsible for the agglomeration of quartz sand. The composition of blast-furnace slag agglomerate was similar to the outer coating layer. Chemical equilibrium calculations showed that the original composition of the blast-furnace slag was close to the equilibrium composition, and hence there was no major driving force for reactions between that bed material and K and Ca from the fuel. The homogeneous silica-rich attack layer (with a low melting temperature) was not formed to the same extent for blast-furnace slag, thus explaining the lower bed agglomeration tendency.
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| 8. |
- Eriksson, D., et al.
(författare)
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Characterization of Scots pine stump-root biomass as feed-stock for gasification
- 2012
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Ingår i: Bioresource Technology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0960-8524 .- 1873-2976. ; 104, s. 729-736
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The main objective was to explore the potential for gasifying Scots pine stump-root biomass (SRB). Washed thin roots, coarse roots, stump heartwood and stump sapwood were characterized (solid wood, milling and powder characteristics) before and during industrial processing. Non-slagging gasification of the SRB fuels and a reference stem wood was successful, and the gasification parameters (synthesis gas and bottom ash characteristics) were similar. However, the heartwood fuel had high levels of extractives (≈19%) compared to the other fuels (2-8%) and thereby ≈16% higher energy contents but caused disturbances during milling, storage, feeding and gasification. SRB fuels could be sorted automatically according to their extractives and moisture contents using near-infrared spectroscopy, and their amounts and quality in forests can be predicted using routinely collected stand data, biomass functions and drill core analyses. Thus, SRB gasification has great potential and the proposed characterizations exploit it. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.
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| 9. |
- Eriksson, Gunnar, et al.
(författare)
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Combustion characterization of rapeseed meal and possible combustion applications
- 2009
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Ingår i: Energy & Fuels. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0887-0624 .- 1520-5029. ; 23:8, s. 3930-3939
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A future shortage of biomass fuel can be foreseen. The production of rapeseed oil for a number of purposes is increasing, among others, for biodiesel production. A byproduct from the oil extraction process is rapeseed meal (RM), presently used as animal feed. Further increases in supply will make fuel use an option. Several energy companies have shown interest but have been cautious because of the scarcity of data on fuel properties, which led to the present study. Combustion-relevant properties of RM from several producers have been determined. The volatile fraction (74 ± 0.06%wtds) is comparable to wood; the moisture content (6.2−11.8%wt) is low; and the ash content (7.41 ± 0.286%wtds) is high compared to most other biomass fuels. The lower heating value is 18.2 ± 0.3 MJ/kg (dry basis). In comparison to other biomass fuels, the chlorine content is low (0.02−0.05%wtds) and the sulfur content is high (0.67−0.74%wtds). RM has high contents of nitrogen (5.0−6.4%wtds), phosphorus (1.12−1.23%wtds), and potassium (1.2−1.4%wtds). Fuel-specific combustion properties of typical RM were determined through combustion tests, with an emphasis on gas emissions, ash formation, and potential ash-related operational problems. Softwood bark was chosen as a suitable and representative co-combustion (woody) fuel. RM was added to the bark at two levels: 10 and 30%wtds. These mixtures were pelletized, and so was RM without bark (for durability mixed with cutter shavings, contributing 1%wt of the ash). Each of these fuels was combusted in a 5 kW fluidized bed and an underfed pellet burner (to simulate grate combustion). Pure RM was combusted in a powder burner. Emissions of NO and SO2 were high for all combustion tests, requiring applications with flue gas cleaning, economically viable only at large scale. Emissions of HCl were relatively low. Temperatures for initial bed agglomeration in the fluidized-bed tests were high for RM compared to many other agricultural fuels, thereby indicating that RM could be an attractive fuel from a bed agglomeration point of view. The results of grate combustion suggest that slagging is not likely to be severe for RM, pure or mixed with other fuels. Fine-mode particles from fluidized-bed combustion and grate combustion mainly contained sulfates of potassium, suggesting that the risk of problems caused by deposit formation should be moderate. The chlorine concentration of the particles was reduced when RM was added to bark, potentially lowering the risk of high-temperature corrosion. Particle emissions from powder combustion of RM were 17 times higher than for wood powder, and the fine-mode fraction contained mainly K-phosphates known to cause deposits, suggesting that powder combustion of RM should be used with caution. A possible use of RM is as a sulfur-containing additive to biomass fuels rich in Cl and K for avoiding ash-related operational problems in fluidized beds and grate combustors originated from high KCl concentrations in the flue gases.
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| 10. |
- Eriksson, Gunnar, et al.
(författare)
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Förbränningskarakterisering av rapsmjöl och förslag till optimalt nyttjande i olika förbränningsanläggningar
- 2007
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- When rape oil is chemically extracted, rape seed meal, a solid residue remains. Currently, it is used as animal feed. Several plants for the production of rape methyl ester (RME, biodiesel) are in operation or under construction. Combustion properties have been studied for rape seed meal produced as a by product to rape-methyl esther (RME, biodiesel). Composition of the material has been measured, using proximate and ultimate analysis. The lower heating value was 18.2 ± 0,3 MJ/kg d.w. and the ash content was 7-8 percent d.w. The material is rich in nitrogen and sulphur. Concentrations of K, P, Ca and Mg are high in the fuel. Rape seed meal was mixed with bark and pelletised. Bark pellets were also used as a reference fuel. Pellets with 10 and 30 percent rape seed meal were produced. Material with 80 percent rape seed meal and 20 percent planer shavings was also pelletised. Wood had to be added to provide enough friction in the pelletising process, with adapted equipment rape seed meal could probably be easily pelletised). The material was studied using Thermo-Gravimetric Analysis (TGA), and compared with data from tests with wood powder. The pyrolysis of the rape seed meal has a characteristic temperature of 320oC. Devolatilisation starts at 150 oC (at a lower temperature than for wood powder), and proceeds within a rather wide temperature range. The probable cause is the difference in organic content, in particular protein content. The result does not suggest that the material will be difficult to ignite. Experiments in a bench-scale fluidised bed (5 kW) showed that pellets containing only bark, and the mixture rape seed meal/wood had a bed agglomeration temperature well over the normal operational bed temperature. For the fuel mixtures rape seed meal and bark, the agglomeration temperature was slightly over the operational temperature. Particle emissions from fluidised bed combustion and grate combustion were, the latter simulated using a commercial pellet burner, were roughly doubled with fuels containing rape seed meal compared to bark. In the powder burner tests, particle emissions increased with a factor 17 with rape seed meal compared to wood powder. The emitted particles were mainly found in the fine (< 1 µm) mode during grate and powder combustion. During fluidized bed combustion the total particulate matter consisted both of a coarse (>1 µm) and a fine mode fraction. The particles from grate combustion of bark contain mostly K, S, Na and Cl apart from oxygen and carbon. When rape seed meal is present, Cl and Na concentrations decrease considerably and the main contents of the particles are K and S (and O and C). The results from the X-ray Diffraction Spectroscopy (XRD) analyses showed the presence of crystalline K2SO4 och KCl. The fine particles (<1 µm) from powder combustion contain mainly K, P and S. The only identified crystalline phase was K2SO4, suggesting that most phosphorus was in the amorphous phase, i.d. most probably molten. The deposit formation on a cooled probe was studied during the fluidized bed and powder combustion experiments. The fine particles deposited during fluidised bed combustion contained K, Cl and S. When bark was combusted in the fluidised bed, the coarse fraction contained Ca and Si, when rape seed meal in different mixes was combusted this changed to P, K, Ca and Mg. The deposits formed during combustion of rape seed meal in the powder burner were mainly made up of phosphates (Ca-, Mg/K-, Ca/Mg-phosphates) and MgO. Sintered material (slag) from grate combustion of bark contained mainly Si, Ca, K and Al, probably as silicates. Adding rape seed meal tended to increase P, Ca and Mg while Si and Ca content tended to decrease. Through XRD a number o crystalline phases in the sintered material and the rest of the bottom ashes could be identified. NO emissions from the combustions tests increased two to four times with rape seed meal compared to typical wood fuels. For the fluidised bed test, SO2 concentrations were rather high for the rape seed meal pellets (with 20 percent wood), still only about 20 percent of the sulphur in the fuel formed SO2. For the grate combustion and powder burner combustion, 60 percent and 70 percent of the sulphur respectively formed SO2. HCl emissions were low for all tests. The rather high emissions of NOx and SOx mean that the material should be used in large-scale facilities with external SOx and NOx cleaning. In smaller facilities, the material may be used in small amounts mixed with other fuels. The risk of slagging is not very high, and should not rule out grate combustion of pellets with rape seed meal mixed with other fuels. The risk of corrosion of superheater surfaces during combustion is probably low since the smaller-size particles formed at fluidised bed combustion and grate combustion contain K2SO4. However, a large fraction of the particles formed in powder burner combustion probably contains low temperature melting K2PO4, making the risk for deposit formation significant. Rape seed meal for powder burner applications should be used with care. The content of phosphorus in the material may be an advantage when mixes of rape seed meal and other fuels are considered. The high affinity between potassium and phosphorus means that more sulphur in the fuel will be available for sulphatising of any KC. (formed from combustion of many forest and agricultural fuels). Use of rape seed meal as a sulphur containing additive could thus be an option. For grate combustion and fluidised bed combustion, addition of rape seed meal may reduce the risk of slagging and bed agglomeration, respectively. Full scale tests in fluidised beds or grate combustors with problematic biofuels (containing Cl and K) would be useful to test whether ash-reduced operational problems could be reduced through the addition of rape seed meal.
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