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- Argyropoulos, Dimitris D. S., et al.
(författare)
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Kraft Lignin: A Valuable, Sustainable Resource, Opportunities and Challenges
- 2023
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Ingår i: ChemSusChem. - : John Wiley and Sons Inc. - 1864-5631 .- 1864-564X. ; 16:23
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Kraft lignin, a by-product from the production of pulp, is currently incinerated in the recovery boiler during the chemical recovery cycle, generating valuable bioenergy and recycling inorganic chemicals to the pulping process operation. Removing lignin from the black liquor or its gasification lowers the recovery boiler load enabling increased pulp production. During the past ten years, lignin separation technologies have emerged and the interest of the research community to valorize this underutilized resource has been invigorated. The aim of this Review is to give (1) a dedicated overview of the kraft process with a focus on the lignin, (2) an overview of applications that are being developed, and (3) a techno-economic and life cycle asseeements of value chains from black liquor to different products. Overall, it is anticipated that this effort will inspire further work for developing and using kraft lignin as a commodity raw material for new applications undeniably promoting pivotal global sustainability concerns.
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| 3. |
- Henriksson, Fredrik, et al.
(författare)
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Challenges when working with renewable materials: knocking on wood?
- 2021
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Ingår i: International Journal of Sustainable Engineering. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1939-7038 .- 1939-7046. ; 14:6, s. 1980-1987
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- With sustainable design as a vital strategical component for companies competing on the market today, many companies will need to transition to a use of sustainable and/or renewable materials in the near future. But how can this be done, and what can be done to bridge the gap from current affairs to a new, more sustainable state? Looking towards industries with experience might help making the first step just a little bit easier. This study aims to find challenges and bottlenecks when working with sustainable materials, in order to help companies interested in transitioning towards using sustainable or renewable materials in their products. The paper describes an interview study with five Swedish wood industry companies, differentiated in size and products, where the authors identify several key findings for both industry (already working with wood or aiming at transitioning towards renewable materials) and academia (on using renewable materials, need for further research, and pointers for teaching design and engineering students). Findings range from how organisational culture affects material selection, to how flexibility and efficiency effects automation solutions via how these companies have approached outsourcing of parts of their production.
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- Henriksson, Fredrik, 1988-
(författare)
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On Material selection and its consequences in product development
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Technological development, and increased demands on sustainable solutions, have impacted the development of new products. New products need to be more efficient, and there are increased possibilities for a more diversified and informed decision regarding what materials are used in the product. However, how can engineers and designers be helped in their efforts to make better decisions regarding materials?In this research, carried out via multiple case studies and action research, behaviors regarding material selection and material management are examined. The data has been collected using participation action research, observations, and interviews as the primary sources of information. The author has conducted participation action research integrated into an industrial environment, multiple case studies using students in industrial design engineering have been done, and the researcher has performed interview studies with industry representatives. The behaviors described in the empirical studies are contrasted with basic decision theory and analysis of established product development methodology, asking the questions: Are basic assumptions built into models and methods taught to designers and engineers valid?The research presented in this thesis shows that there are personal, technical, and organizational aspects to selecting and managing materials in product development. This work has also shown that assuming rationality, something that is built into methods and models as well as taught to engineering students, is not valid in decision-making; human beings are not rational, and entirely rational decisions are not possible due to the vast data and prediction needs to be able to make entirely rational decisions. Even when assuming some variant of bounded rationality, multiple factors described in decision theory are not acknowledged in product development methodology. Two of these can be described as identity (both personal and professional) and mental models of materials.The discrepancy in how decisions are described in decision theory and how methods for decision-making are designed in product development risks inhibit the introduction of new and more sustainable materials in products. This could be because non-rational aspects of decision-making are incorporated in the decision-making under the assumption of rationality. It could also be because of the mental models of materials affecting what the designers and engineers think they can do with a particular material. These behaviors make the risks of introducing new materials too big for a designer or engineer to accept.Outcomes from this research show that additional data will not be enough to persuade designers and engineers to select new material to its fullest extent. This can slow down sustainability improvements in products. To counter this, it is suggested that the personal and non-rational side of decision-making is acknowledged and valued, that visions and ideology are used to encourage the introduction of new materials rather than relying on technical or economic aspects, and that designers and engineers are encouraged and enabled to take higher risks and evaluate more “unknown” parameters.To fully implement these suggestions, the following three things need to happen:A: Design and engineering education needs to teach students how to have more flexible mental models of materialsB: Industry should find ways for designers and engineers to experiment further and learn (both on an organizational and personal level)C: Academia should further investigate how behaviors, mental models and habits affect product development and design work, especially regarding material selection and material management.
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| 5. |
- Henriksson, Pontus, et al.
(författare)
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Body mass index and gestational weight gain in migrant women by birth regions compared with Swedish-born women : A registry linkage study of 0.5 million pregnancies
- 2020
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 15:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- INTRODUCTION: Women migrating to high-income countries may have increased risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes as compared with native-born women. However, little is known whether migrant women are more likely to have unhealthy body mass index (BMI) or gestational weight gain (GWG), which is of importance considering the well-established links between unhealthy BMI and GWG with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Hence, the aim of the study was to examine the prevalence and estimate odds ratios (ORs) of underweight and obesity in the first trimester as well as inadequate and excessive GWG across birth regions in migrant (first-generation) and Swedish-born women in a population-based sample of pregnant women in Sweden.METHODS: This population-based study included 535 609 pregnancies from the Swedish Pregnancy Register between the years 2010-2018. This register has a coverage of approximately 90% and includes data on body weight, height, birth country and educational attainment. BMI in the first trimester of pregnancy was classified as underweight, normal weight, overweight and obesity whereas GWG was classified as inadequate, adequate and excessive according to the recommendations from the National Academy of Medicine, USA. BMI and GWG were examined according to 7 birth regions and the 100 individual birth countries. Adjusted ORs of underweight, obesity as well as inadequate or excessive GWG by birth regions were estimated using multinomial logistic regression.RESULTS: There were large disparities in unhealthy BMI and GWG across birth regions. For instance, women born in North Africa and Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa had 1.40 (95% CI 1.35-1.44) and 2.13 (95% CI 2.03-2.23) higher odds of obesity compared with women born in Sweden. However, women born in Sub-Saharan Africa had also considerably higher odds of underweight (OR, 2.93 [95% CI 2.70-3.18]) and inadequate GWG (OR, 1.97 [95% CI 1.87-2.07]). The limitations of the study include the lack of a validated measure of acculturation and that the study only had data on first-generation migration.CONCLUSIONS: The large differences across the 7 regions and 100 countries highlights the importance of considering birth region and country-specific risks of unhealthy BMI and GWG in first-generation migrant women. Furthermore, inadequate GWG was common among pregnant first-generation migrant women, especially in women born in Sub-Saharan Africa, which demonstrates the need to promote adequate GWG, not only the avoidance of excessive GWG. Thus, our findings also indicate that additional support and interventions may be needed for first-generation migrant women from certain birth regions and countries in order to tackle the observed disparities in unhealthy BMI and GWG. Although further studies are needed, our results are useful for identifying groups of women at increased risk of unhealthy BMI and weight gain during pregnancy.
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| 6. |
- Henriksson, Pontus, et al.
(författare)
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Self-Rated Health in Migrant and Non-Migrant Women before, during and after Pregnancy : A Population-Based Study of 0.5 Million Pregnancies from the Swedish Pregnancy Register
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Clinical Medicine. - : MDPI. - 2077-0383. ; 9:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Self-rated health is a strong health marker. Migrants have been suggested to have poorer self-rated health than non-migrants (i.e., native-born). However, little is known about whether there are disparities in self-reported health in relation to pregnancy. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to examine the odds of poor self-rated health before, during and after pregnancy in migrant women as compared to women born in Sweden. We utilized population-based data from the Swedish Pregnancy Register containing 0.5 million women born in Sweden (i.e., non-migrant women) and migrant women between 2010 and 2018. Self-rated health was reported on a 5-point scale (from very poor to very good). Very poor and poor health were categorized as poor self-rated health. Logistic regression was utilized to calculate odds ratios (ORs) that were unadjusted and adjusted for covariates (age, parity, educational attainment and body mass index). The results demonstrate disparities in self-rated health across birth regions. In comparison to women born in Sweden, women born in Latin America and the Caribbean, South Asia as well as North Africa and the Middle East had consistently higher odds of poor self-rated health before, during and after pregnancy (ORs ranging from 1.14 to 1.96 in both unadjusted and adjusted models). Although women born in Sub-Saharan Africa did have comparable self-rated health as to women born in Sweden before pregnancy, after accounting for covariates, they had lower odds of poor self-rated health during and after pregnancy (ORs: 0.71 and 0.80 respectively). Therefore, additional measures and support may be needed to tackle disparities in health between migrant and non-migrant women before, during and after pregnancy.
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