Reference materials

Order of reference materials can
be made through:

• Homepage
• Fax: +46 8 440 45 35
• E-mail: crm@swerea.se

Contact: Rein Vainik
Phone: +46 8 440 48 35.

Environment

Our research scientists at Swerea KIMAB work every day on projects relating to the environment. The purpose of the projects may be to optimise energy consumption in the manufacturing process or improve the properties of a material, e.g. increase strength and resistance to wear and corrosion. These projects often lead to lighter structures which save resources in use. We are also working to find substitutes for materials or substances which for environmental reasons are prohibited or use of which has to be closely scrutinised. Lead is a good example of such a material.

Advanced alloys yield environmental benefits
For reasons of cost, the Swedish engineering industry uses as little material as possible in manufacturing its products. Less material in each application produces direct environmental benefits. By making use of advanced alloys, the industry can achieve positive environmental effects at the same time as production becomes cheaper. Four examples of this are:

Materials of high strength provide better performance and at the same time the total material requirement is reduced.
Materials with better corrosion resistance or better wear resistance reduce the need for new material.
A better material for example in a vehicle means that weight is reduced so that energy consumption in use is reduced.
Specially developed materials provide technical solutions which for example make it possible to change over from oil to biomass in combined heat and power plants.

Contact: Karin Frisk.

Chemical analyses
KIMAB carries out chemical analyses of steels, metals and metal alloys and to some extent also of other solid materials. The analyses are chiefly geared towards determinations of trace and ultra-trace elements, several of which are environmentally sensitive elements such as mercury, cadmium and lead.
Contact: Arne Bengtson.

Dramatic increase in washing bath life
KIMAB has been working for more than ten years on cleaning issues together with the Institute for Surface Chemistry (YKI) and the Swedish Environmental Research Institute (IVL). This work has contributed towards making it possible for TRI to be replaced by substantially more environmentally friendly and better washing methods. The work has recently been focused particularly on enclosing the washing processes and extending the life of various process baths. To take an example, an engineering company has extended wash bath life from 1 month to 1 year. For the environment, this means reduced consumption of resources and reduced quantity of environmentally hazardous waste.
Contact: Johan Nordström.