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The Indian Government envisaged generating 10 GW using geothermal power by 2030. Reaching this milestone is linked with numerous challenges, as geothermal exploitation in India is in the nascent stages. In this work, possible barrier categories and barriers to harness geothermal energy in India are identified with the help of literature review and questionnaire-based surveys. Fuzzy Delphi method is used to find the significant barriers among the listed. Subsequently, Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (Fuzzy AHP) is used to determine the relative dominance of each barrier category and the barriers within each category. Outcomes of this research show that the resource barrier category obtained highest priority. This category includes various barriers such as (i) conceptualization of geothermal reservoir, (ii) estimation of theoretical heat energy, (iii) determination of extractable power, and (iv) selection of suitable extraction schemes. Results suggest that a comprehensive conceptual model presenting the subsurface variation of thermo-hydro-geological parameters with depth at a geothermal field can support the accurate depiction of the available and extractable thermal potential. Stability of the obtained hierarchy is examined by sensitivity analysis. Findings of this study help to identify the barriers that can be reasonably encountered and to propose developmental activities to harness geothermal energy.

Semifluorinated alkanes (SFAs) are aprotic solvents, which may be used as drug solvents for topical ocular applications, for instance, in dry eye syndrome. Their physical properties suggest that they might be prone to interaction with plastic materials, such as, polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), which are commonly used as packaging materials for pharmaceutical products. In this study, we investigate interactions of PE and PP with a liquid SFA perfluorohexyloctane (PFHO) using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and cross-polarized light microscopy. Binary phase diagrams of PFHO-PE and PFHO-PP systems demonstrating interactions of PFHO with the polymeric materials were constructed based on DSC data. According to this data, PFHO tends to lower the melting temperatures of PE and PP. The equilibrium values of solubilities of the polymers in PFHO and PFHO in the polymers were obtained by extrapolation of melting enthalpy data. Absorption of PFHO by PE and PP materials at ambient conditions after four weeks of equilibration was also studied by TGA. From the presented results, it may be concluded that thorough studies of interactions of PE or PP with SFAs are required when these materials are used as packaging components in SFA-based formulations.

Q-Med är ett medicintekniskt företag som tillverkar medicintekniska produkter, exempelvis produkter som är baserade på gel som innehåller bland annat hyaluronsyra. Gelen är placerad i en spruta som innehåller en gummikolv som är i kontakt med gelen.Idag används allt mer polymera material för olika tillämpningar, bland annat som medicintekniska produkter och läkemedelsförpackningar i läkemedelsbranschen. Q-Meds produkter betraktas som medicintekniska produkter på många marknader. Medicintekniska produkter och läkemedelsförpackningar innehåller ofta material som består av polymerer, exempelvis gummi och plast. På dessa material ställs olika krav så att dessa inte kontaminerar den produkt de är i kontakt med, då detta kan leda till olika negativa konsekvenser, exempelvis toxiska reaktioner i kroppen eller sänkt effektivitet hos läkemedlet/produkten. I och med att polymera material används kan det förekomma olika föroreningar i dessa material, exempelvis tillsatsämnen och reaktionsprodukter. Om dessa substanser läcker ut brukar dessa kallas för ”leachables” och ”extractables” – det finns inga motsvarande namn på svenska. Organiska och oorganiska föreningar är exempel på vad som kan lakas ut ur gummit.Den här rapporten beskriver en studie av gummi (bromobutylgummi) som är i kontakt med en gelprototyp (Prototyp A och Prototyp A-L) för att se vilka föreningar som kan lakas ut från gummit ur perspektivet leachables/extractables. För att ta reda på vilka föreningar som lakas ut från gummit utsattes denna för olika betingelser, som olika pH, temperatur, lösningsmedel, placebolösning och kontakt med produkt. För att kunna analysera vilka föreningar som lakades ut ur gummit i både gasfas och vätskefas användes Solid Phase Micro Extraction (SPME) och GC-MS som analysmetoder. Tre SPME fibrer med olika egenskaper, exempelvis olika polaritet och selektivitet användes för insamling av extraherbara ämnen.Resultaten visar att olika föreningar lakas ut ur gummit. Vid försök att identif, Q-Med is a medical device company that manufactures medical devices, for instance a product that is a gel containing hyaluronic acid. The gel is placed in a syringe component containing a stopper made of rubber that is in contact with the gel.Today, increasingly more polymeric materials for various applications are used, for example medical devices and pharmaceutical packaging in the pharmaceutical industry. The products of Q-Med are considered as medical devices in many markets. Medical devices and pharmaceutical packaging often contains materials composed of polymers, for instance rubber and plastics. For these materials there are different requirements so that they do not contaminate the product that they are in contact with. Contamination may lead to negative consequences, such as toxic reactions and a reduced effectiveness of the drug/product.Since it is polymeric materials that are used there might be some potential impurities in the material, these pollutants are called leachables and extractables. Organic and inorganic compounds are examples of what can leach out of the rubber.In this report the rubber (bromobutyl rubber) that is in contact with a gel prototype (Prototype A and Prototype A-L) is studied to see if the rubber leaches out some compounds of the perspective leachables/extractbales. To know if the rubber leaches out some contaminates the rubber was exposed to various conditions. For instance; different pH, temperature, solvent, placebo solution and contact with the product. In order to analyze which pollutants leached out of the rubber, Solid Phase Micro Extraction (SPME) and GC-MS where used as analytical methods. Three SPME-fibers with different polarity and selectivity where used for the collection of extractable compounds.The results show that the rubber leaches out different compounds. Many of these have a low probability compared to the spectra of masses in the used reference library. This makes it difficult to determine if there is special