Industrialisering och förändrad miljöpåverkan : Råvaruflöden samt svavel- och kvicksilverutsläpp vid bruk i norra Kalmar län 1655-1920

Sammanfattning: The aim of this thesis was to analyse the industrialization of some ironworks with a material flow perspective. The ironworks studied were established at the end of the 17th and 18th centuries in the Tjust district in the Southeast of Sweden. The research questions were: Did the foundation of several ironworks in the region result in resource scarcities and initiate an increase in the use of fossil fuels during industrialization? I assumed that the industrialization of the ironworks resulted in more open material flows and increased sulphur and mercury emissions. Charcoal scarcity at the ironworks was regarded as a result of local wood scarcity and transportation problems. As a result the export of timber carried out by farmers in the region was restricted. Complaints over charcoal scarcity and conflicts over the wood allocation ceased at the beginning of the 19th century as a result of the government abandoning iron production regulations. Three of the ironworks in the Tjust region expanded quickly during the 19th century and introduced new, more mechanized and specialized production processes. Production of manufactured goods increased at these ironworks and dependency on local vicinities for raw-material supply lessened as the use of imported coal, coke and pig-iron increased from the 1840's. Four other ironworks in the region continued to use more manual production methods and a more areal mode of production. Their main product continued to be bar-iron for export. These small ironworks were closed down at the end of the 19th century. The increased use of fossil fuels resulted in a large increase of sulphur- and mercury emissions. The production emissions have been compared with the weathering of the mentioned substances from an average area of the same size as Tjust. The production emissions of mercury exceeded weathering after 1850's so it's concluded that the environmental impact became significant during industrialization. The non-antropogenic weathering of sulphur far exceeded production emissions during the whole period so the environmental impact is regarded as small. The number of point sources in Tjust decreased during the industrialisation. Transportation emissions from transporting the raw-materials grew but were small compared with production emissions during the whole period 1830-1910.