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The adsorption of Basic yellow 2 (BY2), from aqueous solutions onto Granular activated carbon
(GAC) and its adsorption kinetics at different concentrations, GAC masses, initial pH values and
temperatures were studied. The adsorption process was followed by an on-line spectrophotometric
analysis system, which consisted of UV-spectrophotometer, a designed spectrophotometric cell,
peristaltic pump and a glassy reactor. The effect of initial dye concentration, mass of GAC, initial pH
and temperature on adsorption was studied over 60 min adsorption period. The results showed that
at first the removal percent of BY2 increases with the increase in initial concentration, then the trend
is reversed. The results also showed that removal percent of BY2 at pHi around 7 is more than
acidic pHi. Also the removal percent of BY2 increases with the increase in mass of GAC and
temperature. For kinetic study, the obtained data were treated according to various kinetic models.
The results showed that first order kinetic model is fitted to experimental data better than second
order and intraparticle diffusion models. The Freundlich, Langmuir, Redlich-Peterson and BET
adsorption models were applied to describe the equilibrium isotherms. Type 1 Langmuir isotherm
and non-linear Redlich-Peterson isotherm seemed to be the best-fitting models for the experimental
results with similar values of coefficient of determination.

Environmental, economic and strategic reasons are behind the rapid impulse in the deployment of
renewable energy sources that is taking place around the world. In addition to overcoming economic
and commercial barriers, meeting the ambitious objectives set by most countries in this field will
require the development of novel technologies capable of maximising the energy potential of
different renewable sources at an acceptable cost. The use of solar radiation and biomass for power
generation is growing rapidly, particularly in areas of the globe where these resources are plentiful,
like Mediterranean countries. However, solar energy plants necessarily suffer from the intermittency
of day/night cycles and also from reduced irradiation periods (winter, cloudy days, short transients).
Biomass power plants have to confront the logistic problems associated with the continuous supply
of very large amounts of a relatively scarce and seasonal fuel. Hybrid systems may provide the
solution to these limitations, maximising the energy potential of these resources, increasing process
efficiency, providing greater security of supply and reducing overall costs.
This work provides a practical introduction to the production of electricity from conventional
Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) and biomass power plants, which is used as the basis to evaluate
the technical and economic benefits associated with hybrid CSP-biomass energy systems. The
paper initially analyses alternative configurations for a 10 MWe hybrid CSP- biomass combustion
power plant. The Solar Advisor Model (SAM) was used to determine the contribution of the solar
field using quasi-steady generation conditions. The contribution of the biomass and gas boiler to the
power plant was estimated considering the available radiation throughout the year. An economic
assessment of a 10 MWe power plant based on conventional CSP, biomass combustion and hybrid
technology is calculated. The results show that investment costs for hybrid CSP- biomass power
plants are higher than for conventional CSP and biomass combustion plants alone. However, owing
to the shared use of some of the equipment, this value is significantly lower (24% saving) than a
simple addition of the investment costs associated with the two standard technologies. In contrast,
effective operating hours and, therefore, overall energy generation, are significantly higher than in
conventional CSP (2.77 times higher) and avoids the need for highly expensive heat storage system.
Owing to the lower biomass requirements, hybrid plants may have larger capacities than standard
biomass combustion plants, which implies higher energy efficiencies and a reduced risk associated
with biomass supply. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) is currently collaborating with a
consortium of private companies in the development of a first commercial hybrid CSP-biomass
combustion power plant that is expected to start operating in 2012.

This study concerns a protected area in northern Greece and examines how local people’s
occupation influences their perception of environmental impacts and their views and information
about the area. The target groups were local residents that (a) were employed in the primary sector,
(b) were employed in other economic sectors, and (c) were students or high-school seniors. Use of
pesticides and fertilizers and industrial waste disposal were identified as sources of environmental
impacts by the large majority of the total sample (>80%). Much lower (30-62%) was the perception
of impacts from the other, more local stress sources. Primary-sector respondents (mostly farmers)
scored lower in their environmental perceptivity; nevertheless, they were highly aware that some of
their practices have negative impacts on the environment. Students outperformed the other groups
in having visited the local information centre and in having attended an environmental information/
awareness event about the protected area; despite this, they also had the highest proportions of
‘don’t-know’ answers. Small differences (even less than 5 km) in the distance of respondents’
residence from the protected area led to significant differences in environmental perceptivity. There
is both a need for and interest from the local people to get better informed. As sufficient knowledge
of the area and of the threats to its integrity is a requirement for the adoption and acceptance of
measures aiming to moderate such threats, environmental information/ awareness events should be
organized by the managing authorities. These should focus on issues specific to the area rather
than of general environmental nature and target primarily people employed in the primary sector
that live close to the protected area and students.

Basic concepts of laser-based technique LIDAR (LIght Detection and Ranging) are discussed in
this article as well as advantages and disadvantages. Presented are measurements of relative
particulate concentrations above an unpaved road which were performed in a rural area near the
Iowa City, Iowa, USA. The LIDAR system used in these measurements is a small, scanning LIDAR
that uses elastic backscattering to obtain information on the amount of atmospheric aerosols. In
the elastic LIDAR, light scattered back towards the LIDAR system from molecules and particles in
the atmosphere is collected by a telescope and is detected with a photodiode. A Big Sky Laser
model CFR-200 Nd:YAG laser operating at 1.064 microns is used to generate the LIDAR's
outgoing signal. The laser is attached directly to the top of a 26 cm, f/10 Cassegrian telescope. A
series of pulses are summed to make a single scan. A series of scans is used to build up a twodimensional
map of relative atmospheric aerosol concentrations. With a maximum range of about
6-8 km, a range resolution of 2.5 m, and a time resolution of 30 s, the LIDAR is capable of very
detailed mapping of aerosols.