Earthworm avoidance response is a new tool for rapid and efficient screening of potentially toxic substances added to soil environments. This technique was used to determine if five common, ecologically different earthworm species (Allolobophora chlorotica, Aporrectodea longa, Aporrectodea...

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...

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are one of the major categories of pollutants entering the marine environment and finally accumulating in the sediments. Their occurrence raises major concerns for human health, especially during coastal activities (bathing waters, aquaculture, etc), having...

Artificial neural networks are one of the advanced technologies employed in hydrology modelling. This paper investigates the potential of two algorithm networks, the feed forward backpropagation (BP) and generalized regression neural network (GRNN) in comparison with the classical regression for...

Detailed meteorological data required for the equation of FAO-56 Penman-Monteith (P-M) method that was adopted by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as a standard method in estimating reference evapotranspiration (ETo) are not often available, especially in developing countries. The Hargreaves...

The removal of dyes from colored effluents, particularly from textile industries, is one of the major environmental concerns these days. Current methods for removing dyes from wastewaters are costly and cannot effectively be used to treat wide range of such wastewaters. This work describes the use...

Global warming is one of the most serious challenges facing humankind as it has the potential to dramatically modify the living conditions of future generations. In order to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, most countries are implementing regulations aimed at reducing their dependence on...

Human thermal comfort conditions were determined in two mountainous regions of Greece, Gerania mountains (MG) in east continental Greece, and mountainous Nafpaktia (MN) in west continental Greece. Both regions are unexploited with considerable tourist potential. Four sites in each study region were...

Owing to its higher efficiency and versatility, gasification is seen as a necessary evolution in the development of biomass energy systems. This technology has been primarily tested in fixed bed (updraft and downdraft) and fluidised bed reaction systems, with less information available about the...

To describe the tourism potential of an area, not only single meteorological parameters have to be taken into account, but also thermal sensation and people’s thermal comfort. The latter can be estimated by the use of human energy balance models and the derived thermal indices, which comprise all...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential use of Para wood particle wastes and cement for producing the cement composite as a new environmental friendly construction material. Strength and durability of cement composites mixed with different mix proportions of Para wood particles...

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are a class of widely used flame retardants that are incorporated into a wide range of consumer products such as household appliances, plastics, textiles and computers, to prevent fire. They were first introduced in the environment in the 1970s and their...

The important advantage of zeolite applied to water treatment is its high porosity when comparing to other minerals. The porosity results in good hydrodynamic properties (the increase in the pressure loss on the zeolite filters is 1.5-2.0 times smaller than in the case of sand filters) and...

The stringent new regulations to lower sulfur content in fossil fuels require new economic and efficient methods for desulfurization of recalcitrant organic sulfur. Hydrodesulfurization of such compounds is very costly and requires high operating temperature and pressure. Adsorption is a non...

Anionic poly(sodium acrylate), PANa, hydrogels bearing negatively charged –COO- groups were used as sorbents for the removal of colored organic or inorganic model pollutants, namely Crystal Violet and Cu2+, from water. It was found that PANa hydrogels adsorb stronger Cu2+ions than Crystal Violet, as...

Tungsten in solution may exist as a wide variety of species depending on concentration, pH, and aging time. Despite a substantial number of studies on this topic, the speciation of tungsten in aqueous solutions is still not completely understood. To address issues of fate, transport and potential...

Lead (Pb) particles that detach from the plumbing and contaminate drinking water can pose a significant health threat, which is often underestimated. Laboratory simulation of this problem revealed that standard quantification protocols in the US may miss 80% of the lead present in the water. At the...

Simulations were performed of the 3-D hydrodynamic circulation and of the associated water quality behavior in Mornos Reservoir, under real environmental conditions, during the period 2003-2005. The water quality simulations, guided by observations taken at the contributing tributaries and at the...

The restrictions in availability of forest-based raw materials along with favourable environmental policies towards alternative sources of raw materials have forced corrugated packaging industry to shift towards recycled paper and other fibre sources such as non-wood and agro-residues. The...

Consumption of plastic products has increased dramatically over the past few decades. This trend results in the generation of a vast waste stream that needs to be properly managed to avoid environmental damage. Increasingly stringent European legislation is setting new standards that promote the...

The capacity of cyclodextrins in trapping VOCs is studied. Cyclodextrins (CDs) are a family of cyclic oligosaccharides that are composed of α-1,4-linked glucopyranose subunits. The most notable feature of cyclodextrins is their ability to form inclusion complexes (host–guest complexes) in solution...

According to the actual European context, including the development of risk free residential and industrial areas, the main demand lies in instant, accurate and elaborated information regarding environment quality and pollution risks. This paper presents a conceptual architecture for a versatile...

Atmospheric aerosols play an important role in local, regional meteorology, visibility, air pollution, haze formation and energy balance of radiation. These processes influence the climate directly or indirectly. Therefore, for increasing importance of aerosols in understanding the various...

A method for automated circulation patterns (CPs) definition and classification is presented, based on optimized fuzzy rules. The target of the method is to provide a basis (daily classified CPs) for downscaling of the most common climate data, i.e. precipitation and temperature. Therefore the...

A teleconnection pattern has been identified between Eastern Mediterranean and Northwestern Europe in the geopotential fields of the upper troposphere (hereafter will be referred to as EMP) during winter and it seems to play significant role in the large-scale atmospheric circulation over...