JOINT PROGRAM

3rd WSEAS/IASME International Conference on

ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, ECOSYSTEMS and

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

(EEESD '07)

Agios Nikolaos, Crete Island, Greece, July 24-26, 2007

Tuesday, July 24 2007

PLENARY LECTURE 1

Best modeling practices in the application of the Directive

2000/60 in Greece

Assc. Professor Anastasios I. Stamou

Laboratory of Applied Hydraulics

School of Civil Engineering

Department of Water Resources, Hydraulic and Maritime Engineering

National Technical University of Athens

5 Irroon Polytechniou Str. 15780 Zografou, Athens-Greece

stamou@central.ntua.gr

Abstract: The main characteristics of the modeling procedure, especially these related to the application of the Directive are presented. These are (a) the building of models with sufficient degree of integration and (b) the requirement of calibration and verification of models with "high quality" field data. The relationship between modeling and monitoring is emphasized with the presentation of the optimization of the design of monitoring networks. The main elements of the water bodies are presented, focusing on the morphological and hydrodynamic elements. Methods are described for the calculation of these elements. Α methodology is presented for the investigation of water management scenarios with mathematical models. Various applications of this procedure in Greece are discussed. These include: calculation of the values and the reference conditions for various water quality elements, methods for facing an incident of accidental pollution in trans-boundary rivers or reservoirs used for water supply, identification of trends of pollutants in ground-waters, artificial groundwater recharge and others.

PLENARY LECTURE 2

Towards a Better Understanding of the Mean and Turbulent

Structure of the Atmosphere over the Sea

Professor Costas G. Helmis

Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Physics

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Building PHYS-5, University Campus, 157 84 Athens, Greece

GREECE

chelmis@phys.uoa.gr

Abstract: In recent years the study of the vertical structure of the Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer (MABL) has been the main topic of interest for atmospheric physics. The study of the coastal Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) has received considerable attention, since uncertainties related to the parameterization of the mass, heat and moisture exchange between the air and sea are existed and experimental studies reveal large data scatter. Moreover, certain atmospheric phenomena such as the development of Low Level Jet (LLJ) or intensified thermal stratifications are associated with the marine ABL. The characteristics of the ABL in maritime areas exhibited strong variations in space and time due to the land/sea surface forcing and the modification of the large and meso-scale wind flow field related to terrain and surface thermal effects. The Coupled Boundary Layers Air-Sea Transfer Experiment in Low Winds (CBLAST-Low) project aims to the understanding of the air-sea interaction and the coupled atmospheric and oceanic boundary layer dynamics at low wind speeds. As part of the CBLAST-Low experiment, extensive ground-based measurements were performed during summer 2003, on Nantucket Island, MA, USA. One of the main objectives of these measurements was the detailed study of the mean and turbulent vertical structure of the MABL

In this invited talk a review regarding the structural characteristics of the mean and turbulent MABL will be given, based on the measurements of the experimental campaign. The measurements of the mean wind, turbulence variances and fluxes from the operated SODAR system revealed the variation of the boundary layer stability as well as the turbulence characteristics in response to the background flow. Large values of the momentum fluxes at higher levels were estimated, presumably associated with the shear forcing near the very frequently developed marine LLJ, due mainly to the inertial oscillation mechanism. The understanding of the possible cause for the development and evolution of the LLJ, which is associated with a strong stability of the MABL lower layer and the confirmation of this mechanism from experimental measurements and theoretical considerations, will also be given. The SODAR measurements, with high time and space resolution, and the other relevant measurements from this experimental campaign give complementary information in order to understand the momentum transport and the TKE balance of the jet-related boundary layer under different meteorological conditions.

PLENARY LECTURE 3

Institutions and the Protection of the Manmade and

Natural Environment - The case of the Greek Ombudsman

Professor Eleni Stamatiou

Dr. Architect-Town Planner, Adjunct Professor at the Hellenic Open University

144 Amfitheas Ave, Athens 17562, Greece

E-mail: rlacroix@otenet.gr

Abstract: The Greek Ombudsman is a constitutionally established independent authority. It started operations on October 1st 1998 and provides its services to all citizens free of charge. Its mission is to mediate between the public administration and private individuals, in order to protect the latter’s rights, to ensure the former’s compliance with the rule of law, and to combat maladministration.

The Department of Quality of Life handles cases involving breaches of environmental legislation, the degradation of the natural environment, illegal housing development and cultural heritage matters, and questions surrounding the more general degradation of the quality of life.

In the current article we will refer to examples of the Greek Ombudsman confirming occasional maladministration in Greek public administrations, presenting methods and successful examples of the ombudsman’s intervention and proposals it has made for the modernization and updating of the public administration, with purpose the protection and more efficient management of the manmade environment. An attempt is made at evaluating the sum of the contribution of the Greek Ombudsman’s Quality of Life Department in the above mentioned issues.

PLENARY LECTURE 4

Green Diesel from Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis: Challenges

and Hurdles

Professor Nicolas Abatzoglou

Professor, Chemical Engineering

Universite de Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada

Abstract: Kyoto's protocol respect within the context of worldwide preservation and improvement of the quality of life is impossible without bringing forward new technologies. Energy is perhaps the most contributing vector and it is, consequently, intrinsically linked to near all environmental actions. Liquid fuels, as diesel, for transport and heating needs are in the middle of these preoccupations. Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis is an old technology but it can be adapted to be used with syngas, biosyngas or biogas for the production of diesel. Such diesel, when coming from renewable sources like biomass, is called "green diesel".

This plenary lecture presents the actual status of the FTS technology and details the scientific challenges and the technical hurdles associated with the use of renewable feedstock. A recently started Canadian R&D project in this area is also briefly presented.

When biomass is used as a renewable raw material for FTS, depending on the gasification agent (air or oxygen-enriched air) the so produced biosyngas is a mixture of the desired H2 and CO but contains also typically 5 to 10% carbon dioxide, less than 10% hydrocarbons, 25-55% N2 and some acidic (H2S), alkaline (NH3) and metallic (K, Na) contaminants. Although FTS is a mature technology for CO/H2 mixtures coming from coal and natural gas gasification (i.e. Shell and Sasol technologies), little is known on the process efficiency when diluted biosyngas is used. Besides, the available commercial catalysts are very sensitive to the presence of sulphur and halogens and the gas purification down to the ppb level is difficult and expensive. The situation is similar when biogas from fermentation is the FTS feedstock. In this case the average feedstock composition is 50%vol CH4-50%vol CO2 but impurities such as siloxanes, NH3, H2S/mercaptans and light halogenated compounds pose considerable technical hurdles.

Regarding the reactors, fluidized bed and multitubular fixed-bed reactors have been developed and used commercially for FTS. Since 1980 three-phases slurry continuous stirred tank reaction systems have been studied and proposed as an alternative reaction system for FTS; the basic advantages of the slurry reactors are their higher ability in removing efficiently the heat produced during exothermic FTS reaction and the solvent action of the inert heat carrier liquid phase on the waxes deposited on the catalysts surfaces. Their major disadvantage, which is the slower gas/liquid-solid interface diffusion rates compared to the fixed and fluidized bed reactors are the main drawbacks.

In all gas to liquid (GTL) FTS technologies, Cobalt and Iron based catalysts are currently preferred because of their activity, relatively high life expectancy and low cost. Co is 1000 times more costly than Fe but it is more efficient, more selective, no or less deactivated by product water and has a longer life. Regarding the efficiency and robustness of the used catalytic formulations, although there are several literature references on catalyst deactivation studies, there are few data on the reaction mechanisms as function of the surface properties and its chemical composition.

In a new CRD/NSERC Canadian project, new nanosized high external surface catalyst formulations are prepared and tested in lab and bench scale fixed bed and slurry reactors.

PLENARY LECTURE 5

A Dynamic System for the Evaluation of Forest Fire Risk With

Emphasis to Mountainous Terrain

Prof. G. Stavrakakis

Technical University of Crete

Greece

Abstract: Evaluation indices for forest fire risk in existence today take into consideration meteorological and climatologic parameters with constant estimation thresholds. In the proposed case, new techniques will be used for the creation of automatically adapted index thresholds depending on the region anaglyph (e.g., mountainous terrain), vegetation flammability, time of the year, real time meteorological conditions, distance from residential areas, etc. Neural system, fuzzy logic and combined statistical model techniques will be demonstrated how they apply to the above purpose. The creation of a digital hypsometric model of the region under study in combination with satellite image information will form the foundation for the standardization and mapping of forest fuels, as well as for the pilot application and demonstration of the system to be developed in this research work. All of the above will be integrated into a fire control system, which will be functioning in real time, for the forecast and management of fire behaviour and for assisting in planning out fire extinguishing.

SESSION: Environmental Pollution and Waste Management

Chair: Keum Park, George P. Karatzas

SESSION: Ecosystems and Biodiversity

Chair: Maria Dulce Carlos Antunes, Graça Miguel

Wednesday, July 25 2007

PLENARY LECTURE 6

A GIS-based Decision Support System for Revegetation

of Lands Contaminated from Mining Activities

Professor Daoliang Li

P. O. Box 121

EU-China Center for Information & Communication Technologies

China Agricultural University

17 Tsinghua East Road

Beijing,100083, P. R. China

Abstract: This paper presents the development of a knowledge based integrated decision support system (E.X.I.S) for the extractive industries to provide information concerning the environmental impact of extractive operations on land quality, surface and ground waters, and the best solutions for the rehabilitation/revegetation of the waste disposal areas to the relevant target groups (extractive industries, regional authorities, national authorities, research institutes, public). The GIS was integrated with the decision-making models for the rehabilitation and revegetation of mine spoil. The system design involves several steps including site selection -> mine type identification -> waste identification -> selection of rehabilitation (revegetation or other methods). The knowledge based model consists of two integral parts: the model base, in which the input data are processed and classified using special fuzzy algorithms and criteria and the knowledge model, which hosts the various decision algorithms concerning evaluation of vegetation covers, selection of trees and plant species, selection of rehabilitation and revegetation schemes and also economic analysis for each option. The system input will include parameters on site characteristics (climate, topography, geology, hydrology etc), waste type and properties (physical-geotechnical and geochemical data) as well as environmental parameters of the existing waste disposal area. Based on the values of above parameters and the characteristics of the rehabilitation technologies developed worldwide, the system, using IF-THEN rules will define a list of appropriate techniques for the rehabilitation of examined waste. Then, the model will involve the application of multi-criteria analysis (MCA), i.e. a structured system for ranking alternatives and making selections and decisions. Each technique shall be judged based on its behaviour into four fields, i.e. financial, social, technical and environmental criterion. In turn these fields will be analysed into a lower level of evaluation criteria.

PLENARY LECTURE 7

Impact of European Aquis on Education and Praxis in

Environmental Management

Αssoc. Professor Calin I. Ciufudean

“Stefan Cel Mare” Universtity of Suceava

Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Department of Automatics and Computers

9, University str., RO720225, Suceava

ROMANIA

calin@eed.usv.ro

Abstract: Humanity has created a hard-to-solve equation:

SCIENCE + TECHNOLOGY = CIVILIZATION + POLLUTION.

The last term of this equation concerns soil pollution, water pollution, air pollution, as well as mental pollution (i.e. the new dimension of pollution affecting the human emotional intelligence by informational blast). We shall focus on the measures concerning the European aquis and praxis in environmental management, which have been implemented in our region. These issues are the subject of a series of projects that I have been working at, together with my students, such as:

-assembly of measure in education and acknowledgement of the population of Suceava about selecting and recycling waste products – a basic element for sustainable development; this grant represents an educational element of the European aquis implemented in our region and is sponsored by the Romanian Ministry of Environment and Water Management;

-an automated equipment for the ecological management of traffic in crossroads;

- a project entitled “Mini Device for Environmental Forensics (MiDEF)”, which focuses on the capability of an automated system to collect, interpret and manage complex information about environmental and human-made contaminants and about the factors of the environment such as air and ground temperature, humidity, pH, diurnal and nocturnal lighting, force and direction of the wind; MiDEF has the capability to store or transmit these data wireless to a server which supervises several MiDEFs displayed on an area through GPS; MiDEF offers the possibility to collect data in real time at a lower price than that of using conventional measurement devices;

-a study concerning intellectual and emotional capabilities of students according to their sources of information, especially the mass-media and the Internet.

PLENARY LECTURE 8

Future Changes in Climate Mean and Extremes Affecting

Agriculture in Europe

Professor M. Petrakis

Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development,

National Observatory of Athens, Athens

GREECE

mike@meteo.noa.gr

Abstract: Using daily output data from a coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model (GCM) HadCM3, we will identify changes in climate mean and extremes affecting agriculture in selected European regions, under a future climate change world. HadCM3 is a coupled atmosphere-ocean GCM, developed at the Hadley Centre, UK. The control run represents the base period 1961-1990 and will be used here as reference for comparison with future predictions. The future period will be the period 2031-2060. The atmospheric component of HadCM3 has 19 levels with a horizontal resolution of 2.5° of latitude by 3.75° of longitude, which produces a global grid of 96 x 73 grid cells.

The focus of this analysis will be to identify regions in Europe that are likely to undergo large amount of climate change and to examine extreme climate parameters (including temperature and precipitation), and the impacts of these extremes on agriculture.

More specifically, we will examine:

1) climatic changes in both mean (temperature, precipitation) and extremes (heatwaves, cold extremes) including:

- changes in average annual and seasonal temperatures

- changes in average annual and seasonal rainfall

- changes in the number of hot and extremely hot days

- changes in the number of warm nights

2) changes in climate affecting agriculture and crop yield in general, including:

- changes in the number of hot and extremely hot days

- changes in the number of warm nights

- changes in the number of frost days and nights

- changes in the number of dry and wet days per year

- changes in the precipitation amount and intensity

- changes in the length and duration of drought spells

PLENARY LECTURE 9

Foundations of Excellence in Workforce Energy Education

and Training in Houston, Texas

Professor John K. Galiotos

Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Technology

Chair of the Houston Community College-Northeast Energy institute

Houston Community College-Northeast

555 Community College Drive

Houston, Texas 77013

john.galiotos@hccs.edu

Abstract: Houston, Texas is considered the energy capital of the world and it is the hub of approximately 4,000 energy companies and industrial organizations. To service the energy education and training needs of these vital economic resources, major educational organizations and chambers of commerce have joint forces to provide sustainable solutions to these needs. Particularly in the energy workforce populations and due to increase in retirement of workers, engineers, and scientists, Houston Community College has made headlines by incorporating the HCC-NE Energy Institute. This organization provides one-stop education and training to chemical, petrochemical, refineries, power, oil and gas, food and beverages, and bioprocessing industries. Overview and specifics regarding these profitable, booming and globally beneficial undertakings are described in this major effort. Concise, strategic, and systematic efforts have been activated and implemented to assist energy industries with these major alarming shortages of personnel, which they will be experiencing for the next 10 to 15 years.

SPECIAL SESSION: Sustainable Landscapes

Chair: Thomas Panagopoulos

SESSION: Hazardous Emissions and Environmental Issues

Chair: Lourdes Rodriguez, Costas Helmis

SESSION: Energy Consumption and Conversion I

Chair: Ljubomir Arsov, Christopher J. Koroneos

SESSION: Modelling of Climate Conditions

Chair: Minoru Ueda, Christopher J. Koroneos

SESSION: Aeolian Energy

Chair: Mohammad A.S. Masoum, Chih-Hong Huang

SESSION: Environment and Development

Chair: Anastasios Zouboulis, Bohumil Sulc

Thursday, July 26 2007

PLENARY LECTURE 10

The Energy Sustainability Roadmap of Greece

Professor Christopher Koroneos

Laboratory of Heat Transfer and Environmental Engineering

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

P.O. Box 483, GR 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece

Abstract: Energy is essential to economic and social development and improved quality of life. Nevertheless, much of the world’s energy is produced and used in ways that may not be sustainable in the long term. The European Union constitutes one of the world’s largest energy consumers. The EU members include-among others- Germany and Greece, two countries with large disparities/ differences in their energy systems, yet with certain similarities.

The role of indicators that can measure and monitor all the future changes is crucial for the assessment of a country’s progress towards a sustainable energy future as it requires the assessment of a broad range of relevant and interrelated issues that need to be analyzed with quantifiable energy indicators. The object of this paper is to benefit from a set of indicators that can guide necessary modifications to energy planning, in Greece, so as to make its energy system more responsive to sustainable energy development issues. Furthermore, more specific targets are the monitoring of Greece’s progress towards the development of sustainable energy systems during the last decade, compared to this of Germany’s. Finally we aim to point out the applicability and utility of an environmental friendly energy system through a statistical analysis.

PLENARY LECTURE 11

Deregulated Electricity Market issues in South-Eastern Europe

Professor Thales M. Papazoglou

Director of Electric Power Systems Laboratory

Technological Educational Institute of Crete

Greece

Email: tmpapa@teicrete.gr

Abstract: Geographical Information System (GIS) applications are very helpful tools for displaying and analyzing information for several technological fields. The research group of Electrical Power System Lab (EPSL) of TEIC is developing a GIS software application for displaying the operational conditions of the power system of Crete, presenting also critical information and statistical data for system’s characteristics. This work is a part of a project which is co-funded by the European Social Fund and Greek National Resources, “EPEAEK II – ARXIMIDES”. This tool is intended to help training of engineers in the Electrical Department of TEIC to simulate and visualize power system operation and characteristics. Besides, this tool is very helpful for a power system engineer in observing the whole system operations and system’s data. All data used are derived from a database developed by EPSL. This database includes electrical and operational characteristics such as generating plant, substation, transformers, transmission-distribution lines, cables, wind parks, substation’s load and unit’s power production recordings etc. Digitalized maps of Crete Island use this data and display them optionally according to user’s demand or choice. So, an authorized user can decide which data will be displayed on the map, and with a simple mouse click on a selected element of the map he can b informed about its characteristics. Furthermore, this application is being uploaded on web. This means that this application runs on a server of EPSL,ehich can serve distant users after authorization procedure. That distance user could be a trainee in his desk, o am engineer, or a researcher in the lab. One of the services that this application provide is the load flow calculation on a specific part of the system, or for a specific scenario of system’s operation.

PLENARY LECTURE 12

Inorganic Pre-Polymerised Coagulants: Current Status and Future Trends

Professor A. I. Zouboulis

Division of Chemical Technology

Department of Chemistry (P.O. Box 116)

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

GR-54124, Greece

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to provide an overview, regarding the evolution of the inorganic pre-polymerised coagulants by summarizing the latest developments in their composition, properties and applications for the treatment of water or wastewater. Considerable attention has been paid during the recent years for the preparation of pre-polymerised metal-ion coagulants, based either on aluminium (e.g. poly-aluminium chloride, PAC), or ferric cations (e.g. polyferric sulphate, PFS), as they exhibit better performance and efficiency, than the conventionally applied coagulants (aluminium or iron (III) based salts). However, their efficiency is still lower, than the organic polymeric coagulants. Therefore, attempts have been made to improve further the efficiency of pre-polymerised coagulants either by producing a mixed coagulant (i.e. containing both aluminium and iron), or by adding other components to produce new composite coagulant agents. Concerning the second approach, the additive most frequently used is the polysilicic acid. Also, certain organic compounds (e.g. polydimethyl-diallyl-ammonium chloride, PDMDAAC) may also be employed for such a purpose. Finally, the aforementioned (modified) inorganic pre-polymerised coagulants were found to exhibit a better coagulation performance for the treatment of water or wastewater, when compared with the non-modified ones.

PLENARY LECTURE 13

A new Concept for the Geometry of Biological Structures

beyond the Cell Level. The role of Irrational Numbers

Professor Vassilis Gekas

Department of Environmental Engineering

Technical University of Crete,

CHANIA Campus Kounoipidiana, GR 731 00 Greece

Abstract: In the Environmental Health Engineering there is a strong need for modeling the geometry of hierarchically higher biological structures. This work is focusing on the problem of pollutants transfer in the lung. The lung has been in the literature modeled in different ways, even in double fractality terms most recently, but none to our opinion has caught the point.

Biological structures show self-similarity and branching but not a in a irregular way. They follow patterns of the golden geometry based on the irrational numbers such as the phi, the square root of two or the square root of three. The rational and the irrational interact everywhere in the Universe (Plato) and we have, in all modesty, produced integer sequences started from the Fibonnacci one, in order to get the square roots of 2 and 3, the Archimedes enigma being this way solved. Then the geometry of the lung and other similar "golden geometry" structures (term coined by us) is approximated in the best and most useful manner for for the practical engineer due to the simplicity of the derived transport equations examples of which will be given in the presentation.

SESSION:

Water Management and Aquatic Resources

Chair: Basil Manos, Hongbing Deng

SESSION: Sustainable Development

Chair: Minoru Ueda, Gavriletea Marius

SESSION: Geographic Information Systems Applications

Chair: Richard Snow, Gavriletea Marius

SESSION: Power Systems Design and Distribution

Chair: Khaleequr Niazi, Bogdan Horbaniuc

SESSION: Energy Consumption and Conversion II

Chair: Corneliu Botan, Nicolas Abatzoglou