Annual Report 2006 - Plataforma Solar de Almería

ENVIRONMENTAL APPLICATIONS OF SOLAR ENERGY
4 Environmental Applications
of Solar Energy and
Evaluation of the Solar
Resource Unit
Head:
Julián Blanco Gálvez
Contributions: Sixto Malato
Rodríguez
Pilar Fernández Ibáñez
Manuel Ignacio Maldonado Rubio
Benigno Sánchez Cabrero
Juan Coronado Carneiro
Silvia Suarez Gil
Wolfgang Gernjak
Diego Alarcón Padilla
Lourdes Ramírez Santigosa
Luis Zarzalejo Tirado
Jesús Polo Martínez
4.1 Introduction
2006 was an important year of consolidation for the Environmental Applications
of Solar Energy and Evaluation of the Solar Resource Unit, which has
been gradually but continuously enlarged in recent years, and its activity now
encompasses the following lines of research:
• Solar water detoxification and disinfection
• Solar gas detoxificación
• Solar seawater desalination
• Characterization and measurement of solar radiation
In 2006, the Unit signed and negotiated and actively participates in 7 new
European contracts and one national project, Consolider. Two of these projects
are also coordinated by the Unit. This has also meant a considerable
increase in the Unit’s staff, especially the number of Ph.D. research students.
As of December 31, 2006, there was a staff of 23 people as follows: 6 permanent
researchers, 6 contract researchers, 7 Ph.D. research students (3 of
them not Spanish) and 4 laboratory technicians. From a budgetary point of
71