Effects of thermal barrier coating on the performance and combustion characteristics of a diesel engine fueled with biodiesel produced from waste frying cottonseed oil and ultra-low sulfur diesel

In this study, the top surfaces of piston and valves of a four-strokes and direct-injection diesel engine have been coated—with no change in the compression ratio—with a 100 μm of NiCrAl lining layer via plasma spray method and this layer has later been coated with main coating material with a mixture of 88% of ZrO₂, 4% of MgO and 8% of Al₂O₃ (400 μm). Then, after the engine-coating process, ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) as base fuels and its blend with used frying cottonseed oil derived biodiesel in proportion of 20%, volumetrically, have been tested in the coated engine and data of combustion and performance characteristics on full load and at different speeds have been noted. The results, which were compared with those obtained by uncoated-engine operation, showed that thermal efficiency increased, and engine noise reduced. Cylinder gas pressure values obtained from the diesel engine which has been coated with thermal barriers have been found to be somewhat higher than those of the uncoated-engine. Also, maximum pressure values measured in both engines and under the same experimental conditions through the use of test fuel have been obtained after TDC. Moreover, heat release rate and heat release have occurred earlier in the coated-engine. NOx emissions were increased while CO and HC emissions were remained almost the same with a little bit decrease.     

POPs in a major conurbation in Turkey: ambient air concentrations,seasonal variation,inhalation and dermal exposure,and associated carcinogenic risks

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Semi-volatile organic compounds were monitored over a whole year, by collection of gas and particle phases every sixth day at a suburban site in...     

Additional disturbances as a beneficial tool for restoration of post-mining sites: a multi-taxa approach

Open interior sands represent a highly threatened habitat in Europe. In recent times, their associated organisms have often found secondary refuges outside their natural habitats, mainly in sand pits. We investigated the effects of different restoration approaches, i.e. spontaneous succession without additional disturbances, spontaneous succession with additional disturbances caused by recreational activities, and forestry reclamation, on the diversity and conservation values of spiders, beetles, flies, bees and wasps, orthopterans and vascular plants in a large sand pit in the Czech Republic, Central Europe. Out of 406 species recorded in total, 112 were classified as open sand specialists and 71 as threatened. The sites restored through spontaneous succession with additional disturbances hosted the largest proportion of open sand specialists and threatened species. The forestry reclamations, in contrast, hosted few such species. The sites with spontaneous succession without disturbances represent a transition between these two approaches. While restoration through spontaneous succession favours biodiversity in contrast to forestry reclamation, additional disturbances are necessary to maintain early successional habitats essential for threatened species and open sand specialists. Therefore, recreational activities seem to be an economically efficient restoration tool that will also benefit biodiversity in sand pits.     

Histopathological and biochemical alterations of the earthworm (Lumbricus Terrestris) as biomarker of soil pollution along Porsuk River Basin (Turkey)

This study investigated biomarker responses of the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris in order to evaluate the soil pollution along Porsuk River Basin. Samples consisted of animals from six sites that are agricultural regions and a forested control. Histopathological and biochemical alterations were examined. Significant histopathological alterations were observed in animals from three of the sampling sites. There was an enlargement of epithelial cell lining, mucus cell hyperplasia and increase in mucus secretion. Circular and longitudinal muscles lost their structural integrity. Chloragogenous tissue was dilated and vocuolized. Necrosis was observed in the cells and tissues of some affected worms. A load of heavy metals in tissues of animals was determined. Heavy metals were found to be accumulated particularly in longitudinal muscles of animals. CAT activity was found to be increased in animals from three of the experimental sites. GST activity was also increased in five sites while it was stable in one site. The results have shown that animals from locations particularly that are close to urbanized and industrialized regions were seriously affected from the soil pollution around the basin. These results are reflecting the biological effects of soil pollution around Porsuk River Basin on the indicator organism L. terrestris and constitute an early warning of ecological change in relation to human health.     

Dynamics of atmospheric polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs): concentrations, patterns, partitioning, and dry deposition level estimations in a residential site of Turkey

Air samples were collected at a residential site (Gulbahce, Bursa, Turkey) between August 2004 and April 2005 using a modified high volume air sampler. The mean of gas and particle phase concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were 468 ± 297 and 43 ± 37 pg m^???3 (average ± standard deviation, SD), respectively. The dominated PCB homologs were 3-CBs, 4-CBs, and 5-CBs. The measured PCB concentrations were higher than the values of pristine sites. In order to assess the gas/particle partitioning fate, log K _P–log $P_{\rm L}^o$ , log K _P–log K _OA and the Junge–Pankow model were applied to the data. Experimental K _P was well correlated with $\log P_{\rm L}^o$ and log K _OA at p?<?0.05. Then, dry deposition fluxes were estimated using atmospheric concentrations and dry deposition velocities obtained from literature. A correlation matrix was formed for PCB homologs including 27 congeners with concurrently measured 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and meteorological parameters. Most of PAH compounds were significantly correlated with 5-CBs and 6-CBs.     

Rare earth elements in the Rhine River, Germany: first case of anthropogenic lanthanum as a dissolved microcontaminant in the hydrosphere

The distribution of dissolved rare earth elements (REE) in the Rhine River, Germany, shows the anthropogenic gadolinium (Gd) microcontamination that is commonly observed in rivers in densely populated countries with a highly evolved health care system. However, the Rhine River also carries anomalously high concentrations of lanthanum (La), which produce very large positive La anomalies in normalized REE distribution patterns. These positive La anomalies first occur north of the City of Worms and then decrease in size downstream, but are still significant approximately 400 km downstream, close to the German-Dutch border. The strong La enrichment is of anthropogenic origin and can be traced back to effluent from a production plant for fluid catalytic cracking catalysts at Rhine river-km 447.4. This effluent is characterized by extremely high dissolved total REE and La concentrations of up to 52 mg/kg and 49 mg/kg, respectively. Such La concentrations are well-above those at which ecotoxicological effects have been observed. The Rhine River is the first case observed to date, where a river's dissolved REE inventory is affected and even dominated by anthropogenic La. Our results suggest that almost 1.5t of anthropogenic dissolved La is exported via the Rhine River into the North Sea per year. This reveals that the growing industrial use of REE (and other formerly "exotic" elements) results in their increasing release into the environment, and highlights the urgent need to determine their geogenic background concentrations in terrestrial surface waters.     

The influence of biomass energy consumption on CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> emissions: a wavelet coherence approach

In terms of today, one may argue, throughout observations from energy literature papers, that (i) one of the main contributors of the global warming is carbon dioxide emissions, (ii) the fossil fuel energy usage greatly contributes to the carbon dioxide emissions, and (iii) the simulations from energy models attract the attention of policy makers to renewable energy as alternative energy source to mitigate the carbon dioxide emissions. Although there appears to be intensive renewable energy works in the related literature regarding renewables’ efficiency/impact on environmental quality, a researcher might still need to follow further studies to review the significance of renewables in the environment since (i) the existing seminal papers employ time series models and/or panel data models or some other statistical observation to detect the role of renewables in the environment and (ii) existing papers consider mostly aggregated renewable energy source rather than examining the major component(s) of aggregated renewables. This paper attempted to examine clearly the impact of biomass on carbon dioxide emissions in detail through time series and frequency analyses. Hence, the paper follows wavelet coherence analyses. The data covers the US monthly observations ranging from 1984:1 to 2015 for the variables of total energy carbon dioxide emissions, biomass energy consumption, coal consumption, petroleum consumption, and natural gas consumption. The paper thus, throughout wavelet coherence and wavelet partial coherence analyses, observes frequency properties as well as time series properties of relevant variables to reveal the possible significant influence of biomass usage on the emissions in the USA in both the short-term and the long-term cycles. The paper also reveals, finally, that the biomass consumption mitigates CO₂ emissions in the long run cycles after the year 2005 in the USA.     

Effects of environmental conditions on historical buildings: lichens and NOx gases

Environmental conditions affect human life in various ways. One of the domains of environmental conditions is buildings, and amongst them, a major and important group is the historical buildings. To keep this inheritance alive, one needs to determine the effects of environmental conditions. In this work, effects of lichens and NOx on 7 historical buildings in Erzurum were investigated. Historical buildings are readily available for lichen growth, which takes a long time, and this growth was investigated as a sample of environmental effect that occurs through long periods of time. NOx, main source of which is traffic in Erzurum, were considered as the environmental effect of daily life.     

An examination of the effects of land use changes on nature conservation rulings in Çeşme peninsula, Turkey

Because of their intense vegetation and the fact that they include areas of coastline, deltas situated in the vicinity of big cities are areas of great attraction for people who wish to get away from in a crowded city. However, coasts, with their fertile soil and unique flora and fauna, need to be protected. In order for the use of such areas to be planned in a sustainable way by local authorities, there is a need for detailed data about these regions. In this study, the changes in land use of the area between Topburnu and Uçburun Musa Bey Harbour on the Çe?me peninsula, which is to the immediate west of Turkey’s third largest city ?zmir, from 1976 up to the present day, were investigated. In the study, using aerial photographs taken in 1976, 1995 and 2000 and an IKONOS satellite image from the year 2007, the natural and cultural characteristics of the region and changes in the coastline were determined spatially. Using aerial photographs from 1976, 1995 and 2000 and an IKONOS satellite image from the year 2007, together with “1/25,000 scale Conservation-Oriented Development Plans” prepared in 1979, 1990 and 2000 by the committee for the Preservation of Natural and Cultural Entities attached to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Turkish Republic, the natural and cultural characteristics of the region and the land use changes and their connection with conservation rulings were determined spatially. In this study, spatial changes in land use over the years were compared with changing conservation rulings over the years and the emerging results have brought a new perspective to the subject in contrast to other similar studies.