The impact of COVID-19 pandemic in medical waste amounts: a case study from a high-populated city of Turkey

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - In this study, the amount of medical waste generated in a high-populated city in Turkey between January 2018 and August 2021 was evaluated, and the...     

Comparative evaluation of sizing of metal hydride (MH) hydrogen storage tank filled with different alloys

This study presents a comparative analysis of sizing of metal hydride tank filled with different alloys. Alloys include solid solutions and intermetallic compounds of the generic families AB₅, AB₂, AB, A₂B. The effects of the different alloys on the sizing of metal hydride hydrogen storage tanks are complicated and depend on many factors. In this paper, a thermoeconomic optimization analysis with a simple algebraic formula was presented for the estimation of optimum metal hydride tank surface area for heat transfer enhancement. The optimum area of the metal hydride tank filled with commercially available different alloys (LaN₅, Ti_0,98Zr_0,02V_0,43Fe_0,09Cr_0,05Mn_1,5, TiFe, Mg₂NiH₄) was evaluated and compared by the developed method. The optimum net savings and the value of payback were determined for four alloys. It is found that mathematical model can be employed for the determination of optimum metal hydride tank design and increasing net savings according to alloy types. The optimum areas of the tanks filled with four alloys (LaN₅, Ti_0,98Zr_0,02V_0,43Fe_0,09Cr_0,05Mn_1,5, TiFe, Mg₂NiH₄) were calculated as 0.136, 0.130, 0.133, and 0.173 m², respectively. The optimum net savings for tanks filled with four alloys (LaN₅, Ti_0,98Zr_0,02V_0,43Fe_0,09Cr_0,05Mn_1,5, TiFe, Mg₂NiH₄) are about 461.0, 409.3, 419.6, and 979.6 $ and the values of payback are about 1.98, 2.1, 2.17, and 1.37 years, respectively. Excessive area of the metal hydride tank would not be as economical as the optimum tank area. Thermal management of metal hydride tank must be designed for optimum points calculated at which maximum savings occur.     

Evaluation of a fast wastewater odour characterisation procedure using a chemical sensor array

Sewage treatment works are one of the major sources that cause atmospheric odour pollution. The increase in the number of complaints about odour nuisance is due to the increase in environmental concerns. Unfortunately, the legislation on odour nuisance from sewage treatment works is very limited. In order to determine suitable thresholds on which to base legal standards, reliable and efficient odour measurement methods need to be defined. A chemical sensor array was developed for the purpose of measuring wastewater odour. This paper describes the development of the chemical sensor system which is specifically tuned to odours of wastewater origin and which can give an electronic measure of the wastewater odours. Odour emissions from a wastewater treatment facility were detected by using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensor array. The array consists of nine sensor elements, which were coated with different materials. In this paper, the usage of these novel instruments in the water industry was shown.     

Higher number of microplastics in tumoral colon tissues from patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Microplastics have been detected in marine and terrestrial ecosystems, yet the toxic effects of microplastics on living organisms are poorly known. In particular,...     

The risk estimation and assessment of heavy metal exposure by biomonitoring in the breast milk of mothers in the Cukurova Region,Turkey

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Toxic heavy metals released into the environment through various industrial processes have potential adverse effects on the environment and human...     

Recycling the low-density polyethylene pellets in the pervious concrete production

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The main target of this study is to experimentally investigate the possibility of recycling of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) pellets as aggregate...     

14C‐dimethoate residues in olive oil during oil processing

Abstract

An olive tree was treated twice in the field with ¹⁴C‐dimethoate (237.7 (μCi, 2.4 g) and ¹⁴C residues were determined in the olive fruits at harvest. The fruits were crushed and pressed to extract the crude oil, then refined by neutralization, bleaching and deodorization. The crude oil contained 14.1% of the total ¹⁴C in the olive fruits. Neutralization resulted in a reduction of ¹⁴C by about 50% of the total ¹⁴C residues in oil. Bleaching and deodorization processes further reduced the ¹⁴C residues and the refined oil contained 31.6% (which corresponds to 4.4% of ^I4C residues of the total ¹⁴C in olive fruits) of the total ¹⁴C in the crude oil. Industrially extracted crude oil was fortified with ¹⁴C‐dimethoate at 1.8 mg kg^‐1 (0.02 μCi) level and subjected to the same refining process. A sharp decrease in the amount of ¹⁴C was observed by neutralization and the amount of ¹⁴C remaining in the refined oil was about 7.3% of the total ^l4C in the crude fortified oil. The data suggest that the ¹⁴C residues in the aged and the fortified oil amples were not of the same nature. The terminal ¹⁴C residue in the refined oil obtained from the field experiment did not contain dimethoate and/or its oxon.     

DNA damage effect of cyprodinil and thiacloprid in adult zebrafish gills

Cyprodinil and thiacloprid are two of the most commonly used pesticides in Turkey. It is more likely to reach humans or animals due to their widespread use. This study aims to investigate whether there is a DNA damage risk due to cyprodinil and thiacloprid exposure. Zebrafish, which is used as a model organism in health and environmental research, and comet assay were chosen to demonstrate this damage. Ten zebrafish per group were exposed to 2 different concentrations for each pesticides (0.31 and 0.155 mg/L for cyprodinil and 1.64 and 0.82 mg/L for thiacloprid) for 21 days. After, gills were excised and comet assay was performed. Photos of an average of 50 cells per slide were taken and were analyzed with visual evaluation program. DNA damage was found to be increased in the 0.31 mg/L cyprodinil, 0.82 mg/L thiacloprid, and 1.64 mg/L thiacloprid treatment groups when compared to the control group (p < 0.001). Average tail DNA percentage parameter values were 9.45 ± 0.51, 10.30 ± 0.34, 11.17 ± 0.33, and 2.47 ± 0.06 respectively. Cyprodinil and thiacloprid were identified as genotoxic agents that should be investigated further.