Decolourization and removal of some organic compounds from olive mill wastewater by advanced oxidation processes and lime treatment

Background Olive mill wastewater (OMW) generated by the olive oil extracting industry is a major pollutant, because of its high organic load and phytotoxic and antibacterial phenolic compounds which resist biological degradation. Mediterranean countries are mostly affected by this serious environmental problem since they are responsible for 95% of the worldwide oliveoil production. There are many methods used for OMW treatment, such as adsorption, electro coagulation, electro-oxidation, biological degradation, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), chemical coagulation, flocculation, filtration, lagoons of evaporation and burning systems, etc. Currently, there is no such economical and easy solution. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of decolourization and removal of phenol, lignin, TOC and TIC in OMW by UV/H₂O₂ (AOPs). The operating parameters, such as hydrogen peroxide dosage, times, pH, effect of UV and natural sunlight were determined to find the suitable operating conditions for the best removal. Moreover, there is no study reported in the literature related to the use of UV/H₂O₂ and lime together in OMW treatment. Methods OMW was obtained from an olive-oil producing plant (Muğla area of Turkey) which uses a modern production process. No chemical additives are used during olive oil production. This study was realised by using two different UV sources, while taking the time and energy consumption into consideration. These two sources were mercury lamps and natural sunlight. Before starting AOPs experiments, one litre of OMW was treated by adding lime until a pH of 7.00. Then, 100 ml was taken from each sample, and 1 to 10 ml of a 30% H₂O₂ (Riedel-deHaen) solution was added. These solutions in closed vessels were laid in the natural sunlight for a week and their compositions and colour changes were analysed daily by UV-Vis spectrophotometer. At the end of the one-week period, they were treated with lime. In this study, the effect of changes in the initial pH, times and H₂O₂ concentrations on removal was investigated. At the end of all experiments, changes in colour, phenol, lignin, TOC and TIC concentrations were analysed according to standard methods. Results and Discussion In the samples exposed to natural sunlight and having an H₂O₂/OMW ratio of 3 ml/100 ml, a significant colour removal was achieved approximately 90% of the time at the end of 7 days. When the same samples were treated with lime (pH: up to 7), 99% efficiency was achieved. When phenol and lignin removals were examined in the same concentration, phenol and lignin removal were found 99.5%, 35%, respectively. However, for maximum lignin removal, more use of H₂O₂ (10 ml H₂O₂/100 ml OMW) was found to be necessary. Under these conditions, it was found that lignin can be removed by 70%, but to 90% with lime, at the end of a seven-day period. Rate constants obtained in the experiments performed with direct UV were found to be much higher than those of the samples exposed to natural sunlight (k^a _lignin = 0.3883 ≫ k^b _lignin = 0.0078; k^a _phenol = 0.5187 ≫ k^b _phenol = 0.0146). Moreover, it should be remembered in this process that energy consumption may induce extra financial burden for organisations. Conclusions It was found, in general, that colour, lignin, total organic carbon and phenol were removed more efficiently from OMW by using H₂O₂ UV and lime OMW. Moreover, in the study, lime was found to contribute, both initially and after radical reactions, to the efficiency to a great extent. Recommendations and Perspectives Another result obtained from the study is that pre-purification carried out with hydrogen peroxide and lime may constitute an important step for further purification processes such as adsorption, membrane processes, etc.     

Impacts of the fish farms on the water column nutrient concentrations and accumulation of heavy metals in the sediments in the eastern Aegean Sea (Turkey)

Pulp and paper mill effluents may cause harmful effects to the aquatic environment due to the combined influence of physical factors, toxic compounds, and nutrient enrichment. In the present study, the effectiveness of secondary treatment in reducing the toxicity of an elemental chlorine-free bleached-kraft pulp mill effluent was evaluated. To characterize the toxicity of the effluent, before and after the implementation of secondary treatment, a battery of tests with organisms bearing different functions at the ecosystem level was used, namely Vibrio fischeri (5-min luminescence), Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata (72-h growth), Lemna minor (7-day growth), Daphnia magna (21-day reproduction and 24-h postexposure feeding), Chironomus riparius (9-day growth), and Danio rerio (28-day growth). For the effluent sample collected before the implementation of secondary treatment, P. subcapitata was the most sensitive organism followed by V. fischeri and D. magna, and no toxic effects were observed toward the other organisms. For the effluent sample collected after the implementation of secondary treatment, the effluent caused no toxic effects on any of the tested species. The present results demonstrated not only that secondary treatment efficaciously reduced effluent toxicity toward the selected test organisms but also the usefulness of a battery of tests to characterize the toxicity of pulp mill effluents.     

Monitoring and assessment of heavy metal/metalloid concentration by inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) method in Gonyeli Lake,Cyprus

The presence of heavy metals/metalloids in the ecosystem has been an increasing ecological and global public health concern due to their potential to cause adverse health effects. For this reason, the accumulation of some heavy metals such as Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, As, Cd, Pb was assessed by way of ICP-MS in water, sediment and fish (Cyprinus carpio) sampled from Gonyeli Lake, North Cyprus. The results showed that these metals/metalloids are found widespread throughout the study area. In water, most concentrated element was manganese with 92.1 ppb and least concentrated was lead with 0.914 ppb. In sediment, copper had the highest concentration with 613 ppm, and cadmium the lowest with 1.57 ppm. In fish tissues (muscle and gills), the most concentrated element was manganese with 12.5 ppm and the least concentrated cadmium with 0.017 ppm. These results indicate that future remediation efforts are indispensable for the rehabilitation of the lake.     

Measuring the spatial impacts of urbanization on the surface water resource basins in Istanbul via remote sensing

Istanbul is one of the largest metropolitan cities in the World. The city has experienced rapid industrialization and urbanization in the second half of the twentieth century. Between 1950 and 2000, the city has grown by an average of 4.5% annually. Given the scale of the growth, neither local nor the central governments have shown capability of controlling the influx of migration, most of which settled illegally on public lands. Most of the settlements lack the basic sewerage facilities, and a significant portion of which are on the major water resource basins. As of today, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) not only has to cope with the infrastructure problems, but also has to find ways of solving the problem of illegal occupations of public lands and water resource basins. This paper presents the land use changes in the water resource basins providing water to the Istanbul Metropolitan Area. Using four consecutive Landsat images between 1990 and 2005, the changes in 12 different land use categories are obtained via overlay operations by GIS for water resource basins surrounding the City of Istanbul. It has been observed that the most critical land use changes are in the nearest basins to the city. The capability of Landsat and IKONOS images in determining the alterations in the macro form of the city are also discussed. Finally, possibility of utilization of new technologies in policy making regarding environmental management in Istanbul is discussed.     

Long-term monitoring of the impact of a capture-based bluefin tuna aquaculture on water column nutrient levels in the Eastern Aegean Sea, Turkey

Capture-based aquaculture of Atlantic bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean has been expanding rapidly but little is known about its environmental impact. In order to understand the consequences of this new sector, long-term monitoring is needed. For this purpose, we investigated the impact of a capture-based tuna farm located in the Gerence Bay (Aegean Sea) on the water column on a seasonal basis from 2005 to 2008, where in the water column, temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, nutrients (nitrite, nitrate, ammonium, and phosphate), and chlorophyll a, in the sediment organic carbon variables were measured. Although highest nutrient concentrations were observed at the cage station as compared to the two controls in the production period, differences were not statistically significant between stations. Monitoring of physico-chemical parameters, nutrients, and chlorophyll a in water column together with organic carbon in sediment did not show detectable impact of fattening of Atlantic bluefin tuna. This was probably caused by strong currents present in the area, location of the cages away from the coast, hence high water depth, controlled feeding, and periodic presence of tuna farming activity in the study area.     

Environmental effects of maritime traffic on the İstanbul Strait

The Istanbul Strait, which separates the European and the Asian parts of Istanbul, is one of the narrowest straits in the world that is used for international shipping. The Strait has very special ecological conditions in terms of marine environment (atmospheric/oceanographic conditions, plant and animal diversity) and terrestrial environment. It also has roles as biological corridor and biological barrier between the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea and form an acclimatization zone for migrating species. Due to being the only maritime access for the neighboring Black Sea states and the Central Asian Turki Republics, the Istanbul Strait has been exposed to dense marine traffic for centuries and substantial increase has occurred in size and tonnage of the ships passing through the Strait with hazardous cargo varieties and amounts they carry. Increase in the number of vessels that navigates on the Strait and being on the transportation way of hazardous and dangerous materials pose serious environmental and safety hazards for the Istanbul Strait, Marmara Sea and the surrounding residential areas. Geographic and oceanographic features of the Istanbul Strait makes the navigation on the Strait rather difficult and consequently the Strait has faced many casualties that caused severe environmental problems due to thousands tons of oil spill occurring in recent decades.     

Developing Alternative Forest Management Planning Strategies Incorporating Timber, Water and Carbon Values: An Examination of their Interactions

Currently, the integration of carbon and water values of forest ecosystems into forest management planning models has become increasingly important in sustainable forest management. This study focuses on developing a multiple-use forest management planning model to examine the interactions of timber and water production as well as net carbon sequestration in a forest ecosystem. Each forest value is functionally linked to stand structure and quantified economically. A number of forest management planning strategies varying in the amount of water, carbon, and timber targets and flows as constraints are developed and implemented in a linear programming (LP) environment. The outputs of each strategy are evaluated with a number of performance indicators such as standing timber volume, ending forest inventory, area harvested, and net present value (NPV) of water, timber, and carbon over time. Results showed that the cycling time of forest stands for renewal has important implications for timber, water, and carbon values. The management strategies indicated that net carbon sequestration can be attained at a significant cost in terms of foregone timber harvest and financial returns. The standing timber volumes and ending forest inventories were among the most important factors determining whether the forest constitutes a net carbon sink or source. Finally, the interactions among the forest values were generally found to be complementary, yet sometimes contradictory (i.e., negatively affecting each other), depending on the assumed relationship between forest values and stand structure.     

Mineral contents of the head, caudal, central fleshy part, and spinal columns of some fishes

In the experiment, mineral contents of the head, caudal, central fleshy part, and spinal columns of fishes were determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. The Ca content of base fleshy part ranged from 1,682 to 5,505 mg/kg. The Ca contents of central fleshy part were found between 104 and 428 mg/kg. This value was found between 5,582 and 7,368 in the spinal column parts. The K content in general ranged from 2,411 (Carassius gibellio) and 4,419 mg/kg (Scomber scombrus). The highest potassium was found on the central fleshy part and ranged between 3,214 and 4,419. The P content was found mostly on the bones and it range between 28,833 and 34,726. The least phosphor amount was found on the central fleshy part. While the Cd content ranges between 0.019 ppm and 0.104 mg/kg, Cr content changed between 1.32 and 4.20 ppm.     

Determination of heavy metal contents in some freshwater fishes

The concentrations of heavy metals in tench, pike-perch, and common carp fish caught in four different seasons from Damsa dam lake (Nev?ehir) were determined. Heavy metal contents of fishes changed depending on seasons. The highest Al (20.894 mg/kg) in tench was established in winter, and the lowest Al (1.605 mg/kg) was determined in summer. Fe content of tench fish changed between 112.906 mg/kg (autumn) and 31.207 mg/kg (spring). In addition, Zn contents of tench were found between 36.0323 mg/kg (summer) and 430.586 mg/kg (winter). The results indicate that concentrations of Cu of tench varied from 0.1934 mg/kg (winter) to 15.422 mg/kg (autumn). Results indicate that concentrations varied from 2.923 mg/kg (autumn) to 32.078 mg/kg (summer) with a mean of 11.1893 mg/kg for Al; 0.2483 mg/kg (spring) to 3.3088 mg/kg (autumn) with a mean of 1.6189 mg/kg for Ni; 0.5325 mg/kg (spring) to 0.845 mg/kg (autumn) with a mean of 0.7234 for Pb; and 7.0464 mg/kg (winter) to 253.686 mg/kg (summer) with a mean of 133.6348 for Zn. In common carp, Al, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn, Se, Ga, and Te contents were determined as 3.9623 mg/kg; 0.1293, 0.2336, 0.0526, 0.1543, 4.2406, 0.726, 1.797, 0.6216, 6.8536, 0.1783, 0.7876, and 0.371 mg/kg in autumn, respectively.     

Changes in forest biomass carbon stock in Northern Turkey between 1973 and 2006

New forest management and planning approaches are designed to optimize forest structure. Optimal forest structure was determined using newly established growth models while considering primary timber production objectives as well as non-timber objectives for inaccessible areas and social and political pressures on land management. With currently planned management the forests of the Ormanüstü Planning Unit (OPU) in the Black Sea region of northern Turkey are likely to become an important C sink. To quantify this potential C sink and understand its implication to the regional carbon budget and future forest management, we estimated the changes in the OPU between 1973 and 2006. Based on four periods of data for the OPU forests obtained from the Forest Management and Planning Office of Turkey, we used allometric biomass and C regression equations along with biomass expansion factors to estimate the forest biomass carbon pool for each of four inventory years 1973, 1984, 1997, and 2006. Since 1973, OPU forests have accumulated 110.2?×?10³ tons of C as a result of forest expansion and the growth of extant forests, increasing by 50.8 % from 217?×?10³ tons in 1973 to 327.2?×?10³ tons C in 2006. Hardwood and softwood forests accounted for 44 and 56 % of carbon accumulation during this period, respectively. From 1973 through 2006, forest C accumulated at a rate of 3.3?×?10³ tons C year^?1. Carbon density of the OPU forests in the Black Sea region increased by 48.2 % from 5,679 to 8,419 tons/ha.