Life cycle comparison of membrane capacitive deionization and reverse osmosis membrane for textile wastewater treatment

Çetinkaya, Afşin Yılmaz ( Aksaray, Yazar )The reduced natural water sources on the one hand and the large amount of wastewater produced by the textile industry on the other hand lead to the requirement of an effective reuse of textile wastewater. In this study, the treatment of textile wastewater by the reverse osmosis membrane system and membrane capacitive deionization (MCDI) system has been investigated to improve the quality and the recovery rate of the effluent for reclamation. The maximum chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency obtained at 10 bar was 96.3% for BW30 reverse osmosis membrane. Diversified operating conditions, including working voltage and flow rate, were investigated systematically in the MCDI system which is an effective water purification technology. According to the obtained experimental results, the COD removal efficiency was thoroughly increased by rising the working voltage (from 0.2 to 1.2 V) and the flow rate (from 5 to 17.5 ml/min). The flow rate and the working voltage at which the COD from textile wastewater removal ratio was the highest were 10 ml/min and 1.2 V, respectively. A life cycle approach has also been implemented for the comparison of environmental impact assessment of the two desalination systems. In this study, a life cycle approach has been implemented for the comparison of environmental friendly impact assessment of the two desalination systems. It is concluded that MCDI system is much more environmental friendlier with 5641 times less values for damage assessment categories, on average...

Lung cancer from suspicion to treatment: An indicator of healthcare access in Turkey

Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Before beginning lung cancer treatment, it is necessary to complete procedures such as suspecting lung cancer, obtaining a pathologic diagnosis, and staging. This study aimed to investigate the processes from suspicion of lung cancer to diagnosis, staging, and treatment initiation. Methods: The study was designed as a multicenter and cross-sectional study. Patients with lung cancer from various health institutions located in all geographic regions of Turkey were included in the study. The sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the patients, the characteristics of the health institutions and geographic regions, and other variables of the lung cancer process were recorded. The time from suspicion of lung cancer to pathologic diagnosis, radiologic staging, and treatment initiation, as well as influencing factors, were investigated. Results: The study included 1410 patients from 29 different medical centers. The mean time from the initial suspicion of lung cancer to the pathologic diagnosis was 48.0 ± 52.6 days, 39.0 ± 52.7 days for radiologic staging, and 74.9 ± 65.5 days for treatment initiation. The residential areas with the most suspected lung cancer cases were highly developed socioeconomic zones. Primary healthcare services accounted for only 0.4% of patients with suspected lung cancer. The time to pathologic diagnosis was longer in the Marmara region, and the wait time for staging and treatment initiation was longer in Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia. Patients who presented to chest disease referral hospitals with peripheral lesions, those with early-stage disease, and those who were diagnosed surgically had significantly longer wait times. Conclusion: The time between pathologic diagnosis, staging, and treatment initiation in lung cancer was longer than expected. Increasing the role of primary healthcare services and distributing socioeconomic resources more equally will contribute to shortening the time to diagnosis and improve treatment processes for lung cancer