Characterisation study of solid wastes: A case of districts in Tekirdağ

In this study, solid waste characterisation of high-income, middle-income, low-income regions and market areas in Tekirdağ Metropolitan Municipality was carried out in winter and summer, 2016. As a result, the amount of organic wastes (kitchen wastes, park and green wastes) and packaging waste (paper, cardboard, bulky cardboard, plastics, glass, metals and bulky metals) in Tekirdağ were determined as 41.02% and 32.4% respectively, by waste sampling. When waste characterisation was analysed based on the districts, it was seen that paper and plastic waste is mostly produced from the Çorlu district. The reason for this could be the high level of welfare of the citizens living in Çorlu and the high number of working people compared to other districts due to the high density of industrial facilities. It was also seen that the ash percentage of waste is high in the districts of Hayrabolu, Şarköy, Muratlı, Marmaraereğlisi, Malkara and Saray, which are the districts not covered by natural gas distribution grid. Waste samples were characterised in the Tubitak Energy Institute Laboratory to determine the moisture content, calorific value and glow loss. The results showed that there is a high moisture and organic matter in the wastes, which makes the incineration method not suitable for the treatment of solid wastes in Tekirdağ. The results of this study highlighted that there is a potential for introducing recycling schemes especially in high income regions in Tekirdağ. To initiate such programmes, collected municipal waste could be separated in two streams in place; organics and co-mingled dry-recyclables

Comparison of Conventional and Ultrasonic-Assisted Adsorption Processes by Using H3PO4 Activated Cypress Tree Cone for Methylene Blue Removal

Recycling agricultural waste, such as corn cobs, tree cones or grape stalks, contributes to converting waste into a new resource by encouraging the development of the circular economy. In this study, colour removal efficiency of H3PO4 activated cypress tree cone (H3PO4-CTC) from Methylene Blue (MB) (C16H18N3SCl) was investigated by using conventional and ultrasonic-assisted adsorption processes. The properties of the prepared H3PO4-CTC adsorbent were obtained by SEM-EDX and FTIR analysis, and the optimum pH and adsorbent dose effect on MB adsorption was determined. Kinetic and isotherm models were presented for conventional and ultrasonic-assisted adsorption processes under optimum conditions. The removal of MB was found favourable at conventional and ultrasonic-assisted adsorption processes. Comparing the Freundlich isotherm, the Langmuir isotherm was also found to fit the experimental data more. According to the Langmuir isotherm, qmax values were obtained as 3.87 and 4.50 mg/g, respectively, by conventional and ultrasonic-assisted adsorption processes. It was also determined that MB removal was over 90% in the first two uses of H3PO4-CTC. In the study, it was observed that H3PO4 activated cypress tree cone could be used as a low-cost adsorbent in MB adsorption, and it was also seen that MB adsorption could be increased with the ultrasonic adsorption process compared to the conventional adsorption process

Synthesis of ZnCl2 Activated Raising Powder of Cotton Fabrics for Acid and Basic Dye Adsorption: A Way to Reuse Cellulosic Wastes for Sustainable Production

In this study, Cl Basic Blue 9 (BB9) and Cl Acid Blue 193 (AB193) dyes were used to investigate the color removal efficiency of the carbon-based adsorbent material, ZnCl2-RP, which was obtained by activating the raising powder. The raising powder is a waste material that is generated in considerable amounts from the textile industry. The characterization of ZnCl2-RP was conducted by SEM-EDX, FTIR, XRD and BET analyses. As a result of this study, it was determined that ZnCl2-RP contains 4.15% of Zn. While no significant effect of pH on the adsorption of BB9 dye was observed in the experiments, the highest dye removal efficiency was achieved at pH 3. It was seen that Langmuir Isotherm for both dyes was more suitable than the Freundlich Isotherm and the q(max) values of the BB9 and AB193 dyes were 44.8 mg/g and 37.6 mg/g, respectively. Removal kinetics of both dyes were found in accordance with the pseudo-second order kinetics, and k(2) values for 50 mg/L dye concentration were 45.62 g/mg min and 5.31 g/mg min for BB9 and AB193, respectively. It is concluded that the raising powder generated in the textile industry can be used as a low-cost adsorbent for basic and acid dyes

Decolorization potential of reactive dyes by using galvanising industry's waste (aluminum hydroxide sludge) depending on dye chromophore

The galvanising industry's wastewater treatment facilities generate waste metal hydroxide. These sludges have the potential to be used to remove textile dyes from effluents. In this study, three reactive dyes, which are frequently used in cellulosic textile materials' dyeing, Remazol Turquoise Blue G 133% (CI RB21), Remazol Red 3B (CI RR23), and Remazol Red 3BS 133% (CI RR239) were used to investigate the color removal efficiency of aluminum hydroxide sludge (AHS) depending on dye chromophore. Adsorption studies were conducted under varying conditions of pH, initial dye concentrations, and AHS doses. The characteristics of the AHS were examined by SEM (EDX and DX-Mapping), BET, XRD, and FTIR. The maximum dye removal was achieved at pH 3 for CI RB21, and at pH 5 for CI RR239 and CI RR23. Over 90% of dye removal was obtained for CI RR239 and CI RB21, when the adsorbent dosages were 8 g/l and 5 g/l, respectively. For CI RR23, the highest color removal percentage was only 72.7%, when the dosage of adsorbent was 10 g/l. It was also determined that at 500 mg/l initial CI RB21 dye concentration, the removal percentage of CI RB21 reached 95%, while the maximum removal percentages (95% for CI RR239 and 68.3% for CI RR23) were achieved at the 200 mg/l and 100 mg/l initial dye concentrations for CI RR239 and CI RR23, respectively. In the study, it was observed that the number of sulfo groups affecting the ionic charge of dye molecules and molecular weights of the dyes have a significant effect on the dye removal efficiency

Clinical importance of serum neopterin level in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis

Objective: Neopterin is a sensitive marker for cell-mediated immune response. Because of this, the neopterin levels of body fluids show cell-mediated immune response in different infectious diseases which involve T cells and macrophages. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical importance of neopterin levels in patients with tuberculosis and compare with those levels of healthy subjects. Methods: Seventy patients with tuberculosis (46 newly diagnosed cases, 15 relapse cases, and 9 multidrug-resistant tuberculosis cases) and 18 healthy adult individuals were included in the study. Neopterin concentrations were measured by the ELISA method according to the protocol of the manufacturer. Chi-square test was used in statistical analysis; p≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Serum mean neopterin levels were 23.74±21.8nmol/L (median: 18.3) in newly diagnosed patients with pulmonary tuberculosis; 28.69±21.2nmol/L (median: 21.2) in relapse patients and 31.28±14nmol/L (median: 25.4) in multidrug-resistant tuberculosis cases, respectively. Serum mean neopterin levels were 4.03±5.12nmol/L (median: 5.1) in healthy subjects. The serum neopterin levels were found to be significantly higher in patients with tuberculosis than the control group. There was a statistically significant correlation between neopterin positivity (neopterin level ≥10nmol/L was accepted to be positive) and clinical symptoms of hemoptysis and weight loss. Besides statistically significant correlations between neopterin positivity and hemoglobin level, sedimentation rate, mean leukocyte count and radiological involvement (localized or diffuse) were determined. Conclusion: Serum neopterin levels can be used as a helper laboratory finding for the diagnosis of patients with tuberculosis. For this aim, further controlled studies are needed