Effect of torrefaction on fuel properties of biopellets.

The study aimed to determine the effects of torrefaction on the fuel properties of pellets. Therefore, firstly, torrefaction parameters of rose (Rosa Damascena Mill.) oil distillation solid waste and red pine sawdust were determined through the torrefaction optimization process in terms of temperature and holding time. Then, using the selected torrefaction parameters, 14 different raw and torrefied pellets containing RP, PS, and Turkish Elbistan Lignite were prepared in different weight ratios. Finally, the fuel properties of the prepared raw and torrefied pellets, namely dimensions, proximate analyses, higher heating values, tensile strength, durability, abrasive resistance, and water uptake resistances, were investigated. The findings demonstrated that the higher heating values and carbon content of raw biomass samples increased while their volatile matter content decreased. The use of lignite at high concentrations led to an increase in ash content and a decrease in the strength and durability of pellets, which should be emphasized. In addition, red pine sawdust was used in place of solid waste from rose oil distillation solid waste to produce pellets with greater strength. All pellet mixtures with torrefaction had higher heating values and energy densities despite the fact that their mass and energy efficiency had decreased. It was determined that torrefaction increased the pellets' resistance to absorbing water and gave them a more hydrophobic structure. Thus, it was determined that torrefaction could enhance the crucial fuel parameters of the biomass samples.

Phthalate ester levels in agricultural soils of greenhouses, their potential sources, the role of plastic cover material, and dietary exposure calculated from modeled concentrations in tomato.

Soil samples collected from 50 greenhouses (GHs) cultivated with tomatoes (plastic-covered:24, glass-covered:26), 5 open-area tomato growing farmlands, and 5 non-agricultural areas were analyzed in summer and winter seasons for 13 PAEs. The total concentrations (Σ13PAEs) in the GHs ranged from 212 to 2484 ng/g, wheeas the concentrations in open-area farm soils were between 240 and 1248 ng/g. Σ13PAE in non-agricultural areas was lower (35.0 - 585 ng/g). PAE exposure through the ingestion of tomatoes cultivated in GH soils and associated risks were estimated with Monte Carlo simulations after calculating the PAE concentrations in tomatoes using a partition-limited model. DEHP was estimated to have the highest concentrations in the tomatoes grown in both types of GHs. The mean carcinogenic risk caused by DEHP for tomato grown in plastic-covered GHs, glass-covered GHs, and open-area soils were 2.4 × 10-5, 1.7 × 10-5 and 1.1 × 10-5, respectively. Based on Positive Matrix Factorization results, plastic material usage in GHs (including plastic cover material source for plastic-GHs) was found to be the highest contributing source in both types of GHs. Microplastic analysis indicated that the ropes and irrigation pipes inside the GHs are important sources of PAE pollution. Pesticide application is the second highest contributing source.

Evaluation of levels and sources of microplastics and phthalic acid esters and their relationships in the atmosphere of highly industrialized and urbanized Gebze, Türkiye.

The presence of microplastics (MPs) in the atmosphere and their relationship with other pollutants have been gaining attention due to both their ubiquity and threatening human health. As well phthalic acid esters (PAEs) regarding as plasticizers for being added in plastic materials are key role for plastic pollution. In this study, the concentrations and sources of airborne MPs together with major PAEs and their relationships were investigated for four seasons. MP particles <20 µm, constituting the majority of the samples, were successfully revealed by NR fluorescent analysis. As a result of the µATR-FTIR analyzes, it was seen that besides different polymer derivatives, dye-pigment types, some minerals and compounds, and abundant semi-synthetic fibers and natural fibers were also present. MPs concentration were found in the range of 7207-21,042 MP/m3 in summer, 7245-32,950 MP/m3 in autumn, 4035-58,270 MP/m3 in winter and 7275-37,094 MP/m3 in spring. For the same period, the concentrations of PAEs ranged from 9.24 to 115.21 ng/m3 with an average value of 38.08 ± 7.92 ng/m3. PMF was also applied and four factors were extracted. Factor 1, accounts 52.26 % and 23.27 % of the total PAEs and MPs variances, was attributed to PVC sources. Factor 2, explaining 64.98 % of the total MPs variance had the highest loading of MPs and moderate loadings of relatively low molecular weight of PAEs, was attributed to plastics and personal care products. Factor 3, explaining the 28.31 % of the total PAEs variance was laden with BBP, DnBP, DiBP and DEP and was attributed to various plastic input during the sampling campaign coming from the industrial activities. The last factor accounts for 11.65 % of the total PAEs variance and was dominated by DMEP and it was linked to a source of the activities performed in the laboratories of the university.

Energy consumption, thermal comfort, and indoor air quality in mosques: Impact of Covid-19 measures.

Restrictions have been imposed on the number of people, the duration of their stay and air conditioning operation in temples to limit the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. This work studied how restrictions affected energy consumption, thermal comfort, and indoor air quality (IAQ) in mosques. Energy consumption data on lighting, heating and cooling before and during the pandemic were analyzed in six mosques of various sizes located in Yalova city, Turkey. The annual energy consumption for lighting was reduced during the pandemic in all mosques due to less usage, while the annual heating and cooling costs were raised in one mosque despite their restricted use. Besides, experiments were conducted to assess the effect of pandemic measures on thermal comfort and IAQ by measuring indoor temperature, relative humidity, air velocity, CO2 and PM concentrations in a typical mosque. Keeping the windows open and limiting occupancy improved the IAQ. This was evidenced by the lower average CO2 concentration during the pandemic (428 ± 40 ppm) than before the pandemic (661 ± 201 ppm). An acceptable thermal environment was achieved under pandemic measures at night during the summer period. Creating excellent conditions can be difficult without air conditioning even with open windows and prayers performed at night.

Concentration of phthalate esters in indoor and outdoor dust in Kocaeli, Turkey: implications for human exposure and risk.

The interest in phthalate esters (PAEs) has increased in recent years because elevated phthalate levels have been detected in environmental matrices and they have certain adverse effects on human health. Indoor dust from 90 homes and outdoor (street) dust from outside these homes were collected in Kocaeli province between February and April 2016 and analyzed for eight PAEs. The total indoor dust concentrations of eight PAEs (Σ8PAEs) ranged from 21.33 µg g-1 to 1802 µg g-1 (median, 387.67 µg g-1), significantly higher than outdoor dust concentrations (0.16-36.85 µg g-1 with median 4.84 µg g-1). Di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) was the most dominant pollutant in both indoor and outdoor environments with a median value of 316.02 µg g-1 and 3.89 µg g-1, respectively, followed by di-n-butyl phthalate and butylbenzyl phthalate (BBP). DEHP was measured within the range of 198.54-816.92 µg g-1 and BBP within the range of 15.52-495.33 µg g-1 in homes with PVC coating, significantly higher than the levels in homes with parquet and tiled floor (p<0.05). Monte Carlo simulation was applied to probabilistically estimate exposure to PAEs and associated carcinogenic risk. The Σ5PAE median values of non-dietary ingestion and dermal absorption exposure were estimated as 1.57 µg kg day-1 and 0.007 µg kg day-1 for children and 0.09 µg kg day-1 and 0.04 µg kg day-1 for adults while inhalation route exposure to PAE in dust was at a negligible level for both groups. Children were more exposed to PAEs through ingestion route (92.74% to 99.54% of the total exposure) while adult exposure through ingestion routes (62-68.4%) and dermal absorption (29.74% and 31.87% of the total exposure) were comparable. The mean cancer risk level via non-dietary ingestion of DEHP for children was 2.33×10-6, about eight times higher than the levels for adults. The risk levels of about 16% of adults and 95% of children are greater than the threshold value of 10-6 when the population is exposed to DEHP in indoor dust. Looking from the viewpoint of child health, the most effective method to reduce exposure among the measured PAEs is to keep the release of DEHP under control, especially in indoor environment, and to take precautions to reduce exposure.

Risk assessment of PBDEs and PAHs in house dust in Kocaeli, Turkey: levels and sources.

Indoor dust samples were collected from 40 homes in Kocaeli, Turkey and were analyzed simultaneously for 14 polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and 16 poly aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) isomers. The total concentrations of PBDEs (Σ14PBDEs) ranged from 29.32 to 4790 ng g-1, with a median of 316.1 ng g-1, while the total indoor dust concentrations of 16 PAHs (Σ16PAHs) extending over three to four orders of magnitude ranged from 85.91 to 40,359 ng g-1 with a median value of 2489 ng g-1. Although deca-PBDE products (BDE-209) were the principal source of PBDEs contamination in the homes (median, 138.3 ng g-1), the correlation in the homes was indicative of similar sources for both the commercial penta and deca-PBDE formulas. The PAHs diagnostic ratios indicated that the main sources of PAHs measured in the indoor samples could be coal/biomass combustion, smoking, and cooking emissions. For children and adults, the contributions to ∑14PBDEs exposure were approximately 93 and 25 % for the ingestion of indoor dust, and 7 and 75 % for dermal contact. Exposure to ∑16PAHs through dermal contact was the dominant route for both children (90.6 %) and adults (99.7 %). For both groups, exposure by way of inhalation of indoor dust contaminated with PBDEs and PAHs was negligible. The hazard index (HI) values for BDE-47, BDE-99, BDE-153, and BDE-209 were lower than the safe limit of 1, and this result suggested that none of the population groups would be likely to experience potential health risk due to exposure to PBDEs from indoor dust in the study area. Considering only ingestion + dermal contact, the carcinogenic risk levels of both B2 PAHs and BDE-209 for adults were 6.2 × 10-5 in the US EPA safe limit range while those for children were 5.6 × 10-4 and slightly higher than the US EPA safe limit range (1 × 10-6 and 1 × 10-4). Certain precautions should be considered for children.

Improvement of uptake rate equations depending on meteorological conditions for 25 volatile organic compounds.

Stainless steel passive (diffusive) sampling tubes manufactured by Gradko International Ltd. (UK) were filled with Chromosorb 106 (Supelco) and evaluated to determine the uptake rates of 31 VOCs over six months under different meteorological conditions in a suburban area of Ankara, Turkey. The URs have been calculated, and dependence on such meteorological parameters as temperature, relative humidity and wind speed has been established for the 31 VOCs. The URs of the 31 VOCs measured in this study showed a statistically significant decreasing trend with rising temperature; and weaker, but again statistically significant, increasing trends with increasing relative humidity and wind speed. This study has demonstrated that the URs of VOCs are affected by meteorological parameters, and this dependence should be taken into account when attempting to generate reliable data through passive sampling. A multiple linear regression equation in which temperature, relative humidity and wind speed were used as independent variables was generated for 25 of the 31 tested VOCs.