Environmental Engineering / Çevre Mühendisliği
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11147/4321
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Article Citation - WoS: 64Citation - Scopus: 78Utilization of Municipal Plastic and Wood Waste in Industrial Manufacturing of Wood Plastic Composites(Springer Verlag, 2020) Başalp, Dildare; Tıhmınlıoğlu, Funda; Sofuoğlu, Sait Cemil; İnal, Fikret; Sofuoğlu, AysunIn this study, Wood Plastic Composites (WPCs) were produced from post-consumer bulky wastes of recycled plastic and wood in order to minimize waste, decrease environmental effects of plastics, reserve natural resources, and support circular economy for sustainable production and consumption. Five different types of polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene (PE) based recycled plastics and wood obtained from urban household bulky wastes were used in the production of recycled WPC composites, r-WPCs. Virgin WPC (v-WPC) and r-WPC compounds were prepared with wood flour (WF) and maleic anhydride grafted compatibilizer (MAPP or MAPE) to evaluate the effect of recycled polymer type and compatibilizer on the mechanical properties. It was found that tensile strength properties of r-WPCs produced from recycled PP (r-PP) were higher than that of the r-WPCs produced from mixed polyolefins and recycled PE. r-WPCs containing anti-oxidants, UV stabilizers, and compatibilizer with different WF compositions were produced from only recycled garden fraction PP (PPFGF) to determine the optimum composition and processing temperature for pilot scale manufacturing of r-WPCs. Based on tensile, impact, flexural, and water sorption properties of r-WPC compounds with different formulations, the optimum conditions of r-WPC compounds for industrial manufacturing process were determined. Surface morphology of fractured surfaces as well as tensile, flexural and density results of r-WPC compounds revealed the enhancement effect of MAPP on interfacial adhesion in r-WPCs. r-WPC products (crates and table/chair legs) based on bulky wastes were produced using an injection molding process at industrial scale by using 30 wt% WF-filled r-WPC compound. This study demonstrated that r-WPC compounds from recycled bulky plastic and wood wastes can be used as a potential raw material in plastic as well as WPC industry, contributing to circular economy. GraphicArticle Citation - WoS: 9Citation - Scopus: 13An Exposure–risk Assessment for Potentially Toxic Elements in Rice and Bulgur(Springer Verlag, 2017) Sofuoğlu, Sait Cemil; Sofuoğlu, AysunRice and wheat are rich sources of essential elements. However, they may also accumulate potentially toxic elements (PTE). Bulgur, the popular alternative to rice in the eastern Mediterranean, is produced by processing wheat, during which PTE content may change. This study determined PTE concentrations in rice and bulgur collected from 50 participant households in the City of Izmir, Turkey, estimated ingestion exposure, and associated chronic-toxic and carcinogenic human health risks. Comparison of the determined concentrations to the available standard levels and the levels reported in the literature revealed that Cd, Co, and Pb in rice might be of concern. The estimated health risks of individual participants supported this result with exceedance of respective threshold or acceptable risk levels at the 95th percentile. Population risk estimates indicated that the proportion with higher than the threshold or acceptable risk is about 10%, 24%, and 12% for Cd, Co, and Pb in rice, respectively. Results of this study showed that health risks associated with PTE exposure through bulgur consumption are lower than those of rice, and below the threshold or acceptable risk levels.Article Citation - WoS: 14Citation - Scopus: 22Forecasting Ambient Air So2 Concentrations Using Artificial Neural Networks(Taylor and Francis Ltd., 2006) Sofuoğlu, Sait Cemil; Sofuoğlu, Aysun; Birgili, Savaş; Tayfur, GökmenAn Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) model is constructed to forecast SO 2 concentrations in Izmir air. The model uses meteorological variables (wind speed and temperature) and measured particulate matter concentrations as input variables. The correlation coefficient between observed and forecasted concentrations is 0.94 for the network that uses all three variables as input parameters. The root mean square error value of the model is 3.60 g/mt 3 . Considering the limited number of available input variables, model performances show that ANNs are a promising method of modeling to forecast ambient air SO 2 concentrations in Izmir.