Environmental Engineering / Çevre Mühendisliği
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11147/4321
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Article Citation - WoS: 15Citation - Scopus: 19Immobilization of Esterase From Bacillus Subtilis on Halloysite Nanotubes and Applications on Dibutyl Phthalate Degradation(Elsevier, 2023) Rosales, Emilio; Pazos, Marta; Sanroman, Maria Angeles; Balcı, Esin; Sofuoğlu, AysunDibutyl phthalate (DBP) is one of the listed phthalic acid esters (PAEs) known as the priority toxicants which exhibit carcinogenic and teratogenic properties and is responsible for endocrine disruption. Therefore, its removal has become a matter to tackle with. In this work, the feasibility of DBP degradation by esterase and lipase enzymes obtained from various microorganisms and the immobilization of the most effective in a clayey material were investigated. Esterase from Bacillus subtilis exhibited the highest degradation efficiency reaching a complete degradation. Its immobilization onto halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) by adsorption method was studied by response surface methodology using a central composite design face-centered. The four selected factors that affect the HNT-enzyme composite generation were: pH, adsorption time, enzyme/HNT (E/H) ratio, and adsorption temperature, and the optimal conditions were determined (pH 7, time 360 min, E/H ratio 0.2, temperature 30oC). Consequently, the activity did not significantly decrease by immobilization, and the adsorption efficiency and relative activity were determined to be 73.15% and 82.7%, respectively. Besides, the immobilization enhanced thermal and storage stability. As for enzyme reusability, after 7 continuous cycles, the composite maintained almost 75% of its initial activity. Both the free enzyme (1 mg/mL) and the composite degraded 100 mg/L DBP with 100% efficiency and several byproducts were detected. Moreover, the composite could be reused for 7 cycles keeping a remarkable catalytic activity. Overall, this study indicated that the HNT-enzyme composite may be used as an effective candidate for remediation of the environmental media contaminated with DBP and other PAEs.(c) 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).Article Citation - WoS: 4Citation - Scopus: 5Continuous Treatment of Diethyl Hexyl and Dibutyl Phthalates by Fixed-Bed Reactor: Comparison of Two Esterase Bionanocomposites(Elsevier, 2022) Sanroman, Maria Angeles; Balcı, Esin; Rosales, Emilio; Pazos, Marta; Sofuoğlu, AysunThe removal of Diethyl hexyl phthalate (DEHP) and Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) is of great importance due to their potential adverse effects on the environment and human health. In this study, two bionanocomposites prepared by immobilization of Bacillus subtilis esterase by crosslinking to halloysite and supported in chitosan and alginate beads were studied and proposed as a green approach. The esterase immobilization was confirmed by physical-chemical characterization. Bionanocomposite using chitosan showed the best degradation levels in batch tests attaining complete degradation of DBP and around 90% of DEHP. To determine the operational stability and efficiency of the system, two fixed bed reactors filled with both bionanocomposites were carried out operating in continuous mode. Chitosan based bionanocomposite showed the best performance being able to completely remove DBP and more than 85% of DEHP at the different flowrates. These results proved the potential of these synthesized bionanocomposites to effectively remove Phthalic Acid Esters.Article Citation - Scopus: 22Multi‑purpose Reverse Logistics Network Design for Medical Waste Management in a Megacity: Istanbul, Turkey(Springer, 2022) Balcı, Esin; Balcı, Sezin; Sofuoğlu, AysunIn the study, a multi-purpose reverse logistics network has been designed to create effectual management of medical waste (MW) generated in 39 districts of Istanbul, a heavily populated city, during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as that to be generated in the next decade. With the model, the medical waste management system in Istanbul is analyzed during the pandemic and for the next 10 years. The model attempts to integrate economic, environmental, and social objectives within the sustainable development goals. It aims to maximize the number of personnel and government earnings for the estimated MW of a megacity while minimizing the total fixed cost and the cost of carbon emissions and transportation. The results indicated that the existing facilities are sufficient for the treatment and disposal of MW generated even under pandemic conditions. However, the capacity of the sterilization facility could be insufficient to treat the estimated amount of MW in the next decade. Opening a sterilization facility near the sanitary landfill in Komurcuoda with a total management cost of 62,450,332 €/year would be an optimum solution for Istanbul MW. In comparison to the single-purpose model results, the multi-purpose model resulted in approximately 42,000 € more in total cost. Sensitivity analyses show that the amount of MW has the most significant effect on the total cost. This simple model created an effective MW management proposal for Istanbul, which can be a model for megacities.Article Citation - WoS: 20Citation - Scopus: 25Indoor Air Partitioning of Synthetic Musk Compounds: Gas, Particulate Matter, House Dust, and Window Film(Elsevier, 2020) Balcı, Esin; Genişoğlu, Mesut; Sofuoğlu, Sait Cemil; Sofuoğlu, AysunDue to diversity of contaminants indoors and complexity in the physical structure of particulate matter, partition process of chemicals affects indoor concentration distribution. Synthetic Musk Compounds (SMCs) are ubiquitously found in household and personal care products, thus, in the environment. Exposure to SMCs is important for human health, therefore, their partitioning in indoor environmental media is a key issue. In this study, gas particle, house dust, andwindowfilm partitioning of SMCs were investigated in an indoor micro-environment. In a sealed and unoccupied room, a polycyclic and nitro musk mixture was left for volatilization for an hour. Then, samples were collected using XAD-2 sandwiched between two PUF plugs, glass-fiber filter, and wipes for gas, PM10, window-film, house dust phases, respectively, for 145 h. Collected samples were analyzed using a GC-MS. Results demonstrated that MC concentrations decreased over time, non-linearly. Six of the SMCs partitioned to PM10 with at least 10% at beginning of the experiment, whereas the number of compounds dropped to two at the end, showing that SMCs may partition well between the two phases but they tend to be in the gas phase. They were also detected in the film and dust phases but a decrease pattern similar to gas-particle was not observed. Spearman correlations indicate that the dust and film-associated concentrations were governed by similar processes but PM-associated concentrations were not. SMCs may be found in all phases, mainly in house dust in terms of mass among the studied media and unaccounted surface reservoirs. Therefore, their partitioning between indoor media has key implications for human exposure. (C)20 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Article Methylene Blue Removal of Fixed-Bed Column Reactor With Pumice and Nzvi-Pumice: Experimental and Modeling Study(Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi, 2019) Genişoğlu, Mesut; Gören, Ayşegül Yağmur; Balcı, Esin; Recepoğlu, Yaşar Kemal; Ökten, Hatice EserNano zero-valent iron (nZVI) emerges as a low cost and eco-friendly adsorbent to treat textile wastewater, which is rich in dye content. However nZVI particles can easily agglomerate in aqueous environment due to electrostatic interaction, decreasing their treatment efficiency. Therefore pumice, a low-cost and naturally found porous material with lower specific surface area (2m2/gr), can be used as support material to reduce agglomeration of nZVI. Treatment efficiencies of pumice/nZVI packing (10:0 and 9:1 (w/w)) in column reactor for specified initial methylene blue concentrations (25, 50, 75 and 100 mg/L) were investigated in this study. Adsorption capacities of the adsorbents were calculated as 2.8 and 4.2 mg/g-adsorbent, respectively at 100 mg/L initial methylene blue concentration. Mixed bed column performed significantly better than its pumice-only counterpart for low initial concentrations. Thomas adsorption model was applied to experimental results with a moderate to high predictive power.Conference Object Groundwater Pollution by Nitrate From Agricultural Fertilizers: the Case of Menemen Basin (aegean Region, Turkey)(İZSU, 2017) Gören, Ayşegül Yağmur; Genişoğlu, Mesut; Balcı, Esin; Ökten, Hatice Eser; Baba, AlperGroundwater is an essential drinking water source in Menemen subbasin of İzmir city, Turkey. The aim of this study was to investigate the groundwater contamination by nitrates of agricultural lands. For this purpose, we evaluated variations of groundwater pH, redox potential, electrical conductivity (EC), major anions (NO3, Cl, SO4, HCO3 and CO3) and cations (Na, K, Ca and Mg). A statistical correlation procedure and piper diagram for hydrogeochemistry of groundwater were also applied. Nitrate levels were found to be higher around agricultural areas. Also EC values and Cl were measured to be higher as proximity to coastal areas increased, indicating seawater intrusion. Agricultural activities and excessive freshwater withdrawal were shown to impair groundwater quality and quantity at Menemen subbasin.