Decolorization of Textile Azo‐metal Complex Dyes by a Halophilic Bacterium Isolated from Çamaltı Saltern in Turkey

The decolorization of some of azo‐metal complex dyes used in textile industry was investigated in this study. The halophilic prokaryotes isolated from a solar sea‐saltern (Çamalt?) in Turkey were screened for resistance to five commercial azo and mixture of azo‐metal complex dyes. Only one bacterium was found to be resistant against two of dyes, namely Lanaset Navy R and Lanaset Brown B. The bacterium was identified as Halobacillus sp. C‐22 according to 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses. Decolorization experiments were carried out at 120 mg/L concentration of both dyes, at room temperature, and with an acidic pH of 4.5. Lanaset Brown B was decolorized at a high adsorbance ratio (96.12%) at the 78th hour. However, Lanaset Navy R was rapidly decolorized in 10 min (46.67%) and showed the highest adsorbance ratio (60.66%) at the third hour. Freundlich and Langmuir equilibrium isotherm models were used to evaluate the adsorption of dyes and Freundlich isoterm was more suitable for biosorpsiyon of both azo dyes. The functional groups on Halobacillus sp. C‐22 for decolorization were characterized by FT‐IR. This is the first study to reveal potential of Halobacillus sp. for decolorization of textile azo‐metal complex dyes.     

Detection of Toxoplasma gondii in Turkish River and Drinking Water Samples by Different PCR and LAMP Methods

In this study, we investigated the occurence of Toxoplasma gondii and checked the sequencing in 56 samples collected from in the Ordu province, Middle Black Sea, Turkey. The samples were collected from drinking and river water and DNA was extracted from all samples. After DNA isolation, the 18S rRNA target gene and B1 gene of T. gondii were amplified by conventional PCR, nested PCR, and loop‐mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay, respectively. Twenty out of 56 samples (35.7%) were Toxoplasma positive by LAMP. The conventional PCR and nested PCR confirmed that 12 and 16 out of 56 samples (21.42 and 28.57%) were positive for Toxoplasma, respectively. All drinking water samples were negative by all three methods. Thirteen Toxoplasma nested PCR products were successfully sequenced. This study achieved detection and sequencing of Toxoplasma from water supplies in the Middle Black sea area in Turkey.     

Optimization of constitutive parameters of foundation soils k-means clustering analysis

The goal of this study was to optimize the constitutive parameters of foundation soils using a k-means algorithm with clustering analysis. A database was collected from unconfined compression tests, Pr...     

Modeling of seawater intrusion in a coastal aquifer of Karaburun Peninsula,western Turkey

Seawater intrusion is a major problem to freshwater resources especially in coastal areas where fresh groundwater is surrounded and could be easily influenced by seawater. This study presents the development of a conceptual and numerical model for the coastal aquifer of Karareis region (Karaburun Peninsula) in the western part of Turkey. The study also presents the interpretation and the analysis of the time series data of groundwater levels recorded by data loggers. The SEAWAT model is used in this study to solve the density-dependent flow field and seawater intrusion in the coastal aquifer that is under excessive pumping particularly during summer months. The model was calibrated using the average values of a 1-year dataset and further verified by the average values of another year. Five potential scenarios were analyzed to understand the effects of pumping and climate change on groundwater levels and the extent of seawater intrusion in the next 10 years. The result of the analysis demonstrated high levels of electrical conductivity and chloride along the coastal part of the study area. As a result of the numerical model, seawater intrusion is simulated to move about 420 m toward the land in the next 10 years under “increased pumping” scenario, while a slight change in water level and TDS concentrations was observed in “climate change” scenario. Results also revealed that a reduction in the pumping rate from Karareis wells will be necessary to protect fresh groundwater from contamination by seawater.     

A solid waste disposal site selection procedure based on groundwater vulnerability mapping

In this study, a new, GIS-based solid waste site selection tool (DUPIT) is introduced to obtain a systematic and unbiased methodology during the evaluation phases of alternative solid waste disposal areas with regards to vulnerability to groundwater pollution. The proposed tool is an index technique based on the linear combination of five different hydrogeological parameters including Depth to groundwater table, Upper layer lithology, Permeability of the unsaturated zone, Impermeable layer thickness and Topographic slope. Five different categories are developed to classify each alternative based on the suitability of the site for a solid waste disposal area. As a result, each site is ranked according to the contamination risks for groundwater resources. The proposed technique is applied to the District of Torbali near Izmir, Turkey to determine the most appropriate solid waste disposal site location. The Torbali application is implemented by using a GIS database developed for the area. Based on the results of this application, the best alternative solid waste disposal site for Torbali is selected to be located in the northern portions of the city where the groundwater table is deep, the permeability is low and the topographic slope is mild.     

Response Surface Modeling and Optimization of Microwave‐Activated Persulfate Oxidation of Olive Oil Mill Wastewater

Olive oil mill wastewater (OMW) is environmentally hazardous not only because it contains high recalcitrant and toxic compounds, but also due to its high organic load and turbidity. In this study, oxidation of OMW by microwave (MW)‐activated persulfate is investigated. Box–Behnken design is applied to investigate the effects of operating conditions on operating cost, organic matter, and color removal. Multi response optimization is performed according to minimum operating cost, maximum organic matter and color removal efficiencies. At optimum conditions (persulfate anion dose of 266 g L^?1, oxidation duration of 23.58 min, MW power of 567 W, and initial pH 2), chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal of 63.38%, color removal of 94.85%, and operating cost of 0.0633 Euro/g total organic carbon (TOC) removal are found. The biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅)/COD ratio is increased from 0.144 to 0.285. Results of Pareto analysis show individual effect of MW power is 92.81% for TOC removal, 15.52% for color removal, 68.99% for operating cost, respectively. According to the results, it is not recommended to use this process as an ultimate treatment unit due to the high amount of oxidizing agent consumed. Instead, it is recommended to be used as a pre‐ or post‐treatment step.     

Chemical Speciation of Vanadium in Coal Bottom Ash

Chemical speciation of vanadium is important to understand the true nature of this element in the environment as well as its biochemical pathways. Sample pretreatment, preparation, and chemical speciation methods were applied for vanadium in coal bottom ash here. Two‐stage microwave acid digestion was used to preparation of samples. Determination of vanadium was performed using inductively coupled plasma‐optical emission spectrometry (ICP‐OES). Speciation of vanadium was carried out using a seven‐step sequential extraction procedure of the coal bottom ash each releasing species of vanadium: Water soluble, exchangeable, carbonate, reducible, oxidizable, sulfide, and residual fractions. Total vanadium concentration in the coal bottom ash is 701 mg kg^?1 d.w. The most abundant form of vanadium in coal bottom ash is residual fraction of vanadium (196 mg kg^?1 d.w.). Relative abundances of the remaining vanadium fractions in coal bottom ash are as follows: Reducible (176 mg kg^?1 d.w.) > sulfide (176 mg kg^?1 d.w.) > carbonate (85 mg kg^?1 d.w.) > oxidizable (50 mg kg^?1 d.w.) > water soluble (10.6 mg kg^?1 d.w.) > exchangeable (9.0 mg kg^?1 d.w.).