Search

Today, adsorption has become the focus of attention for the uptake of heavy metal ions, industrial dyes and pharmaceuticals. This focus is due to the regeneration of the adsorbent and the minimization of the chemical through the adsorption technique, resulting in high efficiency of adsorption and the possibility of metal recovery, flexibility and simplicity of design. In recent years, the number of studies using chemically modified textile waste as adsorbents has increased due to their high adsorption capacity and regeneration ability, thus achieving high efficiency. On the other hand, the increasing world population inevitably leads to an increase in the amount of waste left from the textile industry, together with the increase in demand for textile and ready-made clothing products. While these textile waste cause disposal problems within the framework of waste management, they also reveal the need for solutions that support sustainable development. Recently, many studies have been conducted on the preparation of activated carbons from various materials. For example, the fact that cotton textile waste is considered a good carbon source because it is rich in cellulose and other substances draws the attention of researchers in this direction. Therefore, this study aims to discuss the technological developments in this context and to reveal the deficiencies or weaknesses of these developments by examining the studies investigating the potential of textile waste in the removal of contaminants such as dyes, metals and pharmaceuticals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microplastics, especially microfibres, have been identified in aquatic sources worldwide. This study aims to determine the amount of microfibres discharged into wastewater from the washing of textile products domestically in the province of Tekirdag, Thrace Region of Turkey. Experimental studies were conducted to measure the release of these microfibres from the domestic laundry of fabrics with different fibre compositions. The wastewater collected from the washing machine outlet was passed through filters of different sizes, such as 200 µm, 100 µm, 50 µm and 5 µm. A simulation model was built to evaluate the accumulation of these microfibres between 2017 and 2030 by taking into account regional population dynamics and social behaviour patterns in the province. The literature review and questionnaire study constituted data for the model. As a result of this study, it was determined that the 200 µm (62.3%) and 5 µm (19%) filters show the highest uptake rate respectively and the weight of microfibres held in the 200 µm filter varies between 52.59% and 70.94%. It was estimated that the microfibre release resulting from the annual laundry activity in Tekirdag could reach approximately 55.9 tonnes (35.6 tonnes for >200 µm, 5 tonnes for 100-200 µm, 5.2 tonnes for 50-100 µm and 10.1 tonnes for 5-50 µm). The sensitivity analysis of the model simulation also showed that the accumulation of microfibres in Tekirdag is estimated to range between 30 and 200 tonnes for the project period. It was determined that if 200 µm filters are used in machines, approximately 53% of microfibre accumulation can be prevented without passing into the aquatic ecosystem, compared to using 5 µm filters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the dynamic change in population and municipal waste generation during the COVID-19 pandemic. A stockflow infection modelling was used to link population dynamics with disease transmission parameters (such as probability to catch COVID-19 and population interactions) to estimate municipal waste generation in the province of Tekirdag, Turkey. Three different scenarios (Scenario 1: severe conditions with possible mutation of coronavirus, Scenario 2: moderate conditions with the continuation of the current case and Scenario 3: mild conditions with intensified vaccination) were produced and simulation results were analysed. The results show that it is expected to have a peak with 230 000 people with severe symptoms in Scenario 1. It is also expected to have 1 person/week to pass away due to inadequate health infrastructure if the annual healthcare capacity improvement rate in the province remains at its current rate (1%). The results indicate that the amount of dry recyclables increases over time in the three scenarios. However, in Scenario 3, a total of 450 000 - 780 000 tonnes of dry recyclables are expected to be produced at the end of 3 years. This high amount of waste is likely to cause dynamism in the recycling activities of the province. As far as it is concerned that 750 000 - 1 000 000 tonnes of residual waste (including used masks) are expected to be produced in Scenario 3, capacity improvement for the only landfill site of the province should be made urgently or an alternative solid waste disposal facility should be put into use to meet this need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the accumulation of microfilaments in aquatic systems due to domestic laundry activities in the Thrace Region of Turkey was investigated by adopting the dynamic system modelling approach. The parameters regarding the population of the region, prevalence of washing, filtration, wastewater treatment efficiency and microfilaments discharge were linked and the relationship between them was determined mathematically. Two different scenarios based on technological improvements in fabrics and behavioural laundry changes of the society were produced to examine the microfilament accumulation in the long term with Monte Carlo Sensitivity Analysis. In the 1st scenario, microfilament accumulation was examined when advanced techniques are used in treatment efficiency and filters are located in washing machines, while in the 2nd scenario, filament shedding during washing is limited with the improvements to be made in fabric technology and frequency of washing laundry is decreased by raising awareness of local people on environmental issues. As a result, microfilament accumulation from laundry activities is estimated to reach approximately 500 tonnes by the end of 2035 in the project region. In the 1st scenario, it was seen that the microfilament accumulation varies between 25 and 450 tonnes during the project period. This value changes between 30 and 150 tonnes in the 2nd scenario. The results show that initiatives to prevent pollution at its source (such as increasing fabric technology) are more effective in reducing particles accumulated in aquatic systems in the long run compared to pollution cleaning-up efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been determined that a high percentage of medical waste could be classed as domestic waste due to the lack of segregation at hospitals. Better segregation could thus substantially decrease the amount of medical waste that is required to be treated as hazardous waste. This study aims to assess different segregation levels of domestic waste mixed with medical waste. To do so, the Stella and Vensim simulation packages were used to evaluate medical waste flows in the Thrace Region of Turkey. The most important advantage of the simulation modeling used in this study is the flexibility for adjusting parameters based on circumstances, e.g. in the case of an unforeseen event (such as the COVID-19 pandemic), the system parameters can be modified according to the situation. In this study, it is anticipated for the medical waste generation to increase from almost 2000 tons/year to 3000 tons/year in 2045 in the region, which is more than the capacity of current medical waste treatment plants. Projected waste generation flows show that it is possible to avoid 300 tons of medical waste annually by reducing the domestic content of medical waste to 50%. Precisely, for the current regional treatment capacity to be sufficient up to 2045, it will be crucial to reduce the domestic content in medical waste to 10% in the chronic care departments at regional hospitals. The importance of this further arises, as lack of meeting this need will result in an urgent requirement for installation of new units for the treatment of all the medical waste generated in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]