Browsing by Author "Degermenci, G.D."

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    Environmental effects of acid mine drainage and rehabilitation options at closed mine site: a case study
    (2024.01.01) Konanç, M.U.; Degermenci, G.D.
    rregular waste storage at closed mine sites poses severe environmental problems. This study evaluates the concentrations and effects of trace elements released into the environment by mining activity by analyzing soil, water, and sediment samples taken from a copper mining site. According to the data, acidic mine drainage was the main cause of the high concentrations of trace elements in the soil and sediments, including arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and copper (Cu). The concentrations of As, Cd, Pb, and Cu in soil and sediments were 2734-times, 1189-times, 157-times and 32 times higher, respectively, in comparison to the background values of averaged concentrations of these elements in the upper crust. Geological and statistical studies indicate that the primary constituents of these pollutants are chalcopyrite and pyrite derivatives present in the primary rock structure. Using water analysis data from 2011 to 2020, the release of essential trace element into water was investigated to monitor the environmental effects of acidic mine drainage (AMD) from the closed Kuvarshan copper mine in the Artvin region of Turkey. This study demonstrates that trace elements concentrations may change according to local and seasonal factors and highlights the importance of conducting routine environmental monitoring studies.
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    Estimation of landfill gas emissions at the solid waste disposal site of low-population regions with LandGEM and tabasaran-rettenberger mathematical models
    (2024.01.01) Özata, S.; Degermenci, G.D.
    In developing countries, solid waste most commonly ultimately ends up is landfill. Landfill sites release significant amounts of air pollutants, such as methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide. It is thus important to reduce, control, and recycle these gases. In this study, we aimed to calculate gas emissions and energy production from landfill sites serving low-population areas. Future landfill gas production was estimated using LandGEM and Tabasaran - Rettenberger models, based on population and waste volume predictions. In both models, total amount of landfill gas and CH4 produced reached their highest values in 2035. According to the LandGEM model, this will amount to 11,230 and 3,179 Mg/year, respectively, while the Tabasaran - Rettenberger model predicted 14,986 and 4,014 Mg/year, respectively. The volume of landfill gas calculated using the Tabasaran - Rettenberger model was 3.730 million m3/year for 2021, while this was 2.544 million m3/year using the LandGEM model. In 2021, 84007 Mg of waste was disposed of at the landfill site. According to data from the electricity generation plant at the site, the electrical energy generated in 2021 was 5,309 kWh. Comparing the results from these two models with actual landfill data, the Tabasaran - Rettenberger model came closest to the estimate. Therefore, the Tabasaran - Rettenberger model can be used to estimate the potential for gas production at landfill sites in cities with similar waste components.
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    Removal of Phosphate from Aqueous Solution Using Anion Exchange Resin: Equilibrium Isotherms and Kinetics
    (2023.01.01) Korkmaz, C.; Degermenci, G.D.; Degermenci, N.
    Phosphate removal before discharging wastewater into the receiving environment is important since eutrophication has become an environmental problem on a global scale. In this study, phosphate ion removal from aqueous solutions was investigated using a strong anion exchange resin, Purolite A200E. The effects of initial phosphate ion concentration, initial pH value of the solution, resin dosage, stirring speed, presence of some anions in solution, and temperature on the ion exchange process were researched. Resin dosage, stirring speed, and temperature increases were determined to increase the phosphate removal rate. The highest phosphate removal efficiency was observed in the pH interval 7-9. With initial phosphate concentration of 10 and 20 mg/L, 1.50 g/500 mL resin dosage fully removed phosphate at the end of 120 min. However, at phosphate concentrations higher than 20 mg/L, increasing phosphate concentrations caused a reduction in removal efficiency. The competitive anion with the most effect on phosphate removal was sulfate while adding bicarbonate did not affect phosphate removal. Pseudo-first-order (PFO) and pseudo-second-order (PSO) kinetic models were used to assess experimental data. Kinetic studies revealed that the ion exchange process can be explained better by the PFO kinetic model. Equilibrium isotherm data were analyzed with the Freundlich and Langmuir equations, and the Freundlich isotherm model fitted the equilibrium data better.
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    Web of Science