Sefa Pekol

The toxic and environmental evaluation of pyrolytic liquids by Allium cepa test

In this study, liquid products obtained from the pyrolysis of hazelnut shell (HS), with and without ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), were subjected to the Allium cepa test system. Pyrolysis in conjunction with the A. cepa test is a promising technology not only from the perspective of energy savings and a source of precious material, but in terms of the removal of hazardous material from the environment in safe manner. Dosages of pyrolytic liquids dissolved in water were determined according to lethal dose (LD50), with three different solution concentrations. The preparates were dyed with acetocarmine. The mitotic index decreased and chromosomal aberration, especially stickiness and c-mitosis, increased with dosage and time. The addition of UHMWPE to HS in the pyrolysis process resulted in less harmful chemical agents, as observed by the relatively higher mitotic index and lower levels of chromosomal aberration.

The prediction of potential energy and matter production from biomass pyrolysis with artificial neural network

The potentiality determination of renewable energy resources is very important. The biomass is one of the alternative energy and material resources. There is great effort in their conversion to precious material but yet there is no generalized rule. Therefore, the prediction of the energy and material potentials of these resources has gained great importance. Also, the solution to environmental problems in real time can be found easily by predicting models. Here, the basic products of pyrolysis process, char, tar and gas were also predicted by artificial neural network modelling. The half of data obtained from real experimental process along with some content and proximate analysis were fed into artificial neural network modelling. After the training of the model with this data, the remaining half of the data were introduced into this artificial neural network model. And the model predicted the pyrolysis process products (char, tar and gaseous material). The predicted data and the real experimental data were compared. In addition, another aim of this study is to reduce the labour in identification and characterization of the pyrolysis products. For this purpose, a theoretical framework has also been sketched. The necessity of a generalized rule for generation of energy and matter production from biomass pyrolysis has been punctuated. As a result, the ANN modelling is found to be applicable in the prediction of pyrolysis process. Also, the extensive reduction in labour and saving in economy is possible.

Identification, molecular characterization and expression analysis of RPL24 genes in three Cucurbitaceae family members: cucumber, melon and watermelon

Ribosomal proteins are crucial for the proper growth and development of any organism, including plants. The ribosomal protein L24 (RPL24) is found in the large subunit of the ribosome and is responsible for the stabilization of the peptidyl transferase activity. Although RPL24 gene has been individually identified in different organisms, little is known about the genome-wide survey and expression patterns of R24 genes in Cucurbitaceae family members. We identified seven Cucurbitaceae RPL24 genes from cucumber, melon and watermelon. They were phylogenetically clustered into seven major groups. Gene structure and motif composition are relatively conserved in each group. Three-dimensional homology modelling of RPL24 proteins was performed with higher confidence level. CmRPL24-01 was isolated from melon and characterized at a molecular level. The regulation of ribosomal proteins in melon under drought stress conditions was also studied. The expression of CmRPL24-01 gene increased in melon leaf tissue at 3 h upon polyethylene glycol treatment and showed a gradual induction after 12 h. Our study provided a very useful reference for identification and functional analysis of RPL24 protein members in different plants. In addition, this research indicated a potential usage of ribosomal proteins in response to drought stress.

Ecotoxicological assessment of metalworking fluids using the Allium cepa test procedure

Metalworking fluids (MWFs), which have a long history of use in industry and are in constant and ever-increasing use in parallel with advancements in mechanisation, are emulsions prepared with water. MWFs prepared as a 1/20 (MWF: water) mixture in practice, contain a large amount of water within their structure, and may become an aquatic toxic mixture in an ecosystem. In this study, half maximal effective concentration (EC50) values for MWFs were determined using the Allium cepa test, an accepted ecotoxicological biomonitor, and test solutions were prepared (1/250, 1/500 and 1/1000). Depending on the MWF ratio at each concentration, a decrease in the mitotic index (MI), irregularities in the phase distribution and aberrations in the chromosomes were observed. When the amount of MWF in the water increased, chromosomal abnormalities such as stickiness were observed to occur; whereas abnormalities such as c-mitosis, fragments, bridges, vagrants and micronucleus increased as the amount of the MWF decreased. Over a second 24-h period, it was observed that values, in particular MI, showed a tendency to return to normal.

X-ray fluorescence spectrometry characteristics of oily waste water from steel processing and an evaluation of its impact on the environment

Metal-cutting fluids, one of the most consumed materials in the metallurgy industry, turn into oily wastewater after being used in the metalworking processes. The amount of cutting fluids used can reach up to millions of tons. And these invaluable fluids are difficult to distil and expensive, and impossible to store. Even after it is disposed and recaptured, the end product has no commercial value. In this study, the effect of this mixture was examined on the ecosystem using the Allium cepa test system in which onion root tips were treated with three different concentrations of waste-cutting fluid, based on a 24- and 48-h cell cycle. The oily wastewater exhibited a mechanism which triggered the chromosomal and nuclear abnormalities in the onion root-tip meristem and reduced the mitotic index. Common abnormalities observed in the experimental groups based on the water concentration were chromosome stickiness, c-mitosis, and micronuclei formation. In the experimental group with the lowest water concentration, budding nuclei were observed at a different level than all of the other experimental groups. The x-ray fluorescence analysis showed that the concentrations of elements, such as silicon, calcium, iron, and zinc, were higher in the oily wastewater than those in the unused cutting oil.