Atmospheric and anthropogenic deterioration of the İvriz rock monument: Ereğli-Konya,Central Anatolia,Turkey

Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment - The aim of this study is to determine the extent of deterioration of the limestone on which the İvriz rock monument is engraved. This...     

Column solid‐phase extraction of sunset yellow and spectrophotometric determination of its use in powdered beverage and confectionery products

A new and simple solid‐phase extraction method for the determination of trace levels of sunset yellow has been developed on Diaion HP 2MG column system. The adsorbed sunset yellow on the resin was eluted with 3 mL of methanol and determined by UV–Vis spectrophotometry at 484 nm. Various experimental parameters such as pH, amount of sunset yellow, flow rates of sample and eluent solutions, resin amount, sample volumes, etc. were investigated. The influences of some alkali, alkali earth and transition metals on the recoveries of sunset yellow were investigated. The recovery values for sunset yellow were higher than 95%. Preconcentration factor was found as 150. The detection limit (three sigma) of the reagent blank for sunset yellow was 5.2 μg L^?1. The relative standard deviations (RSD) of the procedure were found as 3.9%. The validation of the presented procedure was performed by the method of standard addition. The procedure was successfully applied to the determination of trace levels of sunset yellow in powdered beverage and confectionery products.     

Effects of Mn and Gd Co-substituted into ZnO on Structural and Magnetic Properties

We have worked on the structural and magnetic properties of Zn_0.99?xMn_0.01Gd _x O _δ (for x = 0.02, 0.03, and 0.04) compounds prepared by using a sol–gel method. The x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy were used to understand the structural properties of the samples. We observed that co-substitution of Mn (1 %) and Gd (2–4 %) into the ZnO does not change the hexagonal structure. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images show us that the grain size decreases with the increasing amount of the Gd into the ZnO matrix. The magnetic properties of the samples have been investigated by using magnetic hysteresis and DC susceptibility measurements. The ZMG1 sample shows a weak ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature, whereas the ZMG2 and ZMG3 samples exhibit a paramagnetic nature. Furthermore, it is also found that the magnetizations of the samples decrease with increasing Gd content in the ZnMnO system due to the enhancing interaction between Gd ³⁺ ions. We summarize that the co-substitution of Mn and Gd into the ZnO generates a room-temperature ferromagnetism, but it still needs more work to obtain strong and high coercivity magnetic loops for applications.     

Mechanochemical processing and microstructural characterization of pure Fe2B nanocrystals

The results of current investigation demonstrate that mechanochemical processing can be used to synthesize high purity Fe₂B nanocrystals by selecting well-optimized milling conditions, reaction paths and proper starting materials. Microstructure, phase analyses, specific surface area, and magnetic properties of the synthesized nanocrystals were examined by using X-ray diffraction/spectroscopy, electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption–desorption methods following Brunauer-Emmett-Teller equation and vibrating sample magnetometer techniques, respectively. Removal of MgO impurity phase by leaching the resulting powder in the acetic acid solution yielded single phase Fe₂B nanocrystals with the crystallite size and specific surface area of 12.5 nm and 29 m²/g, respectively. Magnetization results clearly indicated the ferromagnetic behavior of Fe₂B nanocrystals with saturation magnetization observed around 96.26 emu·g^?1. Electron microscope images revealed coaxial/spherical powder shape and morphology of the single-phase Fe₂B nanocrystals.     

Determination of toxic and essential elements in sunflower honey from Thrace Region,Turkey

The aim of this study was to determine the levels of copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni) and selenium (Se) in sunflower honeys obtained from Thrace Region of Turkey. Trace and toxic element determination was performed by atomic absorption spectrometry after microwave digestion. The accuracy of the method was checked by the standard reference material, NIST‐SRM 1515 Apple leaves. The maximum contents of trace and toxic elements in honey samples from Kesan (polluted area) were found as 0.46, 0.82, 1.98, 14.0, 9.86 μg kg^?1, 0.48 mg kg^?1, 137, 115 and 290 μg kg^?1 for Cu, Mn, Zn, Fe, Cd, Pb, Cr, Ni and Se, respectively.     

Dissolution Behavior of Electrodeposited Ni–W Alloys

Nickel (Ni)–Tungsten (W) alloys were electrodeposited galvanostatically (at–10 mA cm^–2) on copper substrate with 3 different W contents under the controlled hydrodynamic conditions and then the anodic dissolution behaviors of the alloys were observed by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) techniques. While the structure of the electrodeposited Ni–W alloy with low W content (15.90% W) was crystalline, that of the alloy with high W content (50.80% W) was nano-crystalline according to X-ray diffraction patterns. The increase in the W content of the electrodeposited Ni–W alloy resulted decrease at pH 3 and increase at pH 7 and 12.5 in the anodic currents of the alloy. The pH dependent dissolutions caused electrodeposited alloy surface to have W—enrichment at pH 3 and Ni—enrichment at pH 7 and 12.5. These observations indicated that the selective dissolution of Ni or W was the main mechanism in the anodic dissolution of the electrodeposited Ni–W alloys. The EQCM experiments conducted at pH 7 supported the presence of the selective dissolution mechanism that the anodic dissolution potential of W was 0.42 V lower than that of Ni in the electrodeposited Ni–W alloys.     

Effect of brewing process and sugar content on 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and related substances from Turkish coffee

The effect of brewing process on 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, 2-furylmethylketone, and 2-furoic acid levels of traditionally prepared and instant Turkish coffee samples containing different amounts of table sugar (0, 2, 4, or 8 g in 20 mL of coffee) were analyzed by high pressure liquid chromatography with diode array detector. The highest change at the levels of furfurals was observed in sample of traditional and instant Turkish coffee named T4 and S4 both of containing 8 g of sugar, respectively. The results showed that 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, 2-furylmethylketone, and 2-furoic acid concentrations in both traditionally prepared and instant Turkish coffee samples increased with increasing sugar concentration. The brewing method and sugar concentration had a significant effect on furfural contents of Turkish coffee (p < 0.05). Daily intakes of furfurals for Turkish population were calculated as 8.14–13.54 and 9.36–10.25 µg kg^?1 body weight for traditionally prepared and instant Turkish coffee samples, respectively, and daily intakes of furfurals were lower than the acceptable daily intake value of 0.5 mg kg^?1 body weight.     

An eco-friendly process: Predictive modelling of copper adsorption from aqueous solution on Spirulina platensis

The adsorption of copper ions on Spirulina platensis was studied as a function of contact time, initial metal ion concentration, and initial pH regimes. Characterization of this adsorbent was confirmed by FTIR spectrum. Modified Gompertz and Logistic models have not been previously applied for the adsorption of copper. Logistic was the best model to describe experimental kinetic data. This adsorption could be explained by the intra-particle diffusion, which was composed of more than one sorption processes. Langmuir, Freundlich, and Redlich–Peterson were fitted to equilibrium data models. According to values of error functions and correlation coefficient, the Langmuir and Redlich–Peterson models were more appropriate to describe the adsorption of copper ions on S. platensis. The monolayer maximum adsorption capacity of copper ions was determined as 67.93 mg g^?1. Results indicated that this adsorbent had a great potential for removing of copper as an eco-friendly process.     

Efficiency of an Otto engine under alternative power optimizations

The proper optimization criterion to be chosen for the optimum design of the heat engines may differ depending on their purposes and working conditions. In this study, a comparative performance analysis is carried out for a reversible Otto cycle based on three alternative performance criteria namely maximum power (mp), maximum power density (mpd) and maximum efficient power (mep). The power density criterion is defined as the power per minimum specific volume in the cycle and the efficient power criterion is defined as multiplication of the power by the efficiency of the Otto cycle. Maximizing the efficient power gives a compromise between power and efficiency. Three different objective functions are defined and maximization of these functions is carried out under different design parameters of the Otto engine. The variations of power, power density and efficient power outputs are derived and presented with respect to the thermal efficiency of the cycle for various temperature ratios. It has been found that the design parameters at mep conditions lead to more efficient engines than that at the mp condition and the mep criterion may have a significant power advantage compared with mpd criterion. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.