Energy and environmental issues relating to greenhouse gas emissions for sustainable development in Turkey

Turkey's demand for energy and electricity is increasing rapidly. Since 1990, energy consumption has increased at an annual average rate of 4.3%. As would be expected, the rapid expansion of energy production and consumption has brought with it a wide range of environmental issues at the local, regional and global levels. With respect to global environmental issues, Turkey's carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions have grown along with its energy consumption. Emissions in 2004 reached 193 million tons. States have played a leading role in protecting the environment by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs). State emissions are significant on a global scale. CO₂ and carbon monoxide (CO) are the main GHGs associated with global warming. At the present time, coal is responsible for 30–40% of the world CO₂ emissions from fossil fuels. Sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and NO_x contribute to acid rain. Carbon assessments can play an important role in a strategy to control CO₂ emissions while raising revenue.     

Energy production,consumption, policies and recent developments in Turkey

Many factors to be appropriately addressed in moving towards energy sustainability in Turkey are examined. These include harnessing sustainable energy sources, utilizing sustainable energy carriers, increasing efficiency, reducing environmental impact and improving socioeconomic acceptability. The latter factor includes community involvement and social acceptability, economic affordability and equity, lifestyles, land use and aesthetics. On the other hand, Turkey, with its young population and growing energy demand per person, its fast growing urbanization, and its economic development, has been one of the fast growing power markets of the world for the last two decades. Turkey is heavily dependent on expensive imported energy resources that place a big burden on the economy and air pollution is becoming a great environmental concern in the country. In this regard, renewable energy resources appear to be the one of the most efficient and effective solutions for clean and sustainable energy development in Turkey. Turkey's geographical location has several advantages for extensive use of most of these renewable energy sources. This article presents a review of the potential and utilization of the energy sources in Turkey.     

Poly(vinyl alcohol)/Fatty Acid Blends for Thermal Energy Storage

Abstract

This article is aimed to prepare the blends of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) with fatty acids (lauric, myristic, palmitic, and stearic acids) as shape-stabilized phase change material (PCM), to prove the miscibility of fatty acids with the PVA by microscopic investigation and infrared (IR) spectroscopy, and to measure their melting temperature and the latent heat of fusion by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis methods. In the blends, the fatty acids, which are dispersed in the solid network of the polymer, act as latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) material during its solid-liquid phase change when the polymer (PVA) has function of supporting material because of its structural strength. Therefore, the shape-stabilized fatty acids can keep the same shape in a solid shape without leakage of liquid fatty acids by aid of PVA in solid state. The maximum mixture ratio for all fatty acids in the shape-stabilized form was found as 50 wt%. By using DSC analysis method, the melting temperatures and latent heats of the shape-stabilized lauric, myristic, palmitic and stearic acids were determined as 39.8, 50.2, 56.2, and 67.4°C and 96.4, 105.3, 121.6, and 132.6 J/g, respectively. The results indicate that the PVA/fatty acids blends as shape-stabilized PCM have great potential for passive solar LHTES applications in terms of their satisfactory thermal properties and utility advantage of without encapsulation.     

Renewable energy sources for clean and sustainable energy policies in Turkey

Energy is an essential factor to achieve sustainable development. So, countries striving to this end are seeking to reassess their energy systems with a view towards planning energy programmes and strategies in line with sustainable development goals and objectives. As would be expected, the rapid expansion of energy production and consumption has brought with it a wide range of environmental issues at the local, regional and global levels. States have played a leading role in protecting the environment by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. Turkey is an energy importing country with more than half of the energy requirement being supplied by imports, and air pollution is becoming a great environmental concern in the country. On the other hand, Turkey's geographical location has several advantages for extensive use of most of the renewable energy sources. In this regard, renewable energy resources appear the most efficient and effective solutions for clean and sustainable energy development in Turkey. This paper provides an overview of global energy use and renewables for clean and sustainable energy policies in Turkey.     

Widespread detection of PER-1-type extended-spectrum beta-lactamases among nosocomial Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates in Turkey: a nationwide multicenter study

We studied the prevalence and molecular epidemiology of PER-1-type beta-lactamases among Acinetobacter, Klebsiella, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains isolated over a 3-month period in eight university hospitals from distinct regions of Turkey. A total of 72, 92, and 367 Acinetobacter, Klebsiella, and P. aeruginosa isolates were studied, respectively. The presence of blaPER was determined by the colony hybridization method and later confirmed by isoelectric focusing. We detected PER-1-type beta-lactamases in 46% (33/72) of Acinetobacter strains and in 11% (40/367) of P. aeruginosa strains but not in Klebsiella strains. PER-1-type enzyme producers were highly resistant to ceftazidime and gentamicin, intermediately resistant to amikacin, and susceptible or moderately susceptible to imipenem and meropenem. Among PER-1-type-beta-lactamase-positive isolates, five Acinetobacter isolates and six P. aeruginosa isolates from different hospitals were selected for ribosomal DNA fingerprinting with EcoRI and SalI. The EcoRI-digested DNAs were later hybridized with a digoxigenin-labelled PER-1 probe. The ribotypes and the lengths of blaPER-carrying fragments were identical in four Acinetobacter strains. A single isolate (Ac3) harbored a PER gene on a different fragment (approximately 4.2 kbp) than the others (approximately 3.4 kbp) and showed a clearly distinguishable ribotype. Ribotypes of P. aeruginosa strains obtained with EcoRI showed three patterns. Similarly, in Pseudomonas strains two different EcoRI fragments harbored blaPER (approximately 4.2 kbp in five isolates and 3.4 kbp in one isolate). PER-1-type beta-lactamases appear to be restricted to Turkey. However, their clonal diversity and high prevalence indicate a high spreading potential.     

Modification of Leather Surface with Atmospheric Pressure Plasma and Nanofinishing

In this study, the effect of plasma treatment and nanofinishing on leather properties was investigated. O₂ and N₂ gases were used for activating the leather surface, and thin layers were deposited by hexamethyldisiloxane and tetraethyloxysilane. Nanofinishing process was performed using TiO₂–SiO₂ nanocomposite solution. The surface properties of the treated leathers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The results showed that the hydrophobicity of leather was clearly improved after plasma end treatment with hexamethyldisiloxane, while treatment with tetraethyloxysilane increased its hydrophilic property. Moreover, the fastness properties and water vapor permeability of leathers were improved.     

Regional sustainable water and energy development projects: A case of Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) in Turkey

Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) region in Turkey is rich in water for irrigation and hydroelectric power. The Euphrates and Tigris Rivers represent over 28% of the nation's water supply by rivers, and the economically irrigable areas in the region make up 20% of those for the entry country. Turkey has a total gross hydropower potential of 433 GWh/yr, but only 125 GWh/yr of the total hydroelectric potential of Turkey can be economically used. By the construction of new hydropower plants, 36% of the economically usable potential of the country would be tapped. The GAP region has a 22% share of the country's total hydroelectric potential, with plans for 22 dams and 19 hydroelectric power plants. Once completed, 27 billion kWh of electricity will be generated annually.     

Alginate/BSA/montmorillonite composites with enhanced protein entrapment and controlled release efficiency

Novel pH sensitive alginate–protein–clay composite beads were investigated for the in vitro oral delivery of the model protein, bovine serum albumin (BSA). X-ray diffraction (XRD) results revealed that BSA enter between layers of montmorillonite (MMT) by expanding interlayer distance and finally an exfoliated structure forms in the alginate hydrogel. MMT incorporation increases protein entrapment efficiency to 78%, compared to 40% of conventional alginate beads. The release ratio of BSA from composite beads is 9–13% depending on MMT contents after around a 2 h stay in gastric fluid. More importantly, no BSA release is detected until 60–90 min after the first contact time of beads with gastric solution. The presence of clay in alginate beads prevents burst release in higher pH of intestine by slowing release rate of BSA to 45–55% within around 9 h, resulting in a potential matrix for intestinal release of protein drugs.     

Comparison of catalytic and noncatalytic pyrolysis and product yields of some waste biomass species

The products obtained by fast pyrolysis of biomass can be used as an energy source or chemical raw material. In this study, samples of hazelnut shells, tea bush, and hazelnut knot selected as waste biomass were from the cities of Trabzon and Rize in the Eastern Black Sea Region. Firstly, the waste biomass samples were granulated into four different particle sizes by milling and sieving operations. Fast pyrolysis of the samples with specific mixing rates was carried out in a fixed bed reactor. Additionally, 2 wt% vanadium (V) oxide (V₂O₅) was used as catalyst to maximize the yield of pyrolysis liquid products. The influence of temperature, heating rate, and particle size on fast pyrolysis yields under both catalytic and noncatalytic conditions were investigated and compared. While the amount of liquid product increased with the addition of catalyst, the amount of solid products decreased. It has been found that the temperature and heating rate parameters are very effective in liquid product yield. In all experiments, the maximum liquid yield was acquired at the same heating rate of 450°C min^?1 and the temperature of 450°C with particle size of 0.5 to 1.0 mm. The maximum pyrolysis liquid (bio‐oil) was obtained with catalytic pyrolysis, and this value was 60.58 wt%.     

An experimental optimization study on a tube-in-shell latent heat storage

Thermal energy storage (TES) using phase change materials (PCMs) has recently received considerable attention in the literature, due to its high storage capacity and isothermal behaviour during the storage (melting or charging) and removal (discharging or solidification). In this study, a novel modification on a tube-in-shell-type storage geometry is suggested. In the proposed geometry, the outer surface of the shell is inclined and it is the objective of this study to determine the optimum range for the inclination angle of the shell surface. Paraffin with a melting temperature of 58.06°C, which is supplied by the Merck Company, is used as the PCM. The PCM is stored in the vertical annular space between an inner tube through which the heat transfer fluid (HTF), hot water, is flowing and a concentrically placed outer shell. At first, the thermophysical properties of this paraffin are determined through the differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) analysis. Temporal behaviour of the PCM undergoing a non-isothermal solid–liquid phase change during its melting or charging by the HTF are determined for different values of the inlet temperature and the mass flow rate of the HTF. The new geometry is shown to respond well with the melting characteristics of the PCM and to enhance heat transfer inside the PCM for a specific range of the shell inclination angle. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.