Sürdürülebilir Kalkınma Amaçları
Yayınlar
- MakaleYalnız künye2026Scopus SJRQ2Phytoremediation of elements in municipal wastewater treatment plant effluent by Lemna gibba L.: a full-scale study
Topal, Murat; Öbek, Erdal; Çelik, Erdal; Arslan Topal, E. Işıl
In this study, capacity of naturally growing Lemna gibba L. in removing elements (B, As, Al, Ca, Ba, Co, Fe, Cu, K, Cr, Li, Mo, Ni, Mn, Na, Mg, Sb, P, Si, Pb, Se, Ti, Zn, V, and Sr) from the effluent of secondary clarifier of a municipal wastewater treatment plant (MWWTP) was determined week by week (W1, W2, W3, and W4) and analyzed as a whole using statistical models. To determine the removal contribution of Lemna gibba L. to the MWWTP effluent, secondary clarifier without Lemna gibba L. was used as a control. The aim here is to determine the contribution of Lemna gibba L. to MWWTP’s removal efficiency. Trace elemental quantification was conducted via validated ICP-MS following microwave-assisted acid digestion. In this context, according to the analysis results, the removal efficiency of Lemna gibba L. for Al was highest at 89.66% over the weeks. Furthermore, treatment efficiencies above 50% were achieved for Co (57.86–60.61%), Sb (64.25–67.35%), and Ti (63.27–66.21%). Based on statistical analyses, PCA (principal component analysis)) and HCA (hierarchical cluster analysis) models explained 85% of the total variance. As a result, this study demonstrated that Lemna gibba L. removes elements from MWWTP effluent, contributing to the removal efficiency of the secondary clarifier and clearly showing its potential use in phytoremediation.
- MakaleYalnız künye2026Scopus SJRQ2Optimization of native plant selection for phytomining of strategic/critical raw materials using Artificial Bee Colony algorithm
Arslan Topal, E. Işıl; Topal, Murat; Çelik, Erdal; Öbek, Erdal
This study investigates the potential of native plant species (NPs) as secondary sources for strategic/critical raw materials (SCRMs) through phytomining, aiming to identify the most efficient accumulator for sustainable element recovery. To achieve high-precision results, the Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) algorithm, a robust meta-heuristic optimization technique inspired by the foraging behavior of honeybees, was utilized to minimize the error between experimental data and predicted models to optimize the accumulation of key elements including cobalt (Co), strontium (Sr), antimony (Sb), vanadium (V), phosphorus (P), lanthanum (La), magnesium (Mg), titanium (Ti), aluminum (Al), and scandium (Sc). The research focused on three NP species—Musk thistle (MT), curly dock (CD), and Juncus (JS)—collected from a geothermal hot spring area. Methodological validation was performed through comparative statistical analysis and the calculation of bioconcentration factor (BCF) and translocation factor (TF) to assess phytoremediation efficiency. The ABC optimization results revealed that MT exhibited the most significant accumulation capacity, particularly for Mg, reaching a peak concentration of 3,910 mg/kgdw in the leaves. The concentration range (lowest to highest value) was between 0.01 (for La) and 3,910 mg/kgdw for the studied plants. Principal component analysis (PCA) corroborated these findings, explaining cumulative variances of 80.4% (MT), 89.4% (CD), and 76.4% (JS). The innovation of this study lies in the application of the ABC algorithm to the field of phytomining, which offers a more dynamic and flexible alternative to traditional regression-based models. The primary advantage of this proposed method is its superior global search capability and ability to handle multi-elemental interactions with high predictive accuracy. However, a potential disadvantage remains the computational complexity and the requirement for fine-tuning control parameters to ensure consistent convergence. Overall, MT is identified as a highly promising candidate for the phytomining of SCRMs, with Mg emerging as the most effectively accumulated element under the optimized ABC model.
- MakaleAçık Erişim2026Scopus SJRQ1Health risk assessment of heavy metal accumulation in fruits exposed to geothermal waters: a case study and global implications
Arslan Topal, E Işıl; Topal, Murat; Çelik, Erdal; Öbek, Erdal
BACKGROUND: The present study investigated the potential health risks of heavy metals (HMs) in the fruits and leaves of mulberry and sour cherry trees exposed to water from Sivas geothermal basin (Turkey). RESULTS: The target HMs were ranked according to their hazard index as: Cd < Pb < Zn < Cu < Ni < Mn < Cr. The total hazard index for mulberry and sour cherry fruits was calculated as 7.87 and 4.57, respectively, and was determined to be well above the safe threshold value of 1.0. At the same time, the calculated cancer risk values exceeded the established maximum limit (1.0 × 10−4) for Ni (6.4 × 10−3) in mulberry fruit and for Cr (1.15 × 10−3) in sour cherry fruit. Ingestion has been identified as the primary route of exposure. The study results showed that Cr and Ni metals were ranked in the order of mulberry fruit > sour cherry fruit > mulberry leaf > sour cherry leaf, and that for mulberry and sour cherry fruit. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that edible foods exposed to geothermal waters may have adverse effects on human health. Furthermore, the study highlights the necessity of reducing water discharges from geothermal fields and implementing phytoremediation strategies to ensure food safety in geothermally active agricultural basins.
- MakaleAçık Erişim2026Scopus SJRQ2Pollution estimation and health risks assessment related to the agricultural application of mussel shell-derived chitosan as organic amendment
Arslan Topal, E. Işil; Topal, Murat; Çelik, Erdal; Öbek, Erdal
In this study, estimation of pollution and assessment of health risks related to the agricultural application of mussel shell–derived chitosan as organic amendment were evaluated. Furthermore, considering WHO maximum permissible levels in soil, the application rates of chitosan to agricultural soils were calculated. Geo-accumulation index (Igeo), enrichment factor (EF), contamination factor (CF), pollution load index (PLI), and ecological risk index (ERI) were calculated. Mussel shell-derived chitosan generally did not contribute to soil metal loading when evaluated in terms of those indices. The highest hazard quotient for ingestion (HQing) across male (ML), female (FML), and children (CL) followed the order Cr > Ni > Mn >Pb >Zn >Cu, while maximum HQing among metals was observed in the order CL > FML > ML. For inhalation exposure, highest HQinh for all metals was also found in the order CL > FML > ML, with individual metal contributions following Mn > Ni > Cr >Zn >Pb >Cu. Maximum HQder exhibited the trend ML > FML > CL, and the metal-specific order for HQder was Cr > Pb > Ni >Zn >Mn >Cu. Hazard Index (HI) and Total HI for ingestion, inhalation and dermal exposure were all less than 1. Cancer risk was less than 1 × 10−6. Consequently, there were no pollution and health risks associated with the use of musselshell‑derived chitosan in agriculture as organic amendment.
