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Studies on the production of hydrogen energy are at the forefront of reducing the dependence on fossil fuel energy. This work is a brief summary of hydrogen production systems especially in a supercritical water environment. Hydrogen production by the gasification of organic wastes in a supercritical water environment has been preferred more than other methods in recent years. In this study, the common biomass resources used for the hydrogen production have been explored, evaluating their properties. Moreover, catalysts which are used for the gasification of biomass have been presented in-details. Therefore, a review of hydrogen production system by supercritical water gasification is summarized with the remarkable features.

In developed countries, specific rules and regulations have already been implemented along with the recommendations for handling of healthcare waste. However, in Turkey, these wastes are treated in autoclave units, which mismatches with the European Union waste regulations, as alternative treatment technologies are not technically capable to treat all types of healthcare wastes. The existing malpractice could cause serious health problems if no measure is taken urgently. The authors demonstrated the existing status of Turkish waste management and revealed deficiencies, inconsistencies, and improper applications in comparison with developed and developing nations to align Turkish practice to European Union requirements.

The COVID-19 pandemic has become global public health concern and the first death due to COVID-19 in Turkey occurred on 16 March 2020. Therefore, the Turkish governments took some precautions such as curfew, travel restriction, social isolation and shut down the schools and the universities within the scope of the fight of COVID-19. These precautions may cause a decrease in mobility, which in turn expectation to decrease in traffic-related emissions. In this study, the change in the amount of PM10 and NO2 pollutants were evaluated by dividing them in two periods before and after the virus in 2016 and 2020. Traffic-induced PM10 and NO2 concentrations were monitored at 4 stations located close to road traffic in Istanbul. As a result of the study, it was observed that there was no significant difference in PM10 concentration, however NO2 concentrations decreased by 11.8 percent in the after-virus period.