Rajasthan: Major aspects of ‘Green’ approach in chemical industry were discussed within the premises of Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BITS), during the three-day National Conference on Green and Sustainable Chemistry. The conference was held on February 19-21, 2010.
Experts in the conference emphasized on creating new procedures and methods for the production of chemicals, which would not affect the environment. They preferred twelve principles of green chemistry, which was outlined by Paul Anastas, the father of Green Chemistry. The twelve principles contain design of safer, biodegradable and less hazardous chemical products while employing atom economic and energy efficient processes.
During the conference, few recommendations were also suggested by the experts, such as:
Chemical products have to be framed as per the standards of Green Chemistry. The huge amount of waste and toxic materials, which is generated by the industry, can be controlled as well as health diseases can also be prevented.
There is need of avoiding chemical pollution and waste generation by using eco-friendly processes while manufacturing products in the industry.
To keep harmony with the green concept, the importance of green chemistry should be experienced at the product’s design stage.
Shortage of energy in the country should be removed without damaging the environment.
Moreover, a number of important topics were also discussed in the conference, such as catalysis, man made cellulosic fibres, green synthesis in drug development, nanotubular suprastructures etc. At the academic level, the need of including green chemistry curriculum was also felt. It was discussed that the academia and the industry should come in an efficient mechanism so that young researchers and students can face challenges in developing green chemical technologies without damaging the environment.
To encourage them, best poster awards with a certificate and cash prize were also organized in the national conference. Ms. Naisargee Parikh from NIPER (Mohali) won the first prize while Mr. Bhupendra Mishra from BITS (Pilani) bagged second prize. Mr. Sunny Manohar from University of Delhi was awarded with the third prize.
