It is the ardent
belief of IU that research alone brings
transformation in the quality of teaching on the campuses.
That aside, the need of the economy in the context of globalization
is quality human capital, that is, as A P J Abdul Kalam
said in one of his convocation addresses, being adept at
`research and enquiry', `creativity and innovation' and
ability to use high technology. For that to happen, it is
very much necessary that the universities must encourage
research as well as ensure that the research undertaken
within the four walls of their laboratories is transmitted
well across the academia. It is only then research can inspire
excellence in teaching, which in turn can trigger fresh
research by young mindsall cumulatively resulting in a "regenerative
cycle of excellence".
The
Metcalfe's law states, "When the information is networked,
the power and utility of information gets squared."
It is in pursuit of this ideology, IUP , which publishes more than 60 journals in a wide range
of disciplines, reaching out to scholars both within and
outside the country, is all elated at launching yet another
new journalThe IUP Journal of Chemistry.
Of course, launching of a journal is in itself a fulfilling
venture for a University, but its successful publication,
quarter after quarter, squarely rests on how its audiencethe
researchersuses it. Hence, we urge you all to make use of
this platform and make the "regenerative cycle of excellence"
run in full steam. With that fond hope, we now move on to
apprise you of the content of the maiden issue that is in
your hands.
Dyes
are very important for textile industry, for they add color
to fabric, enhancing the value of the end products. As an
industry, dyeing needs a great amount of energy and water.
Given the increased awareness about water pollution and
its impact on the ecosystem in general and man in particular,
the need for wastewater treatment of dyeing industry has
assumed greater importance. One of the commonly used dyes
in the textile industry is methylene blue (MB). It is known
to cause irritation to the skin and burning sensation in
the eyes, which may lead to permanent injury to eyes of
both humans and animals. If it is swallowed, it can cause
irritation in the gastrointestinal tract, resulting in nausea,
vomiting and diarrhea. If inhaled, it can cause methemoglobinemia,
cyanosis, convulsions, tachycardia, and dyspnea. Interestingly,
the first article of this issue, "Sorption Studies
of Methylene Blue on Activated Carbon Derived from Agricultural
Waste: Achyranthes aspera", by N Balasubramanian
and N Sulochana addresses this issue. It evaluates the ability
of a locally available agricultural waste product in abundanceAchyranthes
asperato remove methylene blue, the most commonly used
dye for coloring cotton, wool, etc., from aqueous solution.
The authors have used parameters such as pH, dose, kinetics
and equilibrium isotherm studies to assess the ability of
carbon extracted from A. aspera as an alternative
and low cost adsorbent. Their study revealed that the adsorption
capacity of Achyranthes aspera Carbon (AAC)
was 204.23 mg/g at an initial pH of 7.0 ± 0.1 at 32
°C. The Redlich-Peterson Isotherm model proved to be
a better predictor of equilibrium adsorption data. Similarly
the adsorption kinetics of MB on AAC found to obey pseudo-second
order sorption kinetics. The overall results point out that
AAC can be used as sorbent for the removal of methylene
blue from the wastewater coming from dyeing units.
In
the next article, "A Theoretical Approach to Increased
Ion-Exchange Capacity of Three-Component Ion-Exchange Materials",
the authors, Nafisur Rahman, Lutfullah and Syed Najmul Hejaz
Azmi, driven by the philosophy that the three-component
ion-exchangers have increased ion-exchange capacity vis-à-vis
two-component materials, synthesized Zirconium(IV) selenophosphatea
three-component inorganic ion-exchanger, and examined its
ion-exchanger capacity. Based on their studies, which prove
that the ion-exchange capacity of a three-component ion-exchanger
is high, they offer theoretical explanation for the enhancement
in the ion-exchange capacity.
To
counter the ills of man-made climate change, explorations
are being carried out to produce clean and sustainable power
using agricultural residues. The next article in the issue,
"Kinetic Behavior of Woody Biomass with Slow Heating
Rate", the authors, Jigisha Parikh, S A Channiwala
and G K Ghosal have discussed the findings of a similar
experiment carried out by them. They have investigated the
pyrolytic characteristics of four woody biomassesSawdust,
Babul, Gulmahor and Eucalyptusby pyrolyzing them in a nitrogen
atmosphere at the heating rate of 10 °C/min. up to
500 °C in a thermogravimetric analyzer. The authors
have found that all the four biomasses devolatalized at
a temperature ranging from 180 °C to 496 °C. They
have obtained around 70% of volatile yield from each feedstock.
Subjecting the data to statistical interpretation using
differential method of analysis and linear regression, the
authors have inferred the value of activation energy of
the four biomasses used in the order of: Eucalyptus>Babul>Gulmahor>Sawdust.
Based on the results, the authors opine that the findings
of the experiment can be used for designing thermochemical
conversion units using wood masses as feed stock.
In
the light of increased industrial usage of organotins, the
authors, Milan Melník, Ján Garaj, Aladár
Valent and Mária Kohútová of the review
article, "Isomers of Organotin Compounds: Mononuclear
Compounds", have discussed about the factors that can
lead to a better understanding of stereochemical interactions
within the coordination sphere of organotin derivatives.
They have also discussed distortion and ligand isomerism
in terms of the coordination about the Tin atom and correlations
between donor atoms, bond lengths and inter bond angles.
-
GRK Murty
Consulting
Editor
