National Commemorative Day – Revolution of ‘Industrial Chemistry’ to ‘Industrial Chemical Engineering’

National Commemorative Day (in memory of George E Davis, Founding Father of Chemical Engineering) was celebrated at MVJCE, with an event titled Revolution of ‘Industrial Chemistry’ to ‘Industrial Chemical Engineering’. It was organized by the Department of Chemical Engineering on 27.07.2022, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, at Seminar Hall 5, MVJCE. This event was attended by 80 participants (Students and Faculty from the Chemical Engineering Department, MVJCE).

About the Speaker
Dr. B. Nagappa has served as Senior Scientific Officer, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), Bangalore. He has an experience of 37 years in the field of overseas project implementation, heading air quality monitoring cell. He has one Patent in the name of Department of Science and technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, filed on 8th February, 2007. His research interests are broadly in the areas of Environmental Applications and Waste Water Treatment and Air Quality assessment. He has around 37 journal publications to his credit, and he is a life member of the Electro Chemical Society of India and Association of Analytical Scientists of India.

Welcome address by Ms. Spoorthi, 4th Semester (B.E.) Chemical Engineering) student

 

A Brief Account of the Lecture
The session started with the welcome address by Dr. Mahabaleswarappa, Principal, MVJCE. He welcomed the Guest Speaker, students and faculty members and spoke about the advancements that have taken place in the field of Chemical Engineering, and how this field is a combination of Science and Technology. He also spoke about the Industrial Revolution and its impact on the field of Education.

Welcome Address by Dr. Mahabaleshwarappa, Principal, MVJCE

 

Dr. Mahabaleswarappa presented a token of gratitude to the Chief Guest, Dr. B. Nagappa.

Dr. Mahabaleshwarappa presenting a bouquet to Dr. B. Nagappa

 

Following this, Dr. B Nagappa started his lecture talk. He first explained the importance of safe drinking water. He spoke about the various water treatment methods that were in vogue earlier, and compared these with the advanced methods that are being followed nowadays. There are different causes of water pollution like rapid urban development, improper sewage disposal, the run off of fertilizers and pesticides, chemical waste dumping, municipal solid waste dumping, open sanitation, oil spills etc. by which water is polluted and becomes unfit for drinking. So, it is important to find the best solution for the treatment of waste water. There are 7 rivers in Karnataka, out of which 4 are used to provide drinking water. And only 50% percent of people in Bangalore get to drink Kaveri water, the rest are dependent on ground water.

Speech by Dr. B. Nagappa, Former Senior Scientific Officer, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board

 

Dr. B. Nagappa next spoke about Eutrophication, its impacts on the environment and how to handle these. The importance of water sampling, how to take, preserve and analyze a sample – these are some parameters which every industry is taking care of. CDI combined with nanotechnology is a new technology which has generated a lot of interest for the treatment of water, nowadays. It is more efficient than conventional methods.

Speakers listening to the Speech given by Chief Guest, Dr. B. Nagappa

 

After the Lecture by Dr. B. Nagappa, students of 6th Semester (Akash, Aniket and Sirajuddin) took over and explained the need for Chemical Engineers. They screened a documentary related to a few Chemical companies and explained the position of these companies in the market. They also gave information related to the revenue of the companies (UPL Limited, Tata Chemicals and Pedillite Fevicol).

Presenting a documentary; about a few Chemical Companies

 

Later, a Poster Presentation session was conducted, where the students of 6th semester explained about the research which they are doing (Introduction, Methodology, Problem statement and Objectives of their project). After that, the students of 4th semester explained about the Aim and Objective of the Chemical Engineering Club (Chemi-Catalytic Club).

 

Outcome of the Event

• Students gained knowledge about the various techniques used for the treatment of waste water.
• They understood about the problems related to the quality of ground water in Karnataka and in other states. They realized how contaminated water is affecting human health.
• Students got an idea about the characteristics and what is the acceptable limit of different pollutants (like dye, metals and etc.) and permissible limit of water.
• From the documentary which was presented by the 6th semester students, the participants gathered valuable information about the top Chemical companies and how these companies are growing.
• They gained awareness about the need for Chemical Engineers and their contribution to society.
• Students also got interesting information about the various research projects which are going on in the department.

 

Event Organizer
Dr. Sakshi Batra
Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering
MVJCE