Editorial

That the practitioners of Chemical Engineering profession have a grand agenda in the worldview of things has never been in doubt. To all those Cassandras who have been predicting doom and gloom for the Chemical Engineering fraternity, a befitting answer is provided by the report submitted earlier this year on the challenges for the chemical sciences in the 21^st Century. This report is the outcome of a study commissioned by National Research Council, USA. In a significant development from similar studies conducted earlier, the committee this time has not treated chemistry and chemical engineering as separate disciplines.

Some of the grand challenges, which the committee has identified for chemists and chemical engineers, are:

• Develop unlimited and inexpensive energy.
• Develop self-assembly as a useful approach to synthesis and manufacture of complex systems and materials.
• Design and develop self-optimising chemical systems.
• Revolutionise the design of chemical processes to make them safe, compact, flexible, energy-efficient, environmentally benign.

Many of these and other challenges require inputs from other disciplines like environmental science, material science, medicine, Information Technology and other branches of engineering. Not only are chemistry and chemical engineering getting more interdependent than ever before; they are also increasingly becoming interdisciplinary. It is in this context that role of professional bodies like IIChE assumes significance.

Continuing Education continues to be a strong focal point of IIChE, through seminars, refresher courses and lectures, many of them on cutting edge topics or interdisciplinary subjects. We hope members take advantage of them and retrain themselves to face the exciting challenges that lie ahead of us.

K.Sahasranaman

Chairman’s Message

Dr.Bimal Jalan, Governor of Reserve Bank of India, in his last state of economy sum-up, has indicated certain ‘feel good’ factors for Industry which include diversified industrial recovery, business confidence, strong revival in capital goods sector, increase in capacity utilisation, buoyant capital flows and ample liquidity. Besides he leaves the Reserve Bank of India with a Forex reserve of $85.4 Billion and expects GDP growth of over 6%. Adding to the above, BSE Sensex is at a recent high at 4400 and India Inc.’s balance Sheet is looking strong. With the above background, I now wish for a turn around of the Chemical Industry. Investment possibilities are being sounded in Hydrocarbon Sector, Fertiliser, Pharmaceuticals and Non Ferrous Minerals.

You will be happy to note that we have initiated CHEMCON 2004 activities. We have formed International Organising committee under the Chairmanship of Dr.M.M.Sharma. The Chemical Engineering Department of IIT-Bombay has been kind enough to allocate a room for us to function as the office for CHEMCON 2004. Our thanks to the Head of Department of Chemical Engineering and his colleagues.

Last but not the least I wish to mention that thanks to your support our executive committee has been able to accomplish several programmes comprising Seminars, Refresher Courses, Picnics, Factory visit etc which has contributed to increased networking among members. Our last programme takes place on 19th September followed by Annual General Meeting and Dinner. I and my colleagues in the Executive committee shall be extremely happy for your presence and active participation. At the end of the programme you will have a new Executive Committee, to whom we shall hand over the task of managing the centre in a much better fashion than we have. At the end I thank you for your support to the centre’s activities and request your active participation in the future too.

D.P.Misra

Dr.Shrinath Kalbag was born on Dassera day. He graduated from Royal Institute of Science, Bombay, and did his M.Sc.Tech from UDCT, before proceeding to University of Illinois, Chicago, for his Ph.D. He returned to work with The Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore. He then joined Hindustan Lever Research Centre, Mumbai, and worked for two decades.

Inspired by the vision of Swami Vivekananda of a strong and resurgent India, Dr.S.S.Kalbag took early retirement from his position as Head of Engineering Sciences Division, Hindustan Lever Research Centre. Along with his wife, Mira, he came to Pabal in 1983 to live and start Vigyan Ashram. Dr.Kalbag had visited Pabal and other places, but selected Pabal, because being a drought prone area, it better represented the problems of the whole of India. Dr. S S Kalbag has devoted 20 years of his life to educating the rural youngster. His education is of a different kind, eliminating the formal structure of a classroom, blackboard and books, and incorporating the wisdom of life, experience, and hands-on work. He regards science to be sacred and the inculcation of a scientific temperament to be a holy quest.

His work in rural development and developing alternative education system has been recognised by various awards; to name a few the G.D. Parakhe award, Natu Foundation Award and Jamanalal Bajaj Award. May his soul Rest In Peace.

A compendium on the Basics of Paint Technology, authored by Prof.V.C. Malshe, Professor of Paint Technology, Mumbai University Institute of Chemical Technology (UICT), and Vice-Chairman MRC and Ms. Minal Sikchi, was released at the hands of Prof. M.M. Sharma, Former Director, UICT, at a function attended by representatives of the paint industry, academia, well wishers and students.

Introducing the book to the audience, Prof. Malshe observed that the idea of writing it came from a suggestion of the former President, Indian Small Scale Paint Association Mr. G.K. Loyalka, to compile the erstwhile IS (now BIS) specifications into a single volume. Later an idea was mooted to bring out a book on specification paints using raw materials of reputed raw material suppliers.

Complimenting the authors on the effort, Prof. Sharma noted that the coatings industry has made tremendous developments over the years, supplying products to meet demanding conditions of usage in a number of industries. The book, he noted would provide a basic understanding of issues that the paint technologist grapples with on a day-to-day basis. Prof. Sharma lamented the lack of attention being paid to the vast and demanding area of pigments in the country, including the all-important titanium dioxide, in which respect India is well endowed with the main raw materials.

  The book, moderately priced at Rs. 500, is available from Sevak Publications, 306, Shri Hanuman Industrial Estate, GD Ambekar Road, Wadala, Mumbai 400 031. Tel: 022-24120743, 24131198, 24110189; E-mail: Saroja@chemicalweekly.com

The day was Sunday, 27^th July, 2003. No, I am not talking about the Keanu Reeves starrer Hollywood film of the same name. The morning dawned gray and ominous with heavy, dark clouds and a light drizzle portending a dull, wet Sunday. But, in reality, the day proved to be anything but dull. This was the morning the Mumbai Regional Centre of the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers organised a picnic for its members to the Malshej Ghat near Mumbai.

About 25 of us joined the adventure, not quite knowing what to expect. I had read about Malshej Ghat long ago, because the MTDC owns a Tourist Resort there and used to advertise its scenic beauty at one time. Lately, the advertisements stopped and my plans to visit Malshej Ghat receded into oblivion. So, when the monthly newsletter announced the event, I jumped at the opportunity. Moreover, I would be in good, like-minded company. Transport and victuals thoughtfully arranged with quiet efficiency, as always.

The picnic was organised by arrangement with a tour operator. The day started off on a bright note with Dr. Sunil Bhagwat present to welcome us with his dazzling smile when the bus picked us up at Dadar at 7.00 a.m.. The seating was very comfortable indeed, because with a 50-seater bus and only 25 people turning up, everyone had a full seat to himself/herself. After about an hour-and-half’s drive, we stopped at a Petrol pump near Bhiwandi for a delicious breakfast of hot Upma and Tea.

After a 30-minute halt, we once again hit the road to Kalyan, then on to Murbad and along the State Highway No 2 towards Junnar and Ahmednagar. Murbad is 30 Kms. from Kalyan and Malshej Ghat, which is actually a 10-Kilometre stretch of mountain road, lies another 40 Kms. beyond Murbad. For us, however, it was just a pleasant Sunday morning drive through green paddy fields and low hills, across the odd swirling river and through the occasional sleepy village. Finally, rather suddenly, the mountain range appeared amidst a bank of clouds. Looked like any other mountain range, with a few stringy waterfalls glistening high above – nothing unusual or particularly impressive. We had seen many hills like that; did it merit a travel of 140 Kms. to see another one?

As the bus moved up the winding ghats, surrounded by lush green forest, the skies opened up in torrents and some loud, splashing sounds could be heard. As we idly glanced out of the window, we glimpsed a gushing waterfall right next to the road. A few hundred feet ahead was another, and then another, each growing in size and volume. Numerous people had stopped their vehicles and were gleefully splashing about in the water. Such large, flowing waterfalls so approachable and close to the road was an unexpected sight for all of us. The water flowed down the mountain in rivulets, splashed on the neighbouring rocks in a spray of white foam, then disappeared down culverts under the road into the valley below. We longed to join the fun. Soon, the bus stopped at a convenient lay-by and we were granted two hours to go and make a fool of ourselves in the rain.

Everybody trooped out to experience the torrential rains in the lap of Mother Nature in a manner not possible in the city. Most went and sat under one of half-dozen-or-so waterfalls in the near vicinity. Visibility was down to 100 feet because of the dense clouds, which enveloped everything around us. The landscape, with deep valleys on side, acted like an inverted funnel in channelising the clouds upwards, while the mountains played hide- and-seek due to the thick cloud cover. Once in a while, the clouds moved away for a few minutes and we all gaped open-mouthed - wonderstruck by the sheer majesty of the towering cliffs. The waterfalls, which seemed distant and stringy from down below, now appeared much closer and mightier at this height.

After getting thoroughly and exhilaratingly drenched we shivered our way back to the bus, dying to get into some dry clothes and something hot to get the circulation going. Imagine our surprise to find that our resourceful tour operator had rigged up a plastic awning and was serving a piping hot five-course lunch plus salad, papad, achar, et al. Unbelievable in such surroundings with swirling clouds and rain pouring cats and dogs and elephants and alligators all around you! Three cheers to the Tour Operator!! Drinking water? No problem. Just hold out a tumbler and it filled up in seconds. We tasted nature’s purest and cleanest water that day.

After lunch, the bus moved further up the mountain and suddenly, there it was - torrents of water splashing on the road and, in some instances, even across the road. The bus was moving under a tunnel of water. We had physically reached the waterfalls which we had seen from the plains. This was truly a mind-boggling sight! None of us could have imagined walking under those distant, inaccessible waterfalls amongst remote mountaintops. Hundreds of people were dancing on the road, revelling in this glorious extravaganza of nature, leading to traffic jams on the narrow carriageway.

Finally, after a hot cup of tea, we started back down the mountain. It was a feeling of disbelief – that something so exquisitely beautiful could exist so close to Mumbai. A place where, without visiting a hill-station, one could soak in the magnificence of Mother Nature and walk in the clouds all day. Indeed, for all of us, it was a day spent on Cloud Nine!

Dr Mukherjee

MRC was awarded the ‘Best Regional Centre’ prize at CHEMCON 2002 in Hyderabad. This is the second year in a row that MRC has bagged this award.

A one-day seminar on ‘Safety, Health and Environment Management in Indian Chemical industry’ was organised on Jan 11^th 2003 at Hotel Grand Maratha Sheraton. There was an overwhelming response to the seminar with registrations coming from all over the country. It also elicited good support and sponsorships from the industry. An attractive publication containing proceedings of the seminar and lots of useful information was brought out on this occasion.

Two refresher courses were conducted during the year. The first was on ‘Project Appraisal and Management’, which was held on Aug 2^nd 2003 at IIT Bombay. This was held in collaboration with Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management, IIT-Bombay and it attracted over 100 delegates. The second course on ‘Computational Fluid Dynamics’ is scheduled for the day of the AGM.

Monthly lectures were held regularly on a variety of interesting topics. The venue of the lectures was also rotated to increase the attendance and interaction among members. Following is the list of lectures held during the year:

1) ‘IT Enabled Project Management in Chemical Process Industry’ by A.Sankholkar and his team on 24^th October 2002

2) ‘Implications of WTO for Indian Chemical Industry’ by Raghav Narsalay on 22^nd November 2002

3) ‘Computational Fluid Dynamics in Reactor Design’ by Prof. Rodney Fox on 26^th Dec. 2002

4) Dr.R.B.Roy Choudhary Memorial Lecture on ‘Shaping a World-Class Indian Multinational in E&C’ by Mr.K.Venkatramanan, President (Oprerations) and Member of Board, Larsen & Toubro on January 29^th 2003.

5) ‘Six Sigma’ by Mahendra Chauhan of GE, U.K on March 13^th 2003

6) ‘TRIZ – Theory of Inventive Problem Solving’ by Pankaj Vohra on April 25^th 2003.

7) ‘Chemical Weapons Convention’ by S.Ganeshan on May 30^th 2003

8) ‘Neem – its Potential to Serve Mankind’ by Dr.D.N.Vyas on June 20^th 2003

9) ‘Intellectual Property Rights – An Overview’ by Sanjay Kher on August 22^nd 2003.

A visit was organised to the factory of Reliance Industries at Patalganga on March 22^nd 2003. An enthusiastic group of members participated and were taken around the Polyester and LAB plants and also the township.

A picnic was organised to Malshej Ghat on 27^th July 2003 for members and their families. About 25 people participated and enjoyed themselves thoroughly. A fellowship dinner was organised on 26^th December 2002. Like last year, this year too the AGM will be followed by a fellowship and dinner.

The practice of monthly Newsletter started last year continued and 10 issues were brought out during the year. Glossy paper and a colour masthead were used to make the Newsletter more visually appealing.

The task of compiling a Members Directory was taken up this year. Despite numerous appeals the response was rather lukewarm. About 100 responses have come so far and the directory is now expected to be ready in another 2 months.

Chairman Mr.D.P.Misra made a presentation on the centre’s programmes and activities to the top management of several chemical industries at a platform provided by ICMA on 11^th September 2003. A similar presentation was made by Hon. Secretary Mr. K.Sahasranaman on July 19^th 2003 to representatives of professional bodies and faculty members of leading engineering colleges.

Mumbai Regional Centre hosted the IIChE National Council meeting at IIT-Bombay on 9^th November 2002. The council members were full of praise for the excellent arrangements and hospitality at a short notice.

MRC’s bid for hosting the next year’s CHEMCON has been accepted. Work has already started with the constitution of the Local Organising Committee. This event is being organised in collaboration with AIChE and promises to be a mega affair. IIT Bombay has allotted us a room in the Chemical Engineering Department for use as office for CHEMCON 2004.

The Student chapters organised their annual programmes - Prodigy and Chemfusion with great enthusiasm and support from industry. The students of Datta Meghe College of Engineering at Navi Mumbai have shown interest in getting a Student Chapter at their college and necessary steps for this are in progress.

Following the mandate received at the last AGM, the task of acquiring an office to house MRC’s secretariat was taken up in right earnest. Several potential properties were identified and scrutinised. However in view of the CHEMCON 2004 developments, it was felt that the temporary office space allotted by IIT Bombay would serve the immediate purpose till December 2004, following which the situation can be freshly assessed depending upon the funds availability then.

An appeal for reviving the membership was sent to 153 members whose membership had lapsed due to non-payment of dues. Seven members responded and revived their memberships switching over to ‘Life Member’ category

During the year the Executive Committee met 12 times at different venues.

The poor member turnout at the monthly programmes despite improved communication is a matter of deep concern. The growth in membership is also disappointing, with intentions and promises not realising into concrete actions.

Signed

K.Sahasranaman

Honorary Secretary

MINUTES OF THE 42^nd AGM

(Reproduced for easy reference at the AGM)

The 42^nd AGM of the Mumbai Regional Centre of IIChE was held at UICT on 28^th September at 6.00 pm. The following were discussed and agreed:

1. Chairman Mr.D.P.Misra welcomed the members present
2. Honorary Secretary Mr.K.Sahasranaman read the minutes of the 41^st AGM held on 1^st Decemeber 2001. The minutes were unanimously approved (Proposed by Mr.K.P.Mohandas Rao and Seconded by Mr.Sutaria)
3. Honorary Secretary Mr.K.Sahasranaman presented the Annual Report for 2001-02 using PowerPoint.

1. Mr.Chattopadhyay suggested that membership forms should be available on MRC’s website for downloading.
2. Mr.A.K.Saxena informed that he will take up with HQ the possibility of redesigning the membership form for on-line submission and on-line payment by credit card.
3. Mr.Sutaria suggested that since all members may not have access to computers, the practice of sending communication by post should be continued.

1. The Treasurer Prof.V.C.Malshe presented the statement of the audited accounts for the year ending 31st March 2002. Mr.A.K.Saxena observed that without CHEMCON, this year’s surplus generation is the largest ever by a regional centre. The account was unanimously adopted. (Proposed by Dr.Rastogi and Seconded by Mr.Sutaria)

• Mr.A.K.Saxena suggested that this should be considered as a temporary accommodation and we should eventually consider a building on a grand scale on par with that of the Delhi Regional Centre.
• Dr.Rastogi questioned the propriety of introducing this important motion at such a short notice and felt that more members would have been present if advance notice had been given. He also suggested that MRC should consider renting a premise or tagging along with other professional bodies.
• Dr.B.Chakravorty was of the opinion that it would be more economical to rent out an office instead of going for such a big investment.
• Mr.Narendra Shah said that recurring expenses like property tax, maintenance cost etc should also be taken into account.
• Mr.K.P.Mohandas Rao remarked that the problem of an independent office accommodation has been on MRC’s agenda far too long and felt that an active full-time secretariat is the need of the hour if we are to grow. Such a secretariat would lend permanence to the institution even though Executive Committees change every year.
• Mr.Goyal felt that it would be possible to get a bigger office in Navi Mumbai for the same amount.
• Mr.U.B.Rao felt that the office should be located in a central place and from that angle, this is an ideal proposal.
• Dr.Ganeshan said that a full-time secretariat is required to store MRC’s assets, memorabilia, records and for receiving mail.
• Dr.Badarinarayana was of the opinion that this is the best option under the present low interest regime.

7. It was unanimously decided that the present auditor M/s K.S.Jhaveri shall continue for another year (Proposed by Mr.S.S.Vengsarkar and Seconded by Mr.P.K.Saxena)
8. The election officer Mr.Viren Gohil announced the names of the 14 valid nominations received for the Executive Committee for the year 2002-03.

Mr.D.P.Misra

Dr.R.N.Trivedi

Prof.V.C.Malshe

Dr.S.Ganeshan

Mr.V.K.Srivastava

Mr.V.K.Tangri

Prof.S.P.Mahajan

Dr.S.S.Bhagwat

Prof.R.K.Malik

Dr.J.V.Kelkar

Dr.M.C.Badarinarayana

Mr.P.Kalntri

Mr.R.Kannan

Mr.K.Sahasranaman

They introduced themselves to the General Body.

9. Among other points, Dr.A.B.Pandit handed over a cheque of Rs.5000 being the contribution of M/s Evergreen Wirecloth to IIChE – MRC.
10. Chairman invited Mr.Trevor Nurse from Jacobs U.K. to share with the members his experiences on the activities and programmes of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (U.K)
11. Honorary Joint Secretary Dr.S.Ganeshan proposed the formal vote of thanks and the members adjourned for fellowship and dinner.

Signed

K.Sahasranaman

Honorary Secretary

As you are well aware by now, CHEMCON 2003 will be held at Bhubaneswar from 19^th to 22^nd December. MRC is trying to organise a programme, by which interested MRC members can travel together to Bhubaneshwar (by AC 3 Tier minimum) and stay together in a decent hotel during the duration of the conference. A one-day sight seeing programme on 23^rd at the end of the conference can also be planned. This will promote fellowship among members, and make it a more enjoyable experience. The cost will be shared equally on per person basis and there is no subsidy or concession to be expected.

This programme is being co-ordinated by our member Mr.Vijay Kulkarni, and interested members are requested to register with him by e-mail at vijay_kulkarni@vsnl.com. The last date is 30^th September. The programme is subject to being called off in case the response is poor. Please also note that this is not intended to be a Railway reservation service and those interested are expected to follow the programme in total.

Registration for CHEMCON 2003 is to be done independent of this programme, by the members themselves.

This month’s website is www.chemweb.com, claimed to be the largest on-line chemical community in the world. Maintained by the leading publisher, Elsevier Sciences it provides free access to 350 journals and 15 databases on a variety of topics. There is an on-line magazine ‘the alchemist’ providing news and views from the chemical field.

Send your feedback on this and the Newsletter in general to secretary@iichemrc.org. Of course do keep visiting www.iichemrc.org for the MRC news and www.iiche.org.in for the news from the IIChE Headquarters.

Keep watching our website for further announcements.