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www.publishpk.net edu.pkk
Monthly Publication
December 1, 2013 In this issue:
Editor’s Pick Opportunities in life
R&D Brief News New Journal Launched Cheating and Role of our Academic Institutions A Chemical Voyage from Sugarcane to Polyethylene Algae Biofuel Training & Development Upcoming Events News in Pictures
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Editorial Team Chief Editor Zahid Iftikhar Managing Editor Rozeen Shaukat Associate Editor Mujahid Ali www.irp.edu.pk mujahid@irp.edu.pk Phone: +92 42 3584 6988
Life is waiting for those who are willing and eager to change and improve themselves and who want to excel in life. It offers countless options to those who see an opportunity in every difficulty and want to make use of those opportunities. This phenomenon works if our desire to change ourselves supersedes any other desire. It is always important to remind ourselves of our larger goals in life in order to make the most out of the brief time that we have got. We should seek to improve ourselves by keeping a strict and vigilant eye on our character and behavior that is how we act and react in certain situations. To get a broader perspective about doing well, we will have to expand our horizon and look around at the life of those who struggled to achieve excellence, who thought of changing the environment around and left indelible marks on the society. We should strive to excel in all acts of doing good and more importantly, to strive to make lasting changes in our behavior. Our goal is to discover our hidden capabilities and make utmost use of them. We should consistently push ourselves to increase our level of doing good. Apparently it seems difficult to change our old habits and mental barriers because it needs a struggle against our own selves. The important thing is to get a sincere intention lodged in our hearts and to let that intention guide our behavior for a sustained change. It needs a lot of patience and wait but it is worth doing. We should remember that opportunity will never knock unless we build a door. Chief Editor Zahid Iftikhar
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Brief R&D News
Institute of Research Promotion (IRP) organized one day Technology Seminar in Quaidi-Azam University, Islamand on 21st November, 2013. Seminar inspired more than 100 scientists of QAU- Pakistan largest university to do industry driven research. IRP and Shafi RESO team met with scientists of UET, KPK, Peshawar University & University of Agriculture, Peshawar IRP is looking for scientists for steel industry for refining smoke process and controlling dust in quartz lining refractory. IRP got association of scientists in electrochemistry. Industry is requested to share technologies and potential electrochemical projects. Researchers are invited to publish in International Journal of Innovative & Applied Finance (IJIAF) and can earn high value for innovative and applied research. You are welcome to publish any innovative and applied knowledge through peer reviewing process in IJIAF. We are looking for scientists/students to recover Benzioc acid from residue of two distillation plants. A previous analysis indicates it contains 25% of benzoic acid. Sample is available in IRP office
Launching of New Journal Launched IRP has launched a new quarterly scholarly journal as Journal of BioMolecular Sciences (JBMS). The scope covers quick publication of original articles on all aspects of Life Sciences including Biology, Genetic, Botany, Bioethics, Medical, Veterinary and Agriculture Sciences. It aims to serve as a forum of life scientists and agriculture professionals. The researchers are invited to submit original papers in English (papers published elsewhere or under consideration elsewhere shall not be submitted. The journal is initiated by Dr. Jameel Khatak of Kohat University For more information visit on http://publishpk.net/index.php/jbms
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CHEATING & ROLE OF OUR ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS by Samra Tariq, MS Scholar, University of Management and Technology Cheating is one of the common or we can say major problem in our academic sector. As well as there is a lot of discussion on this topic. Our trendsetters or policymakers devise many policies to wipe it out but defective policies do not bring fruitful results. Here is need to understand the reasons rather than to make solutions because without identifying reasons, we cannot find any proper solutions. We can eliminate cheating from our system by changing traditional teaching style. Our teaching style is same in schools, colleges as well as in universities. Resource persons only come for the sake of attendance and topic completion they don't have any concern about the student's understanding. There are many reasons behind cheating like students are not clear about their subjects, lack of understanding even after completion of subject. Many students do not know about the basics of those subjects. The reason behind this terrible situation is teaching style. Most of the teachers get so much strict in order to control the students in the class, so because of this strictness many students hesitate to participate in class. Students not share their ideas and not raise queries about the topic, so with the passage of time they lose confidence. Students just spend time in class for attendance. There is dire need to create learning environment in classes and academic institutions. Teachers should come into class with the aim to deliver something new in class which they do not know before it. They should compare known knowledge with new and generate discussion in class. This thing is also helpful to eliminate cramming system which may help to gain marks but destroy the analytical skills. Secondly, our examinations pattern should be conceptual base; so the students write what they have learned during classes. These things may not eradicate roots of cheating 100%, but it will bring positive effects in our education system. A CHEMICAL VOYAGE FROM SUGARCANE TO POLYETHYLENE By Raja Wajahat Manager, SIMT Internationals Pakistan is the fourth largest producer of sugar-cane and its industry uses this production to generate sugar and almost 80% molasses is exported. Brazil, on the other hand uses all of its molasses to produce bio-ethanol which is then used as motor vehicle fuel. Recently, Brazil has preceded one more step by producing Polyethylene, the most consumed polymer, from the bio-ethanol, produced from sugar-cane. Braskem developed a process to utilize the 92.5 wt. % bioethanol to make ethylene, which is then polymerized into various grades of PE. In the sugar-cane Bioethanol treatment includes the same steps of liming, heating and decanting as it is done for the production sugar. To balance its sugars concentration the juice is evaporated after this the liquor becomes ready to be fermented. The mash is then sent to the fermentation reactors,
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and yeasts are added to it. The fermentation period ranges from 8 to 12 hours which results in producing 10% concentrated alcohols Bio-Ethanol to Polyethylene In Braskem’s process, randomly packed fixed-bed reactors are used to carry out the ethanol dehydration reaction in the vapor phase in the presence of a heterogeneous catalyst. To recover the product water and condensable polar substances from the raw ethylene produced in this step, a water quench is used. Traces of CO2 are removed by scrubbing the crude ethylene with caustic. A chemical-grade ethylene, with purity greater than 99%, is obtained by first compressing and then drying the ethylene stream from scrubber. This chemical-grade ethylene is then processed to remove heavy and light impurities to get polymer-grade ethylene. The proof of viability of this process is that, in Brazil, since 2011, an industrial unit is manufacturing ethylene and PE with a 200,000-ton/yr. bio-based-ethylene capacity. To summarize, It is a great opportunity for Industrialists of Pakistan to convert the molasses, to the most used polymer; PE, instead of exporting it. This will not only be very profitable for the industrialist but will also have a great impact on Pakistan’s economy. ALGAE BIOFUEL: AN OVERVIEW OF PRODUCTION AND POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT By Eng. Rabia Research Associate, Institute of Research Promotion Pakistan can use its 27million acre of saline lands to cultivate Algae, which is the best alternative feedstock to biofuel production. Increase in the fuel prices, pollution and growing needs making the worlds concern towards biofuel, making the world independent of the fossil fuel. Algae proves to be the best for biofuel production because other plants used in biofuel production are important food sources and require large area for biomass production. This overview involves the biofuel production from algae. Algal biofuel play vital role in the sustaining environment by CO absorption and by replacing the fossil fuel. One of the best thing about the biofuel is that biofuel is renewable. The biodiesel produced
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from algae also known as the third generation biofuel that is cheaper than the conventional fuel oils and can play a great role in decreasing the Pakistan’s total import of diesel oil. Algae are cultured in control conditions and harvested and then autotrophically synthesized. Lipid content is extracted from it and fermentation produce ethanol which along with sodium methoxide catalyze the triesterification of triacylglycerol (TAG). This triesterification result in biofuel. Certain byproducts are also produced during this process which includes bioethanol, bio methane, biobutanol, hydrogen with the main product of biodiesel. Algae is a diverse group of simple plant like organisms, growing in fresh water and sea water, and a specific group of algae are capable of producing oil more than 30 times than other crops. The role of biofuel research would be of key importance to avoid the consequences of fuel and environmental crisis in the coming future, the main problem was to make the biofuel production cost effective and more environments friendly while maintaining universal standards. Some organizations were fully engaged to achieve biofuel production targets by cultivating Jatropha and Castor Oil, etc, but some revolutionary benefits in addition to biodiesel/biofuel production could be achieved through some alternative feedstock like Algae.
As Algae needs salts, carbon dioxide and sunlight to grow and produce oil, it will intake the salts from saline lands reducing its salt concentration or eradicating salinity while ground saline water of some saline lands can be used to irrigate algae. Cultivation of algae would also be helpful for the sequestration of carbon dioxide from air and salts from our saline lands, cleaning our environment along with a package of enough carbon credits to Pakistan.
Oil yield from Algae is 10000 liters/hectare. The advantages of Algal growth are: Oil yield is higher (Bio diesel raw material). Can be grown in saline and waste water ponds. Can be used as biomass, burned to produce heat and energy. Alga culture grown material can transformed into methane. Biological hydrogen production by algae is also possible for use in fuel cells. The advantages directly related to Pakistan’s economy may be: Pollution free greener Pakistan. Employment for farmers/ labors.
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Training & Development Institute of Research Promotion is striving to ease the problems of research community. Due to lack of research trainings, researchers are unable to design their research effectively. IRP team developed an annual calendar of training activities. Researchers are invited to visit and plan research learning accordingly. See details at www.irp.edu.pk Recent coming workshops are:
Qualitative Research Methods – Dec. 16-17 in University of Lahore Managing Theses for MS and PhD – January, 2014 – online and onsite
Upcoming Events
13 Oct 2014 - 15 Oct 2014 Amsterdam ,Netherlands Bettina Falk :Expo Manager +49-6151-733924 bettina.falk@wan-ifra.org http://www.wan-ifra.org/events/world-publishing-expo-2014
ISOSS 2014: 12th International Conference on Statistical Sciences http://www.dsu.edu.pk - Feb 10, 2014 - Feb 12, 2014 - DHA Suffa University, Pakistan
Submission Deadline Notification Due Final Version Due
Dec 31, 2013 Jan 15, 2014 Jan 31, 2014
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News in Pictures Some moments at QUA of Technology Seminar
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