Alternative fuel,energy sources to be the next big thing in future

Speaking on the importance of Chemistry and how it can be a solution to all such problems,Professor J P Mittal — renowned scientist and former director of the Chemistry Group at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai — said: “The future energy lies with hydrogen,It will be the future source of energy.”

He was at the Panjab University to participate in the international conference on innovations in Chemistry for sustainable development. The year 2011 is being celebrated as the international year of Chemistry.

Mittal claimed that in the coming years,cars will run on water rather than petrol,diesel or even LPG. “BARC is carrying out experiments to produce energy at cheaper rates. Hydrogen derived from water will provide an alternative to diesel and petrol,prices of which are constantly increasing. Already,some of the private automobile companies have invested crores in these experiments. It will be a reality,if not earlier,then in the next 25-30 years,” he said.

Speaking about deriving energy for fuels from green plants and trees,Mittal said that research is going on at various centres on how the process of photosynthesis can be used to generate hydrocarbons in addition to carbohydrates already produced by plants.

“Take the rubber plant,for instance. Rubber is nothing but hydrocarbons. Similarly,soon,there will be a technique where we can produce different forms of hydrocarbons for our daily needs,” he said.

Adding to the list of innovations in Chemistry,Mittal claimed that soon,islands will serve as solar energy production centres from where energy will be supplied to consumption points. “Many companies are already working on it. This is aimed at solving the problem of limited quantity of fuel (even LPG) available. The idea of islands has come up as at present,large area of land,where solar panels have been installed,gets wasted as it stays used. Thus,solar energy will be developed at islands on the sea,which will be further supplied through pipes,” he said.

Saying that it was important to motivate the young students to opt for Chemistry in their higher education,he added: “Such is the dependence on Chemistry that we use the products developed from this subject right from the first moment we open our eyes in the morning.”

The international conference also aims to generate enthusiasm among young researchers for a constructive and creative future of Chemistry. On the first day of the conference,sessions were organised on various topics like biofuel,value-added products,molecular-designing and excitement in chemistry.