Sindhu Balu_Pathways_ChemE magazine_Oct.11

A journey of thousand steps begins with a
single step
Pathways ‘12
Catalyzing creativity
Department Of Chemical Engineering
Anna University.

FROM THE EDITOR
Dear Readers,
We are proud and immensely gratified to present you our
Pathways ‘12, the souvenir edition. All through the year, you
have given us your complete support for the success of our
magazine.
On this momentous occasion, we are happy to release our
souvenir which commemorates the technical carnival,
Chemfluence ‘12!!
With every issue we have tried our best to present you our
best work to spark your mind and inspire you. And we wish
this issue is the complete compilation for you to energize your
grey cells!
I thank all my friends for their relentless work and complete
support. I extend my special thanks to my juniors for their
complete involvement and for their yearn to take Pathways to
greater heights.
I am immensely pleased to thank my college for ushering me
such a great opportunity to work for it and place my gratitude.
We thank our faculty members for their support and guidance.
We humbly believe that this Pathways will translate the poten-
tials of our students into an indelible mark of creativity.
Happy Reading!!
Sindhu Balu
Editor
Pathways

Chemfluence’12 , the national level technical symposium of Depart-
ment of Chemical Engineering, Anna University steps into the 17th
successful year with inbound pride and innovation, aiming to the
zenith to become the biggest technical arena for aspiring engineers
of the discipline.
The symposium with its agenda spread over three days from 29th
February to 2nd
March 2012 including technical events like paper
and poster presentations, simulation and modeling, workshops,
quizzes and lectures and even more, the management events like
ChemIcon, Tattoo, we are making it even more bigger and better.
I take this opportunity to thank our Vice-Chancellor, Dean, Chair-
man of Technology, Head of Department for being a constant
source of support and encouragement. I thank our staff advisors
and faculty members of Department of Chemical Engineering for
continuous guidance.
I hereby express sincere thanks to all sponsors for their support and
patronizing Chemfluence’12. I take pride in thanking the members
of Association of Technologists for their effort towards a successful
Chemfluence. I owe my thanks to my friends and juniors for their
hardwork .
Message from Secretary :
- Nallasivam J
General Secretary,
Chemfluence ‘12.

Chemical Engineering Department Profile
The Department of Chemical Engineering was established in 1944 in A.C.College of
Technology under the University of Madras. In September 1978, the department
was transferred to the newly established Anna University, a unitary type of univer-
sity.
The department, which started with an undergraduate course in Chemical Engi-
neering, presently offers undergraduate and post graduate programs in Chemical
Engineering and Petroleum Refining and Petrochemical Technology (PRPC), as well
as post graduate course in Environmental Science and Technology. The department
has well equipped undergraduate laboratories in the core areas of chemical engi-
neering to impart practical knowledge to students. Apart from undergraduate labs,
the department also has several research labs including a CFD lab and an ASPEN
Research activities in the department
were initiated as early as 1947 on several
pioneering research works in all reaches
of chemical engineering have been carried
out. Initially, research work was carried
out in the conventional areas such as ab-
sorption, liquid extraction and multiphase
flow.
Over the years, the areas of research have
moved in tandem with developments in
the chemical process industry. Currently
the department focuses on cutting-edge
areas like CFD, nanofiltration, bio-
engineering and environmental systems.
The department has also been maintain-
ing active interaction with the industry
through research and consultancy pro-
jects.
The department boasts of its illustrious alumni, many of whom are well placed and
hold positions in various commercial organizations and academic institutions both in
India and abroad. From its modest beginnings in 1944, the Department of Chemical
Engineering, A.C.College of Technology has attained a status of one of the leading
centers of Chemical Engineering education in the country with an excellent interna-
tional reputation.

Shankar P V
Suganya B
Vikram G
President: Sasikumar G
Vice President: Prasanna Venkatesh K
General Secretary: Nallasivam J
Treasurer: Abdulla A
Lady Vice President: Sindhu B
Joint Secretary: Nithya M
Joint Treasurer: Divyamahalakshmi M
Executive Members
Final Year
Amit George Mathews
Elakkiya M
Sangeetha K
Varunkumar K B
OFFICE BEARERS
Patron:
Chairman:
Staff Advisor:
Technical Advisor:
Dr. P. Kaliraj
Dean,A.C.Tech.
Dr.N.Nagendra Gandhi,
Professor and Head,
Department of Chemical Engineering.
Dr.K.Muthukumar
Dr. S. Renganathan
STUDENT OFFICE BEARERS
Third Year
Vijay Eraj K L
Hemamalini D
Madhava Prakash B
Naganya P S
Second Year
Vigneshkumar S
Swathi Priyadharshini V B
Shriram K
Narmadha R

Organizing committee
Sponsors
Dr.K.Muthukumar
SasiKumar.G,
Prasanna Venkatesh.K
Amit George Mathews
Adam,
Kabila
Narayen
Jaganathan.S
Sangeetha
Shankar
Annamalai
Arun Prasad
Vivekanand
Rajesh.R
Rajesh.K
Rajesh Kannan
Divya.R
Karthik Srinivas
Chaparala Sree Vidhya
Souvenir,Printing,Banners
Dr.G.Ravikumar
Sindhu B
Chaparala Sree Vidhya
Purnima Manghnani
Hemalatha G
Nivethika S
Prasanna Venkatesh K
Nallasivam
Chandrasekar R
Manigandan
Events
Dr.T.R.Kubendran
Dr.C.Jayakumar
Arun Prasath
Praveen
Sindhu B
Sandhya S
Sangeetha
Chandrasekar M
Gokul
Bouquet &Memento
Dr.K.Narashiman
Ms.Suganya
Ms.Santhosini Priya
Nallasivam
Praveen
Arun
Narayen
Satya
Valedictory Function
Dr.P.Gomathi Priya
Prasanna
Karthik
Sindhu B
Sangeetha K
Varun Kumar
Crowd Mangament
Dr.V.Pandiyarajan
Ms.Sivanarutselvi
Reception & Rangoli
Dr.C.Sharmeela
Praveen
Arun
Rajesh K
Chandrasekar M
Technical Sessions
Dr.Lima Rose Miranda
Arularasi
Divyamahalakshmi
Kanimozhi
Kanaga
Sathya
Sangeetha R
Sundari
Amit
Sasikumar G
Varun Kumar
Sangeetha K
Sindhu B
Inauguration
Dr.K.V.Radha
Ms.J.Jayapriya
Logistics
Dr.N.Partha
Hospitality
Dr.N.Balasubramanium
Devanand
Vivekanand
Arun Prasath
Illamvazhuthy
Arularasi
Saranya
Kanaga
Suganya
Sundari
Amit
Varun Kumar
Rajesh K
Food
Dr.S.Renganathan
Dr.V.Charles Augustin
Varun Kumar
Arun Prasath
Amit
Sasi N
Vignesh
Informals
Dr.Rajamaniccam L Sai
Sasi Kumar N
Rajesh Kannan
Raghunath
Kaliarasn

10:30AM-12:30pm Chemicon-Prelims Submit within one hour at
Registration Desk
10:30AM-12:30PM Working Model Heat & Mass Transfer Lab
11:00AM-12:30PM Math Model &Simu Session-1 Aspen Lab
1:00PM-2:00PM Break
1:30PM-3:30PM CEFA Raman Auditorium
3:00PM-5:00PM What Went Wrong? Room No: 201
5:00PM-7:00PM Informals Raman Auditorium
7:00PM Grand Dinner
Day Three (March 2)
9:00AM-10:30PM Lecture-4 Raman Auditorium
9:00AM-1:00PM Cross Word Submit by 1 at Reg Desk
9:00AM-4:00PM Chem Hunt Report by 4
10:30AM-12:30AM Paper Presentation Session-6 Conference Hall-1
10:30AM-12:30AM Paper Presentation Session-7 Room No:208
11:00AM-4:00PM Tattoo Conference Hall-2
11:00AM-12:30PM Math Model &Simu Session-2 Aspen Lab
1:00PM-2:00PM Break
2:00PM-4:30PM Chemicon-Finals Conference Hall-1
2:00PM-3:00PM CEFA – Finals
3:00PM-4:30PM Tech Quiz Raman Auditorium
5:00PM-6:00PM Valedictory Raman Auditorium
Chemfluence’12-Schedule
INTER-COLLEGE EVENTS
Day One (Feb 29)
9:00AM-9:30AM Inauguration Vivekananda Auditorium
9:45AM-11:15AM Lecture-1 Vivekananda Auditorium
11:30AM-1:00PM Lecture-2 Vivekananda Auditorium
1:00PM-2:00PM Break
2:30PM-4:00PM Paper Presentation Session-1 Raman Auditorium
2:30PM-4:00PM Paper Presentation Session-2 Conference Hall-1
2:30PM-4:00PM Paper Presentation Session-3 Conference Hall-2
2:30PM-4:00PM Poster Presentation Session-1 Fluid Mechanics Lab
4:00PM-5:30PM Informals Raman auditorium
Day Two (March 1)
9:00AM-10:30PM Lecture-3 Raman Auditorium
10:30AM-12:00AM Poster Presentation Session-2 Fluid Mechanics Lab
10:30AM-1:00PM Contraptions E G Hall
10:30AM-12:00PM CEFA-Prelims Submit before 12PM at
Registration Desk

Campus Scan ‘12
A.C.Tech!!
The fortress of Chemical Engineering!
Has stood against the odds of time in producing in-
numerous visionaries in chemical engineering for
nearly seven decades!!
As time swiftly pass, and we try to chase, the mind-
set of the student community always is on a con-
stant change.
As an initiative to record the voices of the students
and gauge their mood, a survey was conducted
among the students to let us know ourselves.
Gear up yourself to find what do your friends have in
their mind!!
I always wanted to be doctor, but in 11th
grade I
realized that wouldn’t be possible for me to do it.
I wasn’t willing to sacrifice 7-8 yrs before I could
start making money. Hence, I decided to take up
Engineering. I was hell bent on taking up biotech-
nology as my field of engineering because I
wanted Biology. However, after some time I real-
ized that it would be silly to do something spe-
cific as my bachelors course. Eventually, I de-
cided to take up Chemical so that I could so my
masters in Biotechnology. My plan hasn’t really
changed so far!
- Purnima Manghnani
Final Yr,
ChemE
I like to do my Masters in Management. I
find management is the right option to
hone my career .
Management education will provide me
with the right path to utilize my all round
skills after my degree in engineering.
ChemE + Mgmt?!! Who would refuse ?:)
- Kabila Ravindran
Final Yr,
ChemE
- Sindhu Balu
Final Yr,
ChemE

I find Private sector is the best op-
tion for me. I think its important for
each of us to decide whether private
or public sector would work out for
us. As the experiences that we ob-
tain and the nature of work is differs
in each , its better to decide before
hand and work for it.
-Preeti.D
Third Yr,
ChemE
Satisfaction is the sole product.
Once you get that you are able to
achieve that you can get all the by
products!!
Money and fame automatically fol-
lows satisfaction. And I find its too
early to yearn for Power !!;)
-Karthik Srinivas
Final Yr,
ChemE
Dream Company of our A.C.Techians!!!!

Favorite Place for our A.C.Tech Students!!

Kinetic Reaction Modeling On Hydrotreatment
(Hdt) Of Light Cycle Oil (Lco) Of Indian Refin-
ery Feedstocks
M.Aslam Abdullah*, S.Purushoth Kumar*, G.V.Akhil*
*Department of Petrochemical Technology, Anna University Tiruchirappalli, Tamilnadu, India.
Abstract: A theoretical investigation of the HDT of the dibenzothiophene (DBT) and substituted DBT in the
LCO was studied out at temperatures between 280 and 350°C. To avoid having a deal with number of pa-
rameters in the model, methodology based on structural contributions was applied. A rigorous kinetic model
was formulated to investigate the HDT of LCO in presence of CoMo/Al2O3 catalyst. DENσ and DENτ are
the denominators of the Hougen-Watson rate expressions for the HDS of DBT and methyl-substituted
DBT’s contained in the LCO. Both denominators comprise the concentration of all adsorbing species of the
diesel fuel multiplied by their adsorption equilibrium constants. Modeling based on Structural contributions
results in significant reduction of parameters from 1132 to 40 in HDT of LCO. The multiplication factor
which are products of structural contributions were obtained from Vanrysselberghe and Froment. The model
reproduces very well the total conversion of DBT, conversion of DBT into biphenyl and conversion of DBT
into cyclohexylbenzene as a function of temperature. The estimation is performed using Gauss Siedal
Method and the results in terms of conversion for DBT, biphenyl and cyclohexylbenzene obtained in the
HDT of the LCO.
ABSTRACTS
CATALYSIS, REACTION ENGINEERING, OPTIMIZATION, MODELLING & SIMULATION
Generation of Bio Electricity in A Microbial Fuel
Cell
R.Suhashini*, N.Ragul Gandhi*
*
Sree Sastha Institute of Engineering and Technology, Sastha Nagar, Chembarambakkam,Chennai.
Abstract: The microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a bioreactor used for the production of bioelectricity and the
waste treatment. The process involves a bacterial metabolism, where paneer whey is degraded with various
microorganisms without involvement of mediators in MFCs. Utilization of lactose (carbohydrate) in the
whey by microorganisms is responsible for generation of current. The results of maximum voltage and
open circuit potential, produced by various organisms were noted and it was found that Klebsiella Pneu-
monae gives a maximum voltage of 453 mV which is the best organism for the production.
Keywords: Microbial fuel cell (MFC), paneer whey, bioelectricity, lactose, Klebsiella Pneumonae.
ENERGY ENGINEERING

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
ABSTRACTS
Biosorption of Toxic Dye Materials
R.Aishwarya*, V.Ajitha*
*Department of Chemical Engineering, Sri Venkateshwara College Of Engineering, Sriperumbudur- 602105.
Abstract: Industrial Screen-Printing dyes used will polymer substrates contain reasonable amount of toxic
composition and hence require treatment before disposal. The present study aims at the moral of the fol-
lowing commercial dyes-POLYPAN blue, yellow and pink by adsorption on to the plant extract powders.
The extracts of the plants Oryza Sativa, Triticum, Aniba Rosaeodora, Tamrindus Indica are used as adsorb-
ents. The Optical Density of these dyes at their wavelengths of maximum absorption (in the visible region)
were measured before and after mixing with pre-determined quantities of the plant based adsorbents. The
plant extract adsorbents used perform better in terms of the colour removal efficiency amongst the plant
adsorbents used. Triticum adsorbent shows maximum colour removal efficiency and hence better removal
capacity. The biosorption data were fitted into the Freundlich adsorption isotherm.
Keywords: Adsorption, dyes, plant extracts.
MATERIAL SCIENCE:
Vibrational Spectroscopic and Optical Absorption
Studies on PVA Based Polymer Electrolytes
Pavithra Jayaprakash*, Suriya.S*
*Department of Chemical Engineering, SSN College of Engineering, Kalavakkam, Chennai
Abstract: The electrochemical methods of energy storage and conversion are of great interest for many
practical applications. There has been an ever increasing demand for portable batteries used in electronic
devices. This paper describes the work PVA based solid polymer electrolytes using dopants like MgSO4 at
different weight percent ratios prepared by solution – cast technique. FTIR spectroscopic studies were car-
ried out to verify the complexation of the dopants with polymer. Force constant measurement was also
carried out to ensure the interactions of polymer with salt. Optical absorption studies were carried out.
The Absorption edge as well as band gap values were evaluated. In order to ensure the ionic conduction of
these electrolyte systems, transference number measurements were also carried out. The dominant con-
ducting species were found to be ions rather than electrons. These studies will help in verification or in in-
vestigating the feasibility of these electrolyte systems in polymer batteries, fuel cells, and other electro-
chemical systems.
Keywords: solid polymer electrolytes, FTIR, absorption edge, band gap, transference number.

Experimental Herbal Mosquito Larvae Destroyer
Using Nano Technology
R.Anandprakash*, M.Palanivel Murugan*, K.Santhosh*
*
Department of Chemical Engineering, Adhiparasakthi engineering college, Melmaruvathur.
Abstract: The chemical based mosquito repellents available in the market contain some harmful chemi-
cals which are likely to cause threat to human health. Our paper is aimed at preparing a herbal remedy to
prevent the mosquito problem and also destruction of mosquito larvae at the place of their generation.
The herbal raw material to be used by us is primarily based on neem seed whose medicinal effects are
well known from ancient days. It allows for extraction and then further processes. Finally the fine product
is obtained. Further using nano technology the final product will be converted to nano size which will be
confirmed by SEM (scanning electron microscopy) analysis. The nano particles will then be formed into
nano-balls using nano-dip coating. These balls can be used for destruction of mosquito larvae at the place
of their generation. It is effective and cheaper than presently chemical based mosquito repellent.
Keywords: Neem seed, Natural product, vacuum distillation, nano technology, nano ball.
NANO TECHNOLOGY
ABSTRACTS
MISCELLANEOUS
Production of eco-friendly dyes from native
flowers
Monica.C*, Aswathy.O.B*, Krishnaveni.K.V*
*Department of Biotechnology, K. S. Rangasamy College of Technology, Tiruchengode.
Abstract: The textile industries show a significant increase in the use of synthetic complex dyes as colour-
ing material. Dyes, like other chemical substances, may be capable of producing adverse health effects to
living organisms. There is an increase of environmental contamination caused by the large amount of dyes
involved in the textile process that are discharged in the liquid effluents. Therefore, natural dyes are now
given more importance. Our work is based on the novel thought of producing eco-friendly and efficient
dyes from certain native flowers like Marigold, Hibiscus, Gomphrena, Dahlia and Oleander available in our
surroundings. It was used for dyeing of cotton fabric along with mordants like Potassium dichromate, Cop-
per Sulphate, Alum, Ferrous sulphate. The wash fastness, light fastness and abrasion fastness was
checked. The remnants after dye extraction were used as bio-fertilizer. Future work will be based on using
natural mordants for fixation, usage of these natural colorants in food. The ultimate objective is to stan-
dardize optimum conditions for textile dye and food colorant production from the floral extracts of these
native plant species
Keywords: Natural dye, Boiling, Mordant, Wash fastness, Light fastness, Abrasion fastness

Eye riveting sci fi novels to eye reverting surgeries, mind bog-
gling researches to mind reading techniques, air piercing trans-
portation to hair transplantation, macro and mega structure to
micro gravity agriculture, pleasant aesthetics to life giving pros-
thetics, staggering stock market to inevitable internet, face-
bookish love to peace trekking world these can possibly show
some essence of scientific temper on the society. Science has
obviously laid its hand with enticing fury leading to a whole new
world of contending thoughts.
Yes, Science is contagious and viral.
Who can live a world lacking science? Even that very thought is
suicidal. Science can be blamed and praised for being inceptive
to repulsive and impulsive ideas in human kinds.
World, thyself is a complex contraption; science comes in hands as the cipher key to unlock the simplest of the paths to live.
Play it simple, play it cool; only if the technology is intact with you.
Technology has modified Darwinian: "survival of the fittest" to” living the simplest".
Life is important than just survival. You top the competitive web of the society if you live your life so simple. The materialistic
approach of living mostly prevalent among people has made life way too far from simple and too selfish. For them life is not as
simple as breathing thin air at all times ; its a race for encroachment of classified property example cars which make the denser
and polluted making it tougher for others to live simply. People have often fallen for fascinations of science. While tending
to acquire them they make their life complex and competitive. Till the ambience not gets nasty the competition is healthy.
ESSENCE OF SCIENTIFIC TEMPER

This is a proven fact as we've witnessed apex of scientific developments in the early twentieth century only to end
up ultimately in a world of wars. On the constructive side the war of currents can be mentioned. That war between
actual sciences has contributed to light the whole world so far with ac and dc. Thanks to Tesla and Edison!
The essence of scientific temper lies in the hands of people-US!!
It becomes a nicely flavored aroma or a lethal toxin based only upon the society which handles science. So far so
good! It has always led to a multidimensional competitive society.
- Bharatvaj,
Third year,
ChemE
CARBOHYDRATED CARS!
Our Earth is getting older and older; and the more of mankind fills every piece of the planet, the quicker the whole
aging process becomes. Technological advancement is all part of that as well. There’s no stopping the progress of
technology. In the long run, it will benefit everything and everyone. Soon we will see automobiles that no longer
run on petroleum. There will be no more pollution. Vehicles that travel into space will be more extensively conven-
ient and easier to use on a more frequent basis. Non-emission releasing fuels such as Hydrogen will become the
future of transportation and the saving grace of the Earth.
But there is a problem to face! The obstacles, such as low-cost hydrogen production, lack of high-density hydrogen
storage leads to costly infrastructure, and safety concerns in large-scale implementation.
To address the above challenges, chemical engineers recommend the use of starch or cellulose (simply, carbohy-
drate) from biomass as a hydrogen carrier. This new solution is based on the invention of complete conversion of
glucans (starch and cellulose) and water to hydrogen and carbon dioxide as,
C6H10O5 (aq) + 7H2O (l) → 12H2 (g) + 6CO2 (g)
The production of hydrogen from carbohydrates is a nearly carbon-neutral process based on the whole carbon cy-
cle. The use of low-cost renewable carbohydrate as a high hydrogen density carrier (14.8 H2 mass %) may solve
problems such as hydrogen production, storage and distribution, as well as address safety concerns. Increasing hy-
drogen generation rate (power density) and decreasing costs are two major tasks prior to this technology's wide
implementation. Analysis based on past scientific knowledge and technical achievements suggests that carbohy-
drated vehicles could become a reality in the future!
-K.Shriram
2nd
yr, ChemE

Why does coke fizz on putting mentos in it..?
The Curious mind!!
The rate of fizz increases when we put mentos into the coke. Do you know the actual fact behind this…? Many
think it is a chemical reaction between the coke and mentos. But it is actually a physical reaction. At the time of
manufacture, CO2 is pumped at a high pressure into the coke to carbonate it. All the CO2 in the coke is squeezed
into the liquid and looking for a way out. Bubbles are formed due to the CO2 gas. Water molecules strongly at-
tracts each other linking together to form a light mesh around each bubble of CO2 in the coke. In order to form a
new bubble or even to expand a bubble which has already formed, water molecules must push away each other. It
takes extra energy to break their surface tension.
When mentos is dropped, the gelatin and gum in it breaks the sur-
face tension. This disrupts the water mesh. So that it takes less
work to expand and forms new bubbles. New bubbles are formed
on the nucleation sites on the surface of the mentos. Nucleation
sites can be scratches on the glass, the ridges of our fingers or even
specks of dust anywhere that there is high surface area in a very
small volume. There are many microscopic nooks and crannies on
the surface of the mentos that an incredible number of bubbles will
form around the mentos when it is added. Since mentos is heavy
enough to sink it react with coke all the way to the bottom. The
escaping bubble quickly turns into raging foam with high pressure.
When all this gas is released, it literally pushes all of the liquid up
and out of the bottle in an incredible soda blast. All that pressure
has got to go somewhere, and before you know it, you've got a big
geyser happening!
- M.Durgalakshmi.
M.LakshmiPriya
Second Year,
ChemE

Bus Fare! Un Fair!!
It’s been four yrs. And the most difficult part of my
college life was travelling in bus.
Why was it so??
1. I don’t have a driving license
2. I don’t have frequent direct buses from my place
3. I should have resided somewhere else other than
T. Nagar area
The buses in Chennai at the peak hours are so
crowded that it’s almost impossible to go happily
without being tormented by the public. Irrespective
of the gender, people just squeeze you when you
try getting in and out of the bus.
And the frequency of the bus which we need ut-
most is always more on the opposite side of our
stop.
Bus goers like me would have experienced every-
thing like, always mumbling for everything aunties,
couple’s romance, uncles who keep pushing you
with thei tummies, usual teases of the rouges,
school-kids carrying a huge sack like bags (pity
them), boys who think they are the tinsel town he-
roes, showing-off on the footboard, conductors
shouting for chillarai (change), girls/ladies who al-
ways stand near the entrances whatsoever hap-
pens.
Though all the above stuff sounds funny, believe
me, you will get frustrated when it’s your daily rou-
tine, especially for girls with all the harassments
that happen in the bus.
But all these nonsensical things were adjusted for the
fact that bus transport”was” economical for the mid-
dle-class people like me. And now, all this is not just
worth suffering, because of the hike in bus fare. That
was really unfair of the government. But it had no
other go, as we all know why.
But this increase in fare has led to a lot of instability
in major population of Chennai who rely on the bus
transportation. A lot of compromises on our daily life
activities are needed, to meet the ends of every
month.
Today going in car/bike has really become
cheaper than bus transportation.
Could I prove my point ?
Let me explain:
Normally there are 3 types of buses in Chennai
1. Normal fare buses-which itself is almost twice
the prior amount
2. Deluxe buses-now almost twice the normal bus
fare
3. AC buses-now almost 5 or 6 times the normal
bus fare
Naturally others may ask us to take normal buses
which are cheap, comparatively.
But the trick here is, only deluxe buses (those
which are multi-colored ) are the ones
(maximum )available. A simple calculation will
yield you the result.

So people are forced to pay a lot for every day to-and-fro journey. Imagine people like me who take 2/3 buses for
one way journey.
And that’s how our own vehicle becomes cheaper compared to public transportation and also train journey is pre-
ferred by many after the bus-fare-hike. And the train revenue has increased almost by 9% after one month of the
hike.
There is an increase in price of everything that we buy, but never the amount that we earn increases so rapidly like
all these non-materialistic-but-important-things.
I really don’t have any conclusion. May be, if you can, prefer cycling to nearby places, it at least helps in burning a
few calories.
And I escaped from this in this torment, at least in the last semester because of my friend sandhya, who lives near
my place and takes me in her car these days. Thanks to her ;)
- SRUTI SRIKANTHAN
Chemical, 8th semester
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ENGINEERING + MANAGEMENT: THE MYTH AND THE TRUTH
The idea of people pursuing an M.B.A. course after a successful engineering undergraduate programme has
always been one of the heated discussions.
Some believe that it’s like asking a professional cricketer to turn into a singer while some others say it’s more of
a batsman learning to bowl a bit so that he can improve his overall value. Whether the difference is as stark as
the former opinion or not is what I would like to unravel in this article.
Engineering and management are without doubt two beautiful walks of life but I suspect if a person can master
both. As the saying goes, it is better to be a master of one than a jack of everything. To be brutally honest, the
intermingling of engineering and management is of great prospect since any product which reaches the con-
sumer involves huge contributions of both but the limitation is that such career opportunities are scarce. Sig-
nificant shares of people who pursue a degree in both fields get placed into companies where they can apply
only one part of what they have learnt. We have to accept that we live in a world which looks for specialists in
all tasks.
There is one more aspect of this issue which often goes unnoticed. Only a few enrol into a M.B.A programme
with the intention to use management skills to build their engineering base. Especially in countries like India
where there is a huge cry for children to become engineers, this is a common sight. A child who secures decent
marks in his higher secondary examinations is immediately pushed into the engineering field.
During the course of study, he finds out that this
isn’t his cup of tea and hence grinds out four
tough years and then seeks a M.B.A. degree pri-
marily to resurrect his career. The harsh reality is
that we look at management and engineering as
two distinct entities and live in an imagination
that an engineer can’t be good at management
and vice versa.
It also goes without saying that the ultimate aim
is to establish a good career circle and getting
these two different degrees only increases the
radius of that circle, thereby enhancing your
chances. As I said at the beginning of this article,
there’s nothing wrong in a batsman learning to
bowl but never at the cost of batsmanship.
A mixture of colours looks better than a single
colour provided it is mixed in the right propor-
tion. Similarly, only a person with high intellect
in engineering and management must look to
pursue both Else I feel its better off if you
choose which suits you best and stick to it.
- Manoj Ravi,
Second yr,,
ChemE

Was BP oil spill (Deepwater Horizon) a planned one?
Incident occurred in 2010, but 2 years later everything seems suspicious about the spill and cleanup work! Let’s un-
ravel the mystery!
The Time line of the catastrophe:
February 2012: “Capitalism is the legitimate racket of
the ruling class”. The quote may be the reason for
Deepwater Horizon spill. In 2010, we witnessed the
greatest harassment of Mother Nature in the name of
“Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill”. Yes 4.9 Million barrels
of oil into sea.
On April 20, 2010 the oil rig exploded due to methane
leakage and it began to sink
On April 22, 2010 oil spill started out from the im-
mersed rig. The above stated sounds perfectly as dis-
aster, but there lot undercover.
Deepwater Horizon oil rig was owned by Transocean,
world’s largest off-shore drilling company.
It was leased to BP from 2008-13. After the oil spill, Halliburton (Oil-field Service Company) was allowed for ce-
menting and clean-up work by BP.
I hereby like to state few fishy facts which lead us to think whether BP oil spill was planned one.
Shock Purchase & Profit Jump: Just 11 days before oil spill, Halliburton purchased Boot & Coots ( An oil clean up &
Oil well control company). Why would it do in such hurry? This is 1st
suspicion I had while I was doing online-
investigation regarding the spill. Also according Jesse Ventura1
, he stated that during clean-up work, Halliburton
profit rose to 83%2
.

The Toxic Killer: Here comes the interesting part of this article.
During the cleanup of Oil Spill at Gulf of Mexico, A Toxic Chemi-
cal solvent named COREXIT was used3
. USA’s Environment Pro-
tection Agency (EPA) has warned about the toxic level to BP,
but BP did not stop using the solvent. In actual scenario Corexit
does not clean up oil, it just breaks the oil into tiny globules. So
still now oil is present in that area sea water. The contents of
COREXIT are arsenic, cyanide, lead etc, which are poisonous to
life factor. The same solvent was used in Exxon Valdez oil spill
of 1989, during that time EPA warned of toxicity in COREXIT.
Why would BP use the same for clean-up? Because COREXIT
was manufactured NALCO. The executive member of NALCO
was a board member of BP, so in-order to sustain company’s
profit, COREXIT was used.
No Safety for Billion Dollar thing: A small gas-stove has a safety measure, but for billion dollar oil rig there was no
safety controller. Sounds suspicious? Yes Deepwater Horizon Oil rig did not have safety controller named “Acoustic
Switch (AE)”. The function of AE is triggering the blowout preventer(during emergency) deep under the ocean
through acoustic pulses. This important remote trigger facility was not available in Deepwater Horizon. It is manda-
tory to install AE in oil rig in other countries. But in USA, BP successfully lobbied for Non-AE oil rig4
. So according to
my perception, BP had been planning it before.
Crisis Capitalism: So why BP & Halliburton do spill? Simple, for profit. First you create the problem and provide a
costlier solution while no one can solve it. This is called Crisis Capitalism. This was done by BP in regards Oil spill at
Gulf of Mexico. The above stated facts in article have adequate proof, but no one is taking it serious, because it in-
volves our big brother USA.
Verdict: I wrote this article solely to create awareness about environment conspiracies which involves more than 6
months of intense online research. Wall Street players deploy our Mother Earth for profit which should be con-
demned. Knowingly or Unknowingly BP & Halliburton are responsible for Deepwater Horizon spill!!But are they the
only one??
No, even we are! We depend on oil for fuel, so in-order to meet demand and profit, companies like BP play with
our Environment. Past is past, I request everyone who read this article to switch to Renewable Energy Consump-
tion. Go Green. Let this “PATHWAYS” for going green start with Chemfluence 2012.
References:
http://bit.ly/shyam-investigation3
http://reut.rs/shyam1
- Shyam Sundar.K
3rd
year MECH
MNM Jain Engineering College
Four Engineers and a Broken Car!!!! - Kavitha.T.S, First Yr, ChemE
There are four engineers travelling in a car; a mechanical engineer, a chemical engineer, an electrical engineer and
a computer engineer. The car breaks down. "Sounds to me as if the pistons have been seized. We'll have to strip
down the engine before we can get the car working again", says the mechanical engineer. "Well", says the chemical
engineer, "it sounded to me as if the fuel might be contaminated. I think we should clear out the fuel system." "I
thought it might be a grounding problem", says the electrical engineer, "or maybe a faulty plug lead." They all turn
to the computer engineer who has said nothing and say: "Well, what do you think?" "Ummm - perhaps if we all get
out of the car and get back in again?"

Ode to ChemE
Pipettes, burettes, flasks or petrol, diesel, kerosene come to
the minds of majority in the world when someone says
“Chemical engineering (ChemE) “. But one couldn’t have been
more misinformed!!
If that’s what chemical engineering was all about everyone
studying it would be extremely glad. But, ChemE is a complex
maze, an amalgam of different engineering branches whose
roots go so deep into our life that we don’t realise the impor-
tant role it plays in our daily activities.
Chemical industries prepare basic raw materials used by
other industries to prepare the technological miracles we use
today.
We couldn’t live without electricity or fuel, made possible by chemical engineers who judiciously convert earth’s
elements to different types of fuel we use today. Paper used by us, to fertilizers that help in agriculture, to soaps
and detergents used for cleansing, to cosmetics used by almost everyone, to preservatives for food, to leather
for cloths and shoes, and even explosives were/are all possible due to chemical engineering design and process
developments.
Ever wonder how KFC gets its outer brown crispy layer? Why onions make you cry? Why food spoils? Chemistry
is present in every aspect of our life and chemical engineers make innovations and advancement in technology
and sciences possible.
ChemE may seem complicated once you start it; someone may say “pumps” or “compressors” and pressure-
temperature relationship. But if you relate ChemE to what you already know, the “gibberish” might actually be-
come very exciting. For example, your heart is a pump which functions exactly the way pumps in industries do!
Relate the functions of your body to ChemE; it may not seem Greek and Latin at all! PV=nRT tells us that pressure
is proportional to temperature in most cases. Isn’t that true, say any hurdle regarding your loved ones, or your
boss blasts you, their pressure builds on you, and your temperature goes up!
You can always discover new or better methods of producing a product, or you can help improve the economy of
your country by finding out what resources they have more and how to convert them to make up for the short-
age of others. Being a chemical engineer you can go in any direction you aspire. If you are good with coding, hav-
ing basic knowledge you can code a program to do problems of ChemE or even create software like ASPEN did. If
you feel business is our thing, go for MBA, play with petroleum or other products. Who knows you may even
beat Mukesh Ambani to it! Or good with literature, write articles like I do. Do what YOU desire and manipulate
ChemE do so. It could be your best friend.
KUDOS TO CHEME!! It’s not just a field, it is OUR playground that helps us excel!
- Nivethika Sundararajan
Third Yr, ChemE

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"To develop scientific temper" is one of the fundamental duties of the Indian citizens, according to
the Constitution of India.
There is so much of confusion to the role of science itself, as we hear contrary views. Some say:
"Science is a boon that justifies our living, guarantees our
future and will save us from superstition and falsehood."
Others declare: “Science is the greatest menace yet in-
vented by man. It will destroy the human race.” Some
blame all the evils of gross and brutal materialism on sci-
ence.
They claim science is responsible for the contami-
nation of our planet by artificial increase of radiation, for
the squandering of our earth's resources, for the destruc-
tion of wild life, etc. Others worship at the shrine of sci-
ence, and firmly believe science will free us from all evils
and usher in an age of social justice, democracy and well-
being for all. But whatever these arguments may be our
sustenance in this competitive world is only because of
the seven letter word “science”. We have understood
science theoretically just a word, something virtual and
nothing more. We have achieved brilliance without wis-
dom, and power without conscience.
Do you think just repetitive theories and
age old facts are enough to survive in this competi-
tive world?? Surely not... There is a need to culti-
vate what is called the scientific temper. In fact
this would not only make us realise what real
knowledge is but also make us socially aware and
enables us to eradicate the black marks on the so-
ciety and on ourselves. The scientific temper
blends modesty and humility with self-reliance.
Scientific temper is one of the attributes
that Pandit Nehru wanted all the Indians to culti-
vate. Scientific temper describes an attitude that
involves the application of logic and reasoning, and
the avoidance of bias and preconceived notions in
arriving at decisions, and becomes particularly
valuable while deciding what is best for the com-
munity or the nation. Discussion, argument and
analysis are vital parts of scientific temper. Two
eloquent phrases characterise a group that prac-
tices scientific temper — internal pluralism and
external receptivity.
Let us consider an example. Ours is a
world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We
know more about war than we know about peace,
more about killing than we know about living. This
is a consequence of lack of scientific temper.
We need that moral perception which will
enable us to resist the temptation to misuse
power, in other words a scientific realisation.
So, coming back to Nehru’s scientific tem-
per, it should be inculcated among children, start-
ing with kids at a very young age. There are cer-
tainly small efforts here and there, by wonderful
NGOs or other organizations, but most of the ef-
forts are few and far between. With education in
India itself, most of the effort appears to be for
better colleges or research institutes or more IITs,
but the biggest hole lies in our schools. It is a white
elephant no one wants to touch. But only when
such loopholes are plugged will terms like a nation
with a scientific temper mean anything.
If there is at least one good teacher or par-
ent, with some knowledge of how the world
should've been, along with every kid, then there
wouldn't have been the need for an educational
reform and the kids would have understood by
then what they call textbooks are nothing but
trash. Scientific Temper is not in the scene of
study.
Scientific Temper- A necessity in today’s competitive world

The system focus on learning without understanding or blind faith on authority. Children definitely by
middle school should be taught the skill of thinking critically about everything. Everything from 'should I take my
raincoat to school today' to 'do I really want to be an engineer'. Understanding the situation one is in, looking at
is merits and demerits and then taking a decision is simply a form of scientific thinking and an essential life skill.
Critical thinking is not just for scientists. Everyone needs to do so. I think it is high time that the entire education
system should be restructured. The current belief among teachers is that if a topic is taught loudly, if students are
asked to take notes and rewrite them again in “class work notebooks”, memorised all equations and theory, then
a student has "learned" and he is "thorough" with the concept. All such education tests are our short term mem-
ory. Further, the main aim of education here seems to be gaining marks and gaining employment, when it ought
to be gaining knowledge. Here, education prevents you from the actual learning - the ultimate irony.
Developing scientific temper is in fact the
essence of being in this competitive world. This can
be achieved only if there is a huge reform in the edu-
cational system or each and every individual under-
goes a self realisation. The latter may sound practi-
cally impossible, given the present scenario and poli-
ticians deciding what should be included in the
school syllabus, the former seems to be never possi-
ble.
Our age is essentially an age of transition
where all things are changing, and changing so rap-
idly that many feel somewhat lost. There is much of
bewilderment, a feeling of insecurity, and a sense of
fear and anxiety, and this results in a kind of restless-
ness. This need not be so if we understand what it is
all about, and if we retain a true sense of direction.
Old forms must die to make room for better ones.
Progress means change and we all need greater
flexibility of mind and preparedness to face all
changes, while retaining our faith in that which do
not change. Adaptability is essential to meet the
challenge of our era, the era of science and technol-
ogy, with both wisdom and courage.
Perhaps nothing crystallizes the feel for scientific temper among Indians better than a poem from
Tagore's Geetanjali:
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way,
into the dreary desert sand of dead habit,
where the mind is led forward by thee into
ever widening thought and action,
into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake.
- Narmadha.R
Second Yr,
ChemE

Chemical Engineering
Batch 2008-12

Petroleum Refining and Petro Chemicals
Batch 2008-12

TO WRITE OR NOT TO WRITE
Here we are, in the pre final year of our bachelors’ education in engi-
neering. It is that time of our lives when we have to write letters of ap-
plications and statements of purpose to various educational institutions
and corporate organisations, requesting them to give us projects and
internships. How many of us really know what we are doing?
At this point of time, all we have is a general idea about chemical engi-
neering-not enough to decide what exactly we wish to do after our
chemical engineering. So where do we actually apply for an internship?
What kind of projects do we take up? Now comes the time for some
serious contemplation and introspection. We come up with a list of our
favourite subjects; purely based on the grades we’ve scored in those
subjects, and a set of reasons as to why we like those subjects. We put
all of it together, along with a few sweet lines about the place we are
applying to, in a mellifluous paragraph which we’d all like to call an SOP.
Not to mention all the googling that takes place in the process of writ-
ing an SOP.
The end result is an essay which apparently spells out all that we are and all that we wish to be at any particular
place which will be quoted as one of the best places in the whole world. How useful is that? Does the statement of
purpose really serve its purpose or is it just something which we have to do so that we can apparently go places? I
may be wrong.
But well, this is just one of those weird thoughts that run across the mind of any regular third year student, whose
solutions we hope to find by the end of another year.
- Sai Prashanthi Ramesh
Third yr, ChemE
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sustained growth.

If you can keep your head when all about
you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt
you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!
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We are in the midst of the GOOGLE world. Everything has become as simple as possible to learn. But are we going
into the correct lane???
The logical conclusion of our relationship to computers: expectantly to type “what is the meaning of my life” into
Google.
You can do this, of course. Type “what is th” and faster than you can find the e Google is sending choices back at
you: what is the cloud? What is the mean? What is the American dream? What is the illuminati? Google is trying
to read your mind. Only it’s not your mind. It’s the World Brain.
Google is where we go for answers. People used to go elsewhere or, more likely, stagger along not knowing.
Nowadays you can’t have a long dinner-table argument about who won the Oscar for that Neil Simon movie
where she plays an actress who doesn’t win an Oscar; at any moment someone will pull out a pocket device and
Google it. “A hamadryad is a wood-nymph, also a poisonous snake in India, and an Abyssinian baboon,” says the
narrator of John Banville’s 2009 novel, The Infinities. “It takes a god to know a thing like that.” Not anymore.
Most of the time, Google does not actually have the answers. When peo-
ple say, “I looked it up on Google,” they are committing a solecism. It is
seldom right to say that anything is true “according to Google.” Google is
the oracle of redirection. Go there for “hamadryad,” and it points you to
Wikipedia or the Free Online Dictionary or the Official Hamadryad Web
Site (it’s a rock band, too, wouldn’t you know). Google defines its mission
as “to organize the world’s information,” not to possess it or accumulate
it.
In 2004, Google was still a private company, five years old, already worth
$25 billion, and handling about 85 percent of Internet searches. Its single
greatest innovation was the algorithm called PageRank, developed by
Page and Brin when they were Stanford graduate students running their
research project from a computer in a dorm room.
The problem was that most Internet searches produced useless lists of low-quality results. The solution was a sim-
ple idea: to harvest the implicit knowledge already embodied in the architecture of the World Wide Web, organi-
cally evolving.
The essence of the Web is the linking of individual “pages” on websites, one to another. Every link represents a rec-
ommendation—a vote of interest, if not quality. So the algorithm assigns every page a rank, depending on how
many other pages link to it. Furthermore, all links are not valued equally. A recommendation is worth more when it
comes from a page that has a high rank itself. The math isn’t trivial—PageRank is a probability distribution, and the
calculation is recursive, each page’s rank depending on the ranks of pages that depend and so on. Page and Brin
patented PageRank and published the details even before starting the company they called Google.

As they saw it from the first, their mission encompassed not just the Internet but all the world’s books and
images, too. When Google created a free e-mail service—Gmail—its competitors were Microsoft, which
offered users two megabytes of storage of their past and current e-mail, and Yahoo, which offered four
megabytes. Google could have trumped that with six or eight; instead it provided 1,000—a gigabyte. It
doubled that a year later and promised “to keep giving people more space forever.”
They have been relentless in driving computer science forward.
Google Translate has achieved more in machine translation than
the rest of the world’s artificial intelligence experts combined.
Google’s new mind-reading type-ahead feature, Google Instant,
has “to date” (boasts the 2010 annual report) “saved our users
over 100 billion keystrokes and counting.” (If you are seeking
information about the Gobi Desert, for example, you receive re-
sults well before you type the word “desert.”)
It is just so embarrassing to admit that even to write this one, I
had to Google.
So, I think we are not off the point like when we Google. This is
just to say, when using Search Engines we should be cautious not
to let the thread what we are searching for. And also the results
we find when using Search Engine are not 100% authenticated.
- Hemalatha.J
Third Yr,
ChemE
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Peer Pressure!!!
So what do you think of peer pressure??
Peer pressure is the phenomenon wherein we tend to get
influenced by the lifestyles and the ways of thinking of our
peers. Peer pressure can prove beneficial, but it is most
often observed to have negative effects on society.
The term peer pressure is most commonly used when re-
ferring to teenage children doing things that they would
not normally do and it is often viewed as a negative influ-
ence.
The thoughts, behaviour and tastes of fashion, music, tele-
vision and other walks of life of the masses are often seen
to have a deep impact on the living of the society. We tend
to get influenced by the lifestyles of our peer group. The
changing ways of life of our peers often force us to change
our ways of looking at life and leading it. It's a human ten-
dency to do what the crowd does. Peer pressure is bound
to affect most of us, both, positively and negatively.
Do you really want to do it?
When you do not like a particular idea or when you have no inclination towards a particular field, it is obvious that
you won't like to go by it. In such cases, there are chances that you won't do well in those things. Things you do not
enjoy doing cannot fetch you success. So, it is important that you do not lose happiness of life by succumbing to
peer pressure. Peer pressure can lead to a loss of individuality. Extreme peer pressure may lead you to follow what
your peers feel right.
Is it always bad?
Peer pressure is not always bad. It can help you analyze yourself and contemplate on your ways of life. Exposure to
peer pressure gives you an opportunity to think about their tastes and their outlooks towards life. Peers can play a
vital role in the shaping of your personality. Peer pressure can lead you to make the right choices in life. It gives you
a chance to choose the best from what the masses do.
A coin has two sides. So does peer pressure. The side to choose is always up to you!
K.Priyanga,
Second year,
ChemE.

OUR CHEMICAL PLANT – OUR BODY!!
“The human body is not a thing or a substance, given, but a continuous creation. The hu-
man body is an energy system”-Norman. O. Brown
Chemical Engineering is the branch of engineering in which the
raw materials are converted into valuable and useful products.
The conversion process involves various unit processes and unit
operations.
When we think about the chemical industries what are the
things that comes to in our mind??? Of course the reactors ei-
ther batch or continuous, the pumps, the valves, the heat ex-
changers, the crushers, the grinders, the driers, the evaporators
and so on... Does human body is concerned with those unit proc-
esses and unit operations used in chemical engineering? Obvi-
ously, Yes.
The human body is built up with certain unit operators perform-
ing the conversion process of the nutrients into energy. The hu-
man body successfully satisfies the material balance
“Input=Output + Accumulation”
Also in comparison of human body with chemical engineering we can suggest that our mouth is a crusher which
crushes the food we take and let it down through the food pipe. Then what about the reactor? Yes reactor is our
stomach in which the process of digestion takes place in the presence of a chemical called hydro chloric acid. Talk-
ing about blood circulation, the Heart is the pump which pumps the blood and the control valves are the heart
valves which allow the blood to flow through the pipes i.e. through the veins. This clearly indicates the impact of
fluid mechanics in human body.
Heat and mass transfer are the main aspects of chemical engineering which is the part of action of the human
body. Finally our body is a chemical plant and we are the chemical engineers. It is our responsibility to maintain and
run our own chemical plant for achieving high efficiency. Be the best entrepreneur.
- N. Little Nishani,
Third year,
ChemE.

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- Harish.P ,
First year,
ChemE

LIFE AFTER 20 YEARS…
The Environment in a 20 Years:
I actually think that the environment would be in a far better place than it is right now. I know it is hard to be opti-
mistic about the environment, seeing how the developed and developing countries are at loggerheads on issues of
climate change and how to tackle it. The UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen is case in point. However,
20 years in the future, I see countries utilizing clean energy (wind energy, solar energy, nuclear energy, perhaps a
new, clean, as-of-now unknown energy source) -- as opposed to fossil fuels. The reason for my optimism is
that there is just no option before humans other than to switch to cleaner energy sources!! Unlike the naysayers, I
believe climate change is a FACT, and sooner or later, the naysayers would come around to this view, especially
when they see undeniable proof of climate change in terms of very demonstrable, undeniable, drastically changed
weather patterns.
A hundred years into the future, therefore, I see vast
expanses of land (all over the world), where wind farm-
ing projects have come up providing sustainable renew-
able energy. I see the vast majority of cars running on
water (yes - water indeed), causing no harm at all to the
environment. I believe the technology for this doesn't
exist as of yet, although I've seen claims of cars running
on water. The technology though, I believe, can be de-
veloped in the future. I see that the thing called
"plastics" is extinct - people are using biodegradable ma-
terials instead thereby saving the Earth of the vast quan-
tities of debris that just doesn't go away, whether in our
oceans or on our land. I see that there is no such thing as
"paper" anymore - people therefore don't cut trees any-
more. Not even for building houses - composite, un-
heard-as-of-yet materials have replaced wood.
I see that air travel 20 years in the future is not via the same fuel-guzzling airplanes we have today. They have given
way to alternate-fuelled airplanes, primarily powered by hydrogen-based fuel technology. I see that houses in the
future have discarded the conventional heating systems employed by us now. Instead, passive houses have be-
come the standard, which rely on the houses' own generated heat to heat the house, thereby being more environ-
mentally friendly and being energy efficient.
Human Society in a 20 Years:
Things are not quite rosy here. I see that countries still exist (good thing I guess). Borders are still guarded zealously
and fought for - via wars when required and when not required in equal measure. I see nations squabbling over
water - that preciously scarce resource of the future. I see that terrorists still abound - the Osama Bin Laden types
still roam the Earth terrorizing countries and peoples with newer weapons and newer methods of instilling terror. I
see that the United States is no longer the sole superpower of the world -- the most powerful country on Earth. I
see the most powerful countries dominating the world as being China, India, Brazil and Russia in that order. I see
that China and India have become the equivalent of the US and the erstwhile Soviet Union - fighting another Cold
War between them and competing for resources and influence around the world.Stil there's a long way to go,and
new hurdles to be dealt with.
- Pallav Kumar, Second Yr,

Madras Cements Ltd is the flagship company of the
Ramco Group, a well-known business group of South
India. It is headquartered at Chennai. The main prod-
uct of the company is Portland cement, manufac-
tured in five state-of-the art production facilities
spread over South India, with a current total produc-
tion capacity of 13.0 MTPA. The company is the fifth
largest cement producer in the country. Ramco is the
most popular cement brand in South India. The com-
pany also produces Ready Mix Concrete and Dry Mor-
tar products, and operates one of the largest wind
farms in the country.

Call ME Fussy...
One thing I probably hate the most is bad quality
chocolate. What gives the bad
chocolate away is the “crystally” unsmooth finish of
the chocolate. Everyone who has
tasted the cake that we actually buy for the cake
fight will know what I am talking about.
I felt compelled to find out why these “crystally”
chocolates are well, unbearable.
Whatis the process or operation that these people
are compromising on??
The conche was invented by none other than
Rodolphe Lindt in Berne, Switzerland.
All the suckers for chocolate will know who he is.
Like all other major discoveries, the conching op-
eration was an accidental one.
It’s said that Rodolphe once left the mixer containing chocolate running overnight by mistake. Next day, he ob-
viously fussed over the fact that so much power went waste till he found the chocolate un-gritty like before. Till
this major breakthrough occurred, chocolate was consumed mainly as a drink.
To get to the technical side of the operation, conching is responsible for grinding the cocoa and sugar particles
to the size that the tongue is unable to detect. The goal is somewhere around 20-30 microns since our tongue
loses the ability to determine texture and grittiness at around 50 microns. Hence, we get that smooth texture.
The conversion of the solid powdery chocolate to a liquid occurs using frictional heat from maybe metal balls
(attrition) or a surface scraping mechanism. Apart from the phase conversion, there is continuous agitation in
order to release volatiles and for oxidation
At this point, I remember something that Dr. Azhagar had told us in our first year of Chemical Engineering.
He said, “We all are chemists, everyday! I take two tumblers and keep transferring my coffee from one to
another to get all that froth. I pour it from a higher point every time to convert the caffeine to caffeine oxide
and believe it or not, it does make my coffee tastier.”
It’s very similar. The agitation enhances the flavor of the
chocolate. The cocoa solids and the cocoa butter are ob-
tained as the chocolate liquor after the cocoa beans are
subjected to operations like grinding and liquefaction.
The conching mixes the cocoa solids with the butter once
again and the process goes on till the smoothness desired
is obtained. For high quality chocolate, conching is carried
out for 72 hours and poor quality ones, for about 5-6
hours. The temperature of the operation also plays an
important role, higher temperature will promote the
phase conversion and hence the processing
time will be reduced.
T he process may be batch or continuous. What is inter-
esting to note is that food
scientists are STILL trying to figure out what exactly hap-
pens (chemically) during this process!!!
Purnima Manghnani
Final Yr, ChemE

How will your digestion be when you are in space ?
Have you ever wondered what happens when you drink a glass of water in outer space? Here I mean what hap-
pens to the astronauts. Well it is the challenge to the digestive system. The digestive system is amazing: it takes the
foods we eat and breaks them into smaller components that our bodies can use for energy, cell repair and growth.
But how amazing it is with zero-G??
Actually speaking there is gravity everywhere. It is true that gravity de-
creases with distance, so it is possible to be far away from a planet or
star and feel less gravity. But that doesn't account for the weightless
feeling that astronauts experience in space. The reason that astronauts
feel weightless actually has to do with their position compared to their
spaceship. We feel weight on Earth because gravity is pulling us down,
while the floor or ground stop us from falling. We are pressed against it.
Any ship in orbit around the Earth is falling slowly to Earth. Since the ship
and the astronauts are falling at the same speed, the astronauts don't
press against anything, so they feel weightless. Since everything is falling
together it looks like they are floating. To be more clear,F=mg the ship
falls at a faster rate (higher mass) and u seem to float when u are actu-
ally falling. So, the problem is, if everything is falling together, how can
food 'fall' through the digestive system?

The simple answer is that it dosen't! It dosen't in space and it dosen't on earth either. The food in your mouth is
pushed to the stomach by muscles in the lining of the tube between mouth and your stomach. Then, in your stom-
ach the digested food is pushed again into your intestines. While in the intestines it is pushed all the way to the,
well, to the end.
As a simple experiment, try drinking water while standing on your head. You will be amazed that you can indeed
swallow the water. You could even eat a full meal on your head and you would have no problem getting your food
where it belongs. You might want to get on your feet, though, before it all gets to. . . . the end!
- S. Lavanya.
Final Yr,
ChemE

THE BORYON SHOWDOWN
It was a chilly day outside the deserted Boryon Nuclear Plant, Kazan.The roads leading to this ancient relic has been
shut off for quite a while.Not that there remained an aura of peace ,which was forcefully instilled due to an unfor-
tunate tragedy.The scientists and other technical staff seemed to be in a jinx after the proposed 500 MW nuclear
power station developed an erratic chemical reaction that slowly started impairing the entire objective of the ma-
chinery.It all began when the U-235 began misbehaving by sending out the fusion products into the safety
valve.Due to the pyrophric nature of thorium ,the alarm bells began to ring.They never wanted another Cherno-
byl.On the other end of the country in Moscow Leondrov Posvoski, a chemical engineer formely serving Gazprom,
wakes up to read the mystery unfolding the Boryon Nuclear Plant in the local daily.
His mind only has prayers for the better for the people surrounding this nuclear fortess.Posvoski is no ordinary
cheme freak.Sucked by the ever demanding nature of the corporate world, he never let his passion for energy con-
servation ,which has only motivated him to research the various possibilties and safety aspects.He has been associ-
ated formely in avoiding a disaster at small nuclear outfit in Beloyarsk.Though he may have never intended to be a
part the Boryon officals got to know of his repute and suggested him to emancipate them of this catastrophe. Pos-
voski is not the only hero whom they approached,another spearhead was roped in for this mission ----- Bohdan Re-
pin , young exuberant chem-e genius well regarded for his PhD thesis at the Moscow State University.
On their intial inspection they realize that the thorium is about expend its fury on the safety valves.As the fury may
spread to the pipes carrying the molten material, they sensed a catacalysm. They had to somehow enroute the
problematic thorium without affecting the fluids in the pipes.They decide to go for an indigenous solution. They
connect the external exit point 23 of the valves to an external thorium collector tank.They successfully manage to
remove the problematic villian.

However in the process they realize that the enrich-
ment of U-238 has been mishandled to such an extent
that the desired fusion reaction to U-235 has become
corrupted. Another debacle awaiting them was the
weakening of control rods. The scientists later inform
Posvoski and Repin that the heat from the fusion reac-
tor is not being redirected properly and if allowed to
continue will result in its explosion. With time as their
biggest enemy ,Posvoski and Repin decide first to fix
the control rods by using high boron steel and hafnium
assisted by ROBOCAD.
As they proceed the heat evolved from the fusion reac-
tor halts the process in between ,yet they manage to
reinstate to rectify the control rods.At the very same
moment the gadgets controlling the control rods are
suitably rectified. With the control rods in position and
the thorium blocks cleared ,Posvoski examines the
damage to the 10 m thick wall.
To his horror the volatile neutrons ,few in magnitude
have been embedded in it.With the flow of the heat
and fluid through the cracks not completely ruled out,
he senses the biggest danger of all. Repin comes out
with the solution of reconverting the possible U-238 to
a lesser volatile lead using the extra of the newly dis-
covered metal oxide of europium .
As they sketch out that plan they find out that in pre-
sent characteristics of the fluid matter ,it is impossible
to definitely obtain a less harmful lead.
Posvoski , with his experience at Beloyarsk ,decides
to go for a transition compound of einsteinium ,which
though volatile will decompose the existing to a more
stable state. Posvoski’s plan gets executed.
Moments after adding the metallic compound , a
small fire erupts in the level 21 of the nuclear reactor,
which is made to rest. They walls on the other hand
develop a few more cracks. They immediately inform
the emergency services ,whom the Kazan
base ,redirect for their help. The crew at Boryon were
left bewildered about how to stop these neu-
trons ,when a fellow trainee came out with the idea
of using an enriched version of Tyleerium( Z=123 )
transported through the rutherforium ligand wires.
The embedded volatile neutrons are thus captured
through wires and made to absorb on the Tyleerium
surface.
The cracks are finally filled with filler material. With
factors against them devoid of its power, the scien-
tists decide to reinstate the power plant with both
Posvoski and Repin restarting its monotony. Thus with
normalcy re-instored, the chief scientist proposes the
question of whether nuclear power is needed or
not,for which both Repin and Posvoski reply “ As long
as Human welfare is centered ,it would never be an
issue to ignite a chain reaction full of radioactive and
toxic materials.”
- AMIT KOIKKARAH AJI
First Yr, ChemE

*Why man is so furious when it comes to time travel?*
Well, time is something which can’t be brought back in life right?.... May be man is trying to recall his old memories
or he is trying to visualize what the future is!!! We all don’t know what the future will bring and it is always a million
dollar question??? Maybe that’s why we always knock the door when it comes to time travel.
Coming to the fact, we all know there are 3-Dimensions (1D,2D,3D) or
Directions(x,y,z) and we can travel in these directions pretty much easily.
But according to Stephen William Hawking, time is a very minute particle
(obviously invisible to human eyes) can be considered as a *FOURTH DI-
MENSION*. If we can travel in the three directions, we could possibly
*travel in Time also.
Time Travel!! Our all time WONDER!!!
*Can we really see or change our past? *
We need a medium to travel to past. That medium is Wormhole. Worm-
hole is something which we can travel through them to the past. But it is
really a small thing of pico-size. We can see some large wormholes in the
vast universe but it needs some extraordinary energy to enlarge those
small ones to a size for a man to travel through it. This is a difficulty. It
has some abnormalities too.

Consider a man from the future comes to see himself in the past using a wormhole. If that man from the future kills
himself in the past, both will die. If the man from the future is dead in the past itself then who killed the man in the
past? And also man from the future would not have come at all since he is dead in the past itself. Therefore it raises
a
lot of questions and leads us to an abnormal situation! Hence time travel to the past is *impossible.
*What about travelling to future? *
Yes, travelling to the future is possible. *Stephen William Hawking* says that we can actually go to the future by
using the ideas of *Einstein*about travelling to the future. According to Einstein’s principle length, mass, time de-
pends on the velocity of a body. Therefore when we travel with the velocity nearer to the velocity of light (3,00,000
km/hr), we can virtually travel in time (by universal law, no object can with the velocity of light so we should get
near to that velocity maybe around 2,00,000 km/hr to travel in time). When someone travels at that speed in a ma-
chine, time will automatically slow down inside that machine and he will feel only *fifteen seconds for a whole day
*in the outside world*. *At the end of only one week of travel he would have travelled hundred years in future.
And he can finally see a bright future with advanced science before his eyes!!!!
- K.Shriram.
Second year
ChemE

CHEMICAL DELIGHT!
The effervescence and the fumes of raging ingredients have mesmerized some of the best sophomores to have a
safe play in their life and there we go…..Salaam! Chemical department of A.C.tech.
The commencement of life on the very first day of college in chemical department must have kept some of the op-
tical clads well beyond their expectations, surprised to be going through graphics or physics while some of the
forced youngsters trying their luck at canteen to tempt their palate. The “Reacting ” decision for life would have
left some people repenting and the other lot calling themselves “Chemical reactors” or rather it put this way the
chemical enthusiasts as they would react at jet speed to any query or problem from treybal to perry which leaves
the former grudging over their grey cells. Fascinating world!!!!!
What attracts some homosapiens would be right con-
trary to the other lot, let us say, one might be at-
tracted to the shimmy shimmy nail enamel a girl
wears ,the other lot is attracted to know the ingredi-
ents , the processes involved , either a batch or con-
tinuous or equipment incorporated, say mixers and
so on. That’s how it makes a difference. After, four
years of rigorous study and knowledge with wisdom,
it proves as a good eye opener and judge about one-
self to which lot one pertains to.
Chemical engineering has been an enormous, innova-
tive and special world for some while it brings in
nightmares for some. Lets us consider this, say, the
notion of a heat exchanger where the fluids dance to
each other’s mellifluous tunes and exchange their
temperatures and the temperature drop and differ-
ence stands up for their team work which requires
team work and sophisticated skill of compromising
without ego which is the very character absent in
“Homosapiens’s”.
Similarly, the design of a reactor with the stirrer for
amalgamating casts light on the moral value ”be
friendly” and world will be respect you as we are aware
about Mr. Heart of an industry. Drier, on the other
hand supports the “Let go the barking dogs” as synony-
mous to driers as they are used to remove the upper
layer of moisture and we say just forget what the world
says, follow your heart.
The study of various equipments in the similar way as
above could be actually correlated to the real life and
which if understood could act as an inspiration for
peaceful and wonderful life.
- Chaparala Sree Vidhya,
Final Yr,
ChemE

Tracking Oil Spills - Spilled Oil Tracking Autonomous Buoy
The incidences of ocean oil spills have increased
drastically in the recent years, leading to any
equivalent rise in the adverse effects on Marine
life.Most of the times Oil spills take place in such a
condition that immediate relief or pollution re-
sponse becomes difficult to provide mainly due to
adverse weather conditions or rough sea. In such
situations it is important to monitor in which direc-
tion oil is moving. SOTAB does exactly that.Spilled
oil tracking autonomous buoy or sotab, is an oil spill
tracking device that is used to monitor the direction
of proliferation of the spilled oil incase of an oil
spill.
Often it is observed that in bad weather conditions, pollution prevention or oil recovery help takes a longer time
to reach the accident place. Most of the times the damage is already been done till the time the necessary steps
are taken.Satellite images or aerial surveys using aircrafts are common practices to track the oil spill movement.
But these methods become unreliable in case of rough weather and heavy winds. For this reason, Spilled oil
tracking autonomous buoy are deployed to this accident prone regions not only to monitor the oil movement but
also to send real time data containing details back to the shore.
Sotabs or spilled oil tracking autonomous buoy are Global Positioning System (GPS) enabled robotic buoys. The
buoy weighs approximately 110 kg and has a height of 3 meters and a diameter of 27 centimeters. Most of the
body part remains submerged in the water. Sensors are mounted on the submerged part of the buoy, which de-
tects floating globs and density of oil. In case the layer of oil is thick, it automatically changes its buoyancy and
dives further into the water to measure the exact quantity of oil. The sensors also detect depth, water tempera-
ture, direction and speed of the wind. The design and construction of the body is made robust so as to withstand
adverse weather conditions.
In accidents involving oil spills, sotabs are dropped in the accident prone area after turning them on. They float in
water just like the conventional bouys. The sensors collect the details and the GPS system with an antenna at-
tached at the top of the buoy sends the real time data to the shore.
Incase of a heavy oil spill, Sotab takes sample of water for quality assessment. The GPS system also sends real
time data regarding geographical position and oceanographic data to the monitoring system on shore. Sotabs can
operate for around 3-4 weeks without battery replacement. Sotabs are provided to all the oil and chemical tank-
ers. In case of an oil spill, the tankers drop the sotabs in the accident prone areas. With the help of the four fins,
Sotab steers itself through the oil, monitoring and procuring details and sending it to the shore. Sotab can also be
dropped from the air in the accident prone region
- R.PAVITHRA ,
Third Yr,ChemE

Which is better??? Solar energy or nuclear energy??!!
Our world is still struggling into the energy crisis.
Most people prefer nuclear energy as a main source of energy obviously because it is considered as viable and envi-
ronmentally friendly alternative, and why is that? It’s because nuclear power can provide up to 20% of energy to
billions of people around the world. However several questions still remain: Is the nuclear energy considered to be
safe and clean? Is the Nuclear energy sustainable? What about Solar energy? Is Solar Energy also considered to be
sustainable?
Nuclear energy, which are derived from the fissions of uranium, plutonium or thorium, gives an infinite amount of
energy. Hence it is considered to be sustainable because we have tons of uranium reserves on earth and it will last
long for thousands of years. However these assumptions can be dropped since its consumption is slowly increasing
year after year. Also Nuclear energy is a non-renewable source of energy. But like Nuclear Energy, Solar Energy is
also another infinite source of energy.
However, compared to Nuclear energy, solar energy does not contain any elements, because its source of energy is
coming from the sun itself. Solar panels are needed in order to absorb solar radiation and directly convert it into
current electricity. This method is photovoltaic. In contrast to the Nuclear energy, solar energy is a renewable
source of energy.
In terms of CO2 emission, nuclear energy is considered quite clean; they don’t emit greenhouse gases directly. How-
ever, the nuclear fuel cycle (which is responsible for the burning process) produces them indirectly, but dramati-
cally it reduces emissions compared to burning fossil fuels. Since solar energy does not contain any elements
(except to the materials used to absorb the solar radiation) it is considered clean and environmental-friendly alter-
native.
124, Nainiappa naicken street,
Chennai—600003.
Phone: 25353558/25356984
oilfield@airtelmail.in
CONTACT US:
 Manufacturers OF drill-
ing fluid additives
 Importers
 Exporters
 Logistic Services

However, the consumption of solar energy is just limited due to the fact that it cannot provide a greater
amount of electricity for billions of people at once, and the materials needed to make the solar panels are
very expensive.
Nuclear power is considered a high risk to all because of the chemical it contains. It’s been told that nu-
clear power can destroy the earth because of its high radiation. Solar power on the other hand is very dif-
ferent; it does not contain any chemicals that could cause thermal radiation. It’s eco friendly and free
from risks.
The future of the world purely depends only on nuclear energy and solar energy. People need electricity
for each and every work they do. The future price of electricity is going to be much higher!!!!
And What do you think?? Solar energy or nuclear energy??
- Vinisha. N
Second Yr,
ChemE
An oxymoron is a combination of words that contradict each other. Here are some of our favorites.
1. virtual reality
2. original copy
3. old news
4. act naturally
5. pretty ugly
6. living dead
7. jumbo shrimp
8. rolling stop
9. constant variable
10. exact estimate
Oxymorons!!

Materialism in today’s society
A society grows when it attains development in its
thinking and perception. However our society seems
to be taking a few steps backwards. 2012 has arrived
yet basic social expectations remain unchanged. A boy
is expected to earn high salary and look after his family
not taking it into regard if he is interested in his job or
not. In other words he is pushed into the engineering
branch at the tender age of 17/18. He struggles to
keep up with the family and society expectations and
is unable to perform to his fullest capability. This in
turn reflects on his emotional quotient. He is unable
to maintain close relationships with his parents, sib-
lings, friends and loved ones as he vents out his frus-
tration at them.
In this race against time, many do emerge triumphant
excelling in their field. However the price they pay to
achieve it is too high. They look down at others from
the peak of success alone, without anyone to share
their joy and tears with. Is it really worth it all? Is
money, car, house, jewels, branded clothing and a
luxurious life style really worth throwing away what
you believe in?
Many have sacrificed their dreams, moral values and
relationships just to attain monetary success which will
suffice the faceless critics of the society.
Hundreds flock to IT industry every year regardless
of their level of expertise in the field. Reason? It is
the shortcut to luxury.
Indian society is yet to achieve maturity in its social
expectations. It should give ample opportunities to
an individual to exhibit his individualism and his
talent. It should not thrust its expectations upon a
person at a young age and expect him to perform.
The reformation should begin at homes. Parents
should not just allow their child to dream but
should give a chance for him to realize it.
A person should be able to work towards his
dreams void of any social pressure. This will not just
lead to social development but also economical
development.
However it is a distant dream and will take a long
time to be realized.
- Anbuchelvan Anamicca
First Yr,
ChemE

THE PATHWAY AHEAD FOR CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
Chemical engineering always takes a special stance in contrast to the other engineering disciplines by virtue of
one big factor: dynamic versatility. Chemical engineers are crucial to understand molecular and macroscopic
transformations in multiscale analysis and it is this embedded versatility which presents opportunities and
challenges in the future.
A close look at statistics from the 1960s will reveal that career opportunities were high in the 70s. However,
since then, employment growth has become weak especially in traditional chemical engineering fields. In ac-
cordance to an AIChE survey, there is no certainty in the growth of employment post 2005.
The share of people employed in the U.S. in chemical and allied industries has come down significantly from
33% in 1996 to 25% in 2007. Also, industries have grown a disliking towards employing undergraduates over
the years.
In the 80s, nearly 60% of undergraduates were hired into the chemical sector in the U.S. But that number has
dropped to 40 now. I have roped in these numbers not to create a panic wave or to frighten the budding
chemical engineer in you. Instead, as future chemical engineers its imperative that we derive enthusiasm and
inspiration.
Chemical engineering has gone through the 2G phases successfully: Growth and Globalisation. Now is the
time for consolidation. A phase which might not hog the limelight but is crucial. There are still vast opportuni-
ties in terms of research and otherwise which could be exploited. A recent inclination of chemical engineers
towards biology opens a new door and gives a different aroma to the so called traditional chemical engineer.
Major changes are expected within the energy sector, and concepts of efficiency and resource management
will be increasingly more important.

The public perception of chemical technologists has changed over the years. Initially being looked at
as a person who can do the good and bad things, now the public is asking him to show his care for
the society apart from accumulating money and knowledge.
To conclude, being “universal” engineers, we must stand up and answer these questions and work
for the betterment of mankind. Therein lays the opportunity and the challenge for the upcoming
chemical engineer.
- Manoj Ravi,
Second Yr,
ChemE

A Psalm of Life
Tell me not in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou are, to dust thou returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each tomorrow
Find us farther than today.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!
Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act, - act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead!
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sand of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solenm main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us then be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.

PCRA ENERGY AUDITS reduced 1,832 Tonnes

Sindhu Balu_Pathways_ChemE magazine_Oct.11

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