AR Rahman: Work that BAFTA plans to do in India far beyond Bollywood

Most of the plastics used today end up being discarded and accumulated in landfills.

PE is the most widely used plastic in the world. Daily food packaging, shopping bags and reagent bottles are all made from PE. It is also the largest proportion of all plastic waste and primarily ends up in landfills, posing a threat to global environment and ecology.

The team led by experts from the University of Adelaide in Australia upcycled polyethylene plastic waste into ethylene and propionic acid with high selectivity using atomically dispersed metal catalysts.

"Plastic waste is an untapped resource that can be recycled and processed into new plastics and other commercial products," said Prof. Shizhang Qiao, from the varsity's School of Chemical Engineering.

"Catalytic recycling of PE waste is still in early development and is practically challenging because of chemical inertness of polymers and side reactions arising from structural complexities of reactant molecules," Qiao added.

In the paper, published in the journal Science Advances, the team used an oxidation-coupled room-temperature photocatalysis method to convert the waste into valuable products with high selectivity.

Nearly 99 per cent of the liquid product is propionic acid, alleviating the problems associated with complex products that then require separation.

Renewable solar energy was used rather than industrial processes that consume fossil fuel and emit greenhouse gases, the expert said.

"This waste-to-value strategy is primarily implemented with four components, including plastic waste, water, sunlight and non-toxic photocatalysts that harness solar energy and boost the reaction. A typical photocatalyst is titanium dioxide with isolated palladium atoms on its surface," Qiao said.

Current chemical recycling for PE waste is operated at high temperatures greater than 400 degrees centigrade that yield complex product compositions.

Ethylene is an important chemical feedstock that can be further processed into a variety of industrial and daily products, while propionic acid is also in high demand owing to its antiseptic and antibacterial properties.

The team's work aims to address contemporary environmental and energy challenges, contributing to a circular economy. It will be of use in further scientific research, waste management and chemical manufacturing.

"Our fundamental research provides a green and sustainable solution to simultaneously reduce plastic pollution and produce valuable chemicals from waste for a circular economy," said Qiao.

(IANS)

Satyen Naik, who was allegedly killed by 59-year-old Troy Kellum, was found lying outside a room of Hostess House in Newport with a gunshot wound.

Newport Police Chief Keith Lewis said they got a call just after 10.00 a.m on Wednesday about a person trespassing on the Hostess House motel, the Fox News reported.

A "disturbance" was heard in the background of the emergency call, followed by a second call to 911 that a person had been shot at the lodging establishment, Lewis said.

Both the police department and Carteret County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

Naik was rushed to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Police said the motel was a family-owned business and Naik operated the business daily with his family.

"The suspect had barricaded himself in the room, which prompted us to alert the SRT (Special Response Team) team and request their assistance in retrieving the barricaded person from the room," Lewis said.

Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck told WCTI 12 that authorities confirmed he was barricaded in a room by "pinging" the suspect’s cellphone.

He spoke to the man through his friends and negotiators for hours, but Troy refused all police efforts to peacefully leave the room.

Kellum shot himself as members of the police department’s Special Response Team entered the room after hours of failed negotiations, the Fox News reported, citing Carteret County News-Times.

Troy was described as homeless at the time of his death, and had reportedly been squatting at the motel and other buildings in the area.

He was previously charged with obtaining property by false pretenses in 2020.

According to North Carolina Department of Adult Correction documents, he was on probation for the offence at the time of his death.

(IANS)

Samantsinghar alleged that Ministers Niranjan Pujari, Pradeep Amat, Tukuni Sahu, and BJD leader Yogesh Singh are involved in the frauds. She said while a Congress MP from Jharkhand is the owner, the BJD is the manager. 

"What were the State government agencies like Vigilance, Crime Branch, Excise Department and EOW were doing," wanted to know Samantsinghar.

She further alleged that the liquor traders are a big source of funds for the BJD during elections. 

Samantsinghar also alleged that a particular company was given tender many times by the State government. She demanded that the Chief Minister make it clear which leaders and Ministers are involved in the alleged tender issuance process. 

"The raids have been conducted and huge amounts of black money seized. These have been possible because of Narendra Modi's leadership, alleged Samantasinghar. 

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