As part of the SeconChan project and with additional support from the DeepGreenInno project, a study visit to the salt mine in Tuzla was organized during June.
On this occasion, teachers, associates and students of the Chemistry Department had the opportunity to learn more about the technological process in the Tetima deposit, where sodium chloride is exploited by extraction from a depth of about 800 meters. The exploitation process is fully automated with the use of very sensitive sensors and a remote control system. After extraction, the salt concentrate is transported over 16 kilometers to two large industries, a table salt factory and a sodium bicarbonate factory. Our team’s special attention was drawn to the carefully designed solutions for preserving the natural habitat and preventing landslides in the mine area.
The visit was also a good opportunity to discuss other possible applications of sodium chloride, especially in technologies that enable the so-called green transition. Research into sodium-based battery technology has recently attracted the attention of the scientific community as a potentially viable replacement for lithium batteries and the risks associated with the production and use of lithium-based batteries. Although still in the research phase, sodium-based batteries could soon become competitive with lithium batteries in terms of charge density and reliability, and especially because of the low cost of the raw material. Through the discussion, which aimed to develop entrepreneurial spirit and critical thinking, the students had the opportunity to see the salt deposit in Tuzla as a potential raw material base for the production of batteries in the future.
In recent years, Chemistry Department has significantly strengthened cooperation with Japanese universities, with whom it has several collaborative publications.
Among the permanently employed teachers at Chemistry Department there are three scholarship holders of the Matsumae International Foundation, as well as one scholarship holder of the Government of Japan. The last in a series of significant activities related to Japan is the visit of professor Jin Miyawaki from Kyushu University.
The professor’s arrival was realized with the support of the Ministry for Scientific and Technological Development, Higher Education and Information Society through the co-financing program for the stay of foreign scientists, as well as the Ministry of Civil Affairs as part of the project activities of the SeconChan project.
Professor Miyawaki’s stay was packed with specific activities, from a tour of the laboratory facilities, the Faculty itself, the University City, and individual discussions and consultations with colleagues. Also, the professor and the team of Chemistry Department visited the company “Destilacija” in Teslić, where pilot tests of the production of nanoporous carbon are underway.
The professor also pointed out to the factory the importance of the complete valorization of the raw materials created by the dry distillation of coal, with particular reference to tar as a polymer raw material potentially usable even in high-performance carbon fiber technology.
On the other hand, domestic engineers have shown very significant results in the utilization of the heat of gases and smoke generated in the processes, which have resulted in almost complete utilization of thermal energy.
Professor Miyawaki was also a speaker at this year’s NanoPol international seminar on the topic Activated Carbons with Enhanced Effective Adsorption Amount: Deep Tech Solution in Effective Usage of Waste Heat Resources, and he joined other guests during the tour to the Belgrand company.
The exchange continued in Sarajevo with the project partners at the International University of Sarajevo, where Prof. Miyawaki spent the last two working days touring the facilities and exchanging experiences with colleagues, where he also held a lecture.
During the stay, they expressed the desire to continue cooperation through the exchange of samples, joint publications, and the hope that there will be an exchange of students in the near future.
As part of the long-term inter-university cooperation between the Slovak Technical University in Bratislava and the University of Banja Luka from June 13, 2023, to June 21, 2023, Dr. Andrea Machyňáková, from the mentioned university.
This is one more of the successfully completed exchanges through the Erasmus+ program of international credit mobility – mobility of students and staff of higher education between the Program and partner countries.
Dr. Machyňáková held a lecture for students of the first and second cycle of the Chemistry Department on the topic “Sample preparation in analytical chemistry,” where students had the opportunity to improve their knowledge in the field of analytical chemistry. The lecture covered several analytical methods, SBSE (stir bar extraction), SPME (solid phase microextraction), and SPE (solid phase extraction), their advantages and disadvantages, as well as the sampling procedure. With this lecture, Dr. Machyňáková accented the importance of adequate sample preparation and the possibility of improving the sensitivity of analytical methods, the reliability of analytical results, as well as extending the life of instruments.
After the lecture on the premises of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, the attendees took the opportunity to discuss with Dr. Machyňákova about the mentioned analytical methods and inter-university cooperation.
The International Seminar on Deep Technology in Nanomaterials and Material Chain Pollution (NanoPol2023) was held on June 15-16, 2023 at the Faculty of Science and Mathematics, University of Banja Luka.
The seminar brought together a great number of experts from recognized world universities, as well as industrial partners with whom the organizer of the seminar, the Chemistry Department, has long-standing cooperation.
As part of the Nanopol2023 seminar, the project DeepGreenInno: Deep Tech in Material Sciences: Greening the Balkan HEIs Innovation and Entrepreneurial Potential was presented. During the seminar, the attendees had the opportunity to hear about up-to-date topics in the field of new materials, waste valorization, achievements in the technology of surface protection of materials, as well as about issues of sustainability of the European chain of primary raw materials.
The seminar was opened by Assistant Minister for Scientific and Technological Development, Higher Education and Information Society, Prof. Dr. Zoran Vujković, and the participants were addressed by the Vice-rector for Material and Human Resources of the University of Banja Luka, Prof. Dr. Dalibor Kesić and Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Prof. Dr. Goran Trbić.
The opening lecture at the seminar was held by Prof. Dr. Suzana Gotovac Atlagić, who as the coordinator presented the activities of DeepGreenInno and other projects realized at Chemistry Department. Professor Jin Miyawaki from Kyushu University in Japan held a plenary lecture on the latest achievements in the field of carbon nanomaterials, as well as on the possibilities of using activated carbon in so-called Deep Tech research.
It should be mentioned that Professor Miyawaki’s visit was made possible by the Ministry of Scientific and Technological Development, Higher Education and Information Society, through the program of co-financing the visit of foreign scientists, as well as the Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of the SeconChan project activities.
Furthermore, Professor Vladimiro Dal Santo from the National Research Council of Italy, presented on the subject of the application of catalytic materials in biorefining, and Professor Maria Nikolova from University of Ruse in Bulgaria, on the subject of the application of modern technologies in protective coatings.
During two days at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, COST association, the oldest European framework for networking, was promoted, as well as the WBC-RRI.NET and RIS BRIEFCASE projects with promotional info-stands. The coordinator of the RIS BRIEFCASE project, Dr. Lidia Gullon from the Gómez Pardo Foundation in Seville, also delivered a presentation and drew attention to the worrying data on the lack of a self-sustaining chain of mineral resources in Europe.
The second day of the seminar was dedicated to the visit of the Belgrand company from Teslić, the only European factory of LED displays formatted according to the customer’s wishes. Activities continued at the International University in Sarajevo, which is one of the partners in the DeepGreenInno project consortium, where education was held for younger teachers and students.
Chemistry Department is in the process of signing a contract for the realization of its first coordination project in the programs of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).
Since 2017, the Chemistry Department has participated in six partner EIT projects, and a great effort and success in mastering the project preparation methodology in this branch of the Horizon Europe program is crowned by the DeepGreenInno coordination project. This is the first coordination project in our country, as well as in the countries of the Western Balkans in this science support program.
DeepGreenInno: Deep Tech in Material Sciences: Greening the Balkan HEIs Innovation and Entrepreneurial Potential is a project with a total budget of €750,000 and a total of eight partners from six countries (Bulgaria, Italy, Serbia, Greece, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina).
It should be noted that the preparation of the DeepGreenInno project application was supported by the Ministry of Scientific and Technological Development, Higher Education and Information Society of the Republic of Srpska and the Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which at the same time represents one of the most successful examples of the dedicated use of domestic programs to support the preparation of projects from the framework of Horizon Europe.
The opening of all 16 projects that received funding in this call was held in Prague at the workshop held on May 29-30, 2023, where four teams from our consortium attended. Additionally, the event in Prague was the first training workshop in defining the Innovation Vision Action Plan (IVAP).
After this event, on June 15, 2023, the first official meeting of the entire project consortium was held at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Banja Luka, where plans for activities during the implementation of the project were defined.
Chemistry department was successfully presented at the 11th Science Festival, which was held under the sponsorship of the Ministry for Scientific and Technological Development, Higher Education and Information Society.
Festival took place on 8th and 9th June at two locations, at the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Republic of Srpska and at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Banja Luka.
Like previous years, our students, with the help of teaching assistants and professors, prepared a large number of experiments, as well as models and presentations, which attracted the attention of numerous visitors during both festival days.
In addition to exciting and fun experiments, convenient for the youngest audience, this year we also chose those that contribute to the understanding of scientific concepts and phenomena that occur in nature, to point out the crucial importance of science in modern society.
Also, our presentation was highly noticed by the media. Teaching assistant Dragana Gajić was going live from the stand of the Chemistry department, in front of the Museum of Contemporary Arts, in the morning show of RTRS, you can see it at the link.
Teaching assistant Dejana Savić, apart from the Festival itself, also participated in its promotion on several television channels, you can watch the appearance on RTRS television on the link, and the BHT television report of the 11th Science Festival is also online.
At the 9th Symposium on Chemistry and Environmental Protection EnviroChem2023, held from June 4 to 7 in Kladovo, Serbia, Prof. Milica Balaban, PhD held a notable invited lecture entitled “Polymers for Energy Applications: Between Efficiency and Green Chemistry”.
The lecture is dedicated to the new generation of photovoltaic devices, such as organic and hybrid solar cells (OSC, PSC), organic light-emitting diodes (OLED), organic field effect transistors (OFET), and flexible and elastic electronic devices, which are based on organic, polymeric semiconductor materials. Besides semiconductors, polymers have other important roles in hybrid solar cells, mainly as additives to control crystal growth and improve device stability.
However, from the environmental aspect, a severe limitation of the broader application of these materials is that their synthesis often requires many steps. At the same time, stoichiometric amounts of toxic metal reagents are also present in photovoltaic devices. As part of the lecture, an overview of alternative sustainable, i.e., “green” ways of synthesizing polymer and other components of hybrid solar cells was given.
During the symposium organized by the Environmental Chemistry Section of the Serbian Chemical Society, researchers, scientists, and experts from various fields of environmental chemistry used the opportunity to exchange ideas, the latest scientific achievements, and technological innovations.
At this year’s symposium, two plenary and four invited lectures were held, 18 oral presentations and more than 60 poster presentations were presented, and two-panel discussions were held on the most current topics in the field of environmental chemistry.
Representatives of the company Naftna industrija Srbije a.d. (NIS) from Novi Sad held a guest lecture and presentation for chemistry students at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at the University of Banja Luka on May 4, 2023. This activity is part of the “Energy of Knowledge” program, through which the company has been providing support to educational institutions in Serbia since 2012.
During the visit, Jovana Savković, an expert in cooperation with universities, presented the activities, mission, vision, and values that NIS a.d. Novi Sad stands for. She also introduced two student internship programs that are available to students at the University of Banja Luka. The first is a three-month program called “NIS Calling,” in which students can gain 480 hours of practical experience. The second is a one-year paid program called “NIS Energy” for students in their final year of undergraduate studies and master’s students. The program provides training and real-life experience, as well as work on projects under the mentorship of company experts.
Dr. Maja Stanisavljević, a leading engineer in the chemistry of production processes and an alumna of the University of Banja Luka, gave a lecture on the use of chemicals in oil and gas production. The vice-rector for international and interuniversity cooperationof the University of Banja Luka, prof. dr. Milica Balaban, was also present. The lecture was an excellent opportunity to showcase career development opportunities for students in the future.
Jae Won Kim, a student from South Korea, is staying in Banja Luka from February to July 2023 as part of an exchange program in Chemistry and Biology. Jae is studying medical sciences (Dept. of Global Medical Science) at her home institution, Sungshin Women’s University in Seoul, which is a prestigious private school founded in 1936. This exchange is being carried out through the Sungshin International Exchange program.
Kim expressed her satisfaction with studying at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in Banja Luka as part of a student exchange program. She drew a similarity between South Korea and Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding division, and she also highlighted the hospitality and warmth of the people in Banja Luka, even though it was initially difficult for her to adjust to a foreign country
This year’s preparatory classes in CHEMISTRY for enrollment in the CHEMISTRY STUDY will be organized at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
Candidates who are interested in attending preparatory classes can apply until June 19 2022 at the E-mail address:
