news – Page 9 – Chemistry department

RIS RESTORE seminar with the presence of the Japanese delegation

Organized by the Embassy of Japan in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, a hybrid seminar entitled “Learn from the Best: Environmental Solutions for Bosnia and Herzegovina Future” was held on March 3. The Faculty of Science had the honour and pleasure to host His Excellency Mr. Makoto ITO, Ambassador of Japan in Bosnia and Herzegovina, during his first visit to Banja Luka after taking office in December 2020. It is a well-known fact that the Government of Japan has been supporting for many years, not only numerous projects in the field of health and education, but also various activities in the field of environmental protection and sustainable development in the Western Balkans.

As a continuation of this practice, during 2020, the Embassy of Japan expressed its desire to organize an educational event where the local academic community and industry stakeholders would learn about Japan’s experience in this field, as well as current projects and activities of the Faculty. The Embassy ensured the presence of three excellent Japanese environmental experts who joined the seminar via an online link. These were Prof. Dr. Shinji Wakamatsu, Prof. Dr. Hidefumi Imura and JICA (Japan Government Agency for International Cooperation) expert Mr. Taizo Yamada. Experts shared Japanese experiences of overcoming the period of pollution that followed the rapid industrial growth during 1950s and 1960s.

Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics presented its ongoing RIS RESTORE project through the dissemination of objectives and current results on this project. In addition to a large number of online participations, in accordance with epidemiological situation and with strict protection measures, a certain number of final year students, young assistants and local experts from different institutions attended the event live in the amphitheatre. The lecture was followed by a discussion on opportunities for future cooperation, but also the future direction of Bosnia and Herzegovina in this area, with special emphasis on the importance of developing chemical technologies based on waste and by-products as a raw material base, which is also the main goal of EIT Raw Materials fund from which the RIS RESTORE project was supported.

Media releases:

BN TV

RTRS TV

NEZAVISNE

Links:

http://ris-restore.zag.si/

https://www.bosnia.emb-japan.go.jp/

https://www.jica.go.jp/

https://www.ehime-u.ac.jp/

https://www-user.yokohama-cu.ac.jp/

Award competition of the Nenad M. Kostić Fund for the best master’s and graduate thesis in the field of pure and applied chemistry

This year, the Nenad M. Kostić Fund for Chemical Sciences opens the competition for the award of prizes for the best final thesis from undergraduate and master’s academic studies for the twentieth, jubilee time.

This Fund operates through the Management Board, consisting of professors from universities throughout Serbia, and it has been working in this country for two decades for the benefit of teaching and science.

The Fund will reward the authors and commend the mentors of the two best works defended in the period from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021. Bonus payment will amount € 1,000 and € 850, respectively. The unawarded candidates will receive one graphic sheet of Serbian artists.

The Fund will award a non-competitive prize of € 1,000 of its choice, without applying.

The competition lasts from February 15 to April 9, 2021. Candidates apply for the competition themselves. The application can be obtained by letter sent to the e-mail address: tatjanad@chem.bg.ac.rs. One copy of the following documents shall be attached to the application:

biography, not longer than one page, with information on secondary education, university studies, career and eventual awards and successes,
master’s or diploma thesis,
certificate of defended thesis,
certificate of all passed exams in undergraduate and master studies with grades,
two confidential recommendations of relevant persons who are well acquainted with the work of the candidate, sent to the e-mail address: tatjanad@chem.bg.ac.rs,
list and copies of published papers and announcements.

The complete application with all attachments in electronic form candidates can send to the e-mail address: tatjanad@chem.bg.ac.rs.

The Management Board and the President of the Fund will evaluate the credits of the candidates according to criteria such as: scientific value of the work; originality, quality and applicability of results; published and announced scientific and professional papers, if the candidate has them; commission evaluation of defended thesis; success in studies and so forth.

The Fund intends to award prizes and commendations in the second half of May in the Ceremonial Hall of the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Chemistry, Students Square 12-16. The date and circumstances of the planned ceremony will be announced later according to the epidemiological situation. Awarded candidates and commended mentors are required to attend the ceremony. The award winners will exhibit their work in lectures lasting a maximum of seven minutes each. All awarded and non-awarded candidates and their mentors who attend the ceremony and who request it, will be reimbursed travel costs. All attendants will be invited to a reception in honor of the awarded and commended.

More information about the competition can be obtained from associate professor Dr Tatjana Verbić: phone number: 011/3336-611, e-mail: tatjanad@chem.bg.ac.rs, or from the president and founder of the Fund, professor Dr Nenad M. Kostić, e-mail address is: nen.m.kos@gmail.com.

Chemists – Science champions of the Republic for the third time

The Ministry of Scientific and Technological Development, Higher Education and Information Society has announced the results of the scientific competition for incentives and awards in 2020.

The third year in a row, the “CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT” team received the award for scientific achievements. The criteria for this award are very clear: international visibility of our scientists through participation in international projects, realized international mentorships and international monographs published by renowned world publishing companies. An additional criterion, which makes Chemistry department team especially proud to, is collaboration with industry.

In this category, in 2020, our team nominated two industrial projects with the companies “Bentoproduct” from Šipovo and “Distillation” from Teslić. The aims of these projects are directed towards development of new products in these companies. Next to the researchers, students of both cycles of Chemistry department were also involved in the realization of these projects, which we emphasize as a special value of the achieved collaboration.

In addition to the award for the most successful team, individual awards for scientific productivity were given to our teachers and associates. Professors Saša Zeljković, Milica Balaban and Suzana Gotovac Atlagić, as well as Dr. Ivan Samelak, were awarded for scientific papers published in various categories of internationally reviewed journals.

Links:

https://www.vladars.net/sr-SP-Cyrl/Vlada/Ministarstva/mnk/Konkursi/Konkursi_ministarstva/Konkursi_nauke/Pages/default.aspx

https://bentoproduct.ba/

https://destilacija.net/

State of the art infrared spectrophotometer ready for student and researcher activities

Chemistry Department is glad to announce that the state of the art infrared spectrophotometer (Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectrophotometer, with attenuated total reflection, ATR, accessory model IRSpirit, produced by Shimadzu) has been purchased. The purchase was in the frame of two national projects: “Nanochemistry Solutions in Technical Lubricants Additive Improvements” and “Synthesis and Characterization of Siloxane Block Copolymers with Self-Healing Potential” supported by the Ministry of Scientific and Technological Development, Higher Education and Information Society of Republic of Srpska.

Infrared spectrophotometers have become standard equipment in every analytical laboratory. In the first year, this instrument will be used to complete the study of effective dispersion of metal nanoparticles made by Chemistry Department in domestically produced oils and lubricants by “Tehnosint” company and the characterization of poly(siloxane)s intended for use in solar cells. After fulfilling the project goals, the instrument will be fully available to students for experimental work within the final thesis of all study cycles, as well as for research purposes.

The honor of making the first test measurements on the new instrument had our chemistry students of the fourth year in laboratory exercises at the subject of “Nanochemistry”, in which they tested samples of various materials from local sources.

Links:

https://www.shimadzu.com/an/products/molecular-spectroscopy/ftir/ftir-spectroscopy/irspirit/index.html

https://www.vladars.net/sr-SP-Cyrl/Vlada/Ministarstva/mnk/Pages/default.aspx

https://www.tehnosint.com/

New website of Chemistry Department

Chemistry Department is proud to announce its new website where readers can actively follow scientific developments and changes in this department of the Faculty of Science.

The website is under development, constantly updated and improved thanks to the engagement of teachers and associates who are preparing news about the activities of our students, new equipment and projects, as well as cooperation with domestic industries, international exchanges – in general, about everything important that Chemistry Department does and provides.

Special thanks of Chemistry Department goes to Mitja Tanjga, head of the computer center of the faculty, who publishes the prepared news on our website, adapted to three variants for all readers, current and future students, scientists and professors.

Env.net PROJECT: Tour of the secondary material collection-related companies

The final study visit for Chemistry Department in 2020 for “Env-net” project was a visit to the multiple companies related to the secondary materials collection chain. This time the visit was carried out with students of the 4^th year at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, professors from the High School of Technology Banja Luka and other high school guests. Similar to the previous visit, the goal was to raise awareness of the ongoing developments in the recycling systems in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Most of the public is not aware of the fact that numerous successful companies are engaging in the collection of most material categories: metals, polymers, paper, and glass.

This time the visit included three locations.

Prizma comerc is a private company with over 35 years of tradition in different metal collection and export of these materials on a larger scale along with their partner. The company does not hesitate to buy off small quantities of scrap metal from citizens at their registered counter, as well as collect tons of metal scrap from larger mechanical engineering companies. Young owners are the third generation leadership in this company and while pursuing higher education themselves they set an example for the community and for their employees by evolving in hard every day work as well. However, they are following the scientific developments and look forward to the challenge of green recycling methods in electronic waste as one of their ambitions.

Euro Beta is the first and currently the only recycling operator working in Banja Luka city. They organize the collection and storage of recyclable materials and promote the recycling culture among young populations. Also, they are in charge of setting the recycling containers around the city. The company staff introduced the visitors to the current legislation and how they can apply for setting up of the recycle “islands” in their local communities by this company.

Grand promet is a busy paper collecting company employing over 30 people at this moment. They also offer the opportunity to small collectors and citizens to sell the collected paper at their counter, while also collecting large quantities of the packing cartons and paper from the shopping centers and factories. Excellently, the paper they collect mostly is processed in the “Natron-Hayat” factory in Maglaj, Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is a large paper production plant with over 65 years of tradition, currently run by Turkish investors and having excellent environmental standards. Depending on the international market prices, the collected paper is sometimes exported but most importantly, it always finds its way from this company to the recycling factories.

This visit, similarly to the previous ones carried out thanks to the “Env-net” project, was all about raising awareness. The visitors, especially teachers from the high school and also students who are soon to become teachers, will be able to encourage their communities and pupils to collect the secondary raw materials and explain to them exactly where they go. Suspicion of the citizens about the real destiny of the raw materials separated in the colorful containers at the recycling “islands” is the main problem slowing effective recycling. By spreading the word this way, little by little from mouth to mouth, sharing the experiences gained at the real companies making efforts to collect and live from recycling, the citizens will start to trust the chain and contribute to the increase in recycling, making the environment cleaner. Finally, the goal of having Bosnia and Herzegovina without landfills is maybe not that far.

Links:

http://env-net.org/

https://prizmacomerc.ba/

http://www.eurobeta.ba/

https://bl.komorars.ba/en/companies/1345

TRAKMAT project: International award for Sunčica Sukur, a young researcher

Sunčica Sukur, who is employed as a research assistant at the Chemistry Department on the RIS RESTORE project, and is also a master student, won the 3^rdplace in the international competition for innovative ideas in the field of material science.

Sunčica presented the result of her graduation thesis defended in July 2020, which brought a significant potentially applicative result on domestic pyrophyllite. Pyrophyllite is an aluminosilicate of which we have in Bosnia and Herzegovina about 38 million tons in the Parsovići deposit near Konjic, which makes it probably the largest deposit of this mineral in the world.

After a detailed examination of the kinetics of neutralization of acid solutions with micronized pyrophyllite powder, Sunčica came to the conclusion that this kinetics is very fast, ie that pyrophyllite completely neutralizes acidic solutions up to pH=2 in less than one minute, and then buffers them into a slightly basic area of about pH=8. This phenomenon could be applied in the rapid treatment of acid injuries in work, industry or in cases of acid attacks which are unfortunately very common in the world. It would be a convenient packaging of pyrophyllite in bottles similar to baby powder bottles that should be on hand in first aid kits in every home or workplace where there is a possibility of these injuries. Proving this application continues in collaboration with colleagues from Department of Biology.

The award includes a modest amount of money, but is prestigious given that Sunčica’s result was achieved in modest laboratory conditions, on a device purchased from TRAKMAT project (support from Ministry of Scientific and Technological Development, Higher Education and Information Society). On the other hand, other competitors presented results supported by valuable internationally funded projects. The award also represents a motivation for other students to continue to achieve such notable results through project activities at Chemistry Department.

Links:

https://pmf.unibl.org/trakmat-national-project/

https://eitrawmaterials.eu/

https://www.eitrawmaterials-rcadria.eu/events/adria-innovation-day-2020

AWARDS WINNERS OF THE CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT AT UNIVERSITY OF BANJA LUKA FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH WORK IN 2019.

We are honored and pleased to share the great news about the success of our teachers and associates of the Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics and Chemistry Department at University of Banja Luka.

Out of a total of 67 awarded teachers and associates at the University of Banja Luka, seven teachers and associates of the Chemistry Department are the winners of monetary awards based on the achieved international results in scientific research and educational work for 2019. prof. dr Sasa Zeljkovic, prof. dr Dijana Jelic, prof. dr Biljana Davidović Plavšić and prof. dr Dragana Blagojević were awarded as the first authors of scientific papers in indexed scientific journals, while prof. dr Suzana Gotovac Atlagić, prof. Dr. Milica Balaban and assistant Sanja Pržulj, ma, awarded in the category of international research projects. The contribution of teachers and associates of the Chemistry Department to the total number of awards is more than 10%, which indicates our commitment to scientific research and the promotion of science.

At the conference held on November 10, 2020, at the Faculty of Political Sciences atthe University of Banja Luka, prof. dr Dijana Jelic and prof. dr. Suzana Gotovac Atlagić had the opportunity to introduce the participants and young associates of the University of Banja Luka with the content of their works and projects, but also with the work of awarded colleagues who due to the epidemiological situation were not able to attend the event, as well as with all activities in our study program.

The first prize was won by our colleague professor Saša Zeljković, who published two papers in the journal Ceramics International, whose impact factor is 3.8 and belongs to the highest category of international journals.

Activities and preliminary results of the RIS RESTORE project presented in Poland

The 30^th traditional Central European and International Conference ECOPOLE21′ was organized In Krakow, Poland, from 08.-10.10.2020, by the Polish Society for Ecological Chemistry and Engineering. Despite the difficult working conditions, the organizers managed to ensure the live presence of distinguished speakers from European universities and the Polish Academy of Sciences. As part of about 30% of the program that was presented live online, a one-hour presentation was given by Nobel Prize winner Prof. Dr Ada Yonath from Israel. Epidemic protection measures during the meeting were at a high level, but it was still possible to achieve significant communication between colleagues and speakers with a lot of discussion and questions.

The RIS RESTORE project, in which the Chemistry Department is participating, was presented by an oral presentation of the preliminary results of four BiH teams, and the speaker was Doc. Dr Suzana Gotovac Atlagić from the University of Banja Luka, who presented live. Important suggestions were received from colleagues, especially from teams from Poland and the Czech Republic that deal with similar topics, such as the management of “hotspots”, ie. locations contaminated with toxic metals in these countries, which will be important for the development of further RIS RESTORE activities and research.

Links:

https://ecesociety.com/accepted-contributions/

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2009/yonath/facts/

http://ris-restore.zag.si/

Env.net PROJECT: Visit to the “Omorika reciklaža” PET recycling factory in Doboj

The “Env-Net” project supported a successful visit to the first factory that started recycling PET in Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Omorika reciklaza” in the municipality of Doboj. Numerous activities are possible to take place in Bosnia and Herzegovina if measures are taken to prevent COVID-19 infection and the number of participants is up to 50. Bosnian partner from Env-Net, the project team “LIR-evolution” decided to continue with field visits with protective measures and take students and professors to this environmental best practice location. Recently, several more factories have started working on PET recycling. Nevertheless, “Omorika Recycling”, which uses highly automated process lines, their constant improvement and work on the establishment of a state-of-the-art quality control laboratory, constantly sets an excellent example to others. The factory, which currently has 51 employees, maintains production at a good level, despite the pandemic, taking careful hygienic measures, which were respected during this visit as well.

Habits for recycling PET and other polymers are still not sufficiently promoted in Bosnia and Herzegovina, despite many existing “recycling stations” (special waste separation containers located in schoolyards and large buildings). Many people are skeptical about recycling and are mistaken in thinking that even separate waste is dumped in city landfills. This is a harmful prejudice, given that “Omorika Recycling” is in high demand and currently imports some of the waste.

Since this plant exports 97% of its final products due to its excellent quality, visit participants will now be able to support them by promoting the facts about this example of PET recycling best practice. The focus group of visitors this time were professors of environmental protection and polymer technology from the University of Banja Luka with their students, mostly in the phase of finalizing the thesis or enrolled in master’s studies. The young participants, who will soon be professionals working in industry or government bodies, were able to see how PET waste is processed and will be able to educate their colleagues and families about the results of the plant. Since the factory is licensed to purchase the collected waste even from citizens and small groups, this is a great chance for students to promote PET collection and sale for recycling to achieve some social goals or support humanitarian or sports activities.

Links:

http://env-net.org/

https://reciklaza.ba/