The Hindu : Microwave energy finds new uses

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka-Bangalore

Microwave energy finds new uses

By Alladi Jayasri

BANGALORE Dec. 30. For over 50 years, the world has used microwave energy for heating food. In all that time, scientists have been trying to put it to other uses, and have realised now that this technique may find useful applications in chemical technology -- chemical reactions, applications in waste treatment, polymer technology applications, drug discovery and targeting, ceramics, and even preparation of samples for analysis.

All this is good augury for industrial chemistry, and will make "green chemistry" more acceptable to those faced with the fundamental scientific challenges of protecting human health and environment while maintaining commercial viability.

Rajendar Varma, senior scientist at the National Risk Management Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, says: "We are continuously working on finding ways to prevent and reduce risks from pollution that threaten human health and the environment." Dr. Varma, was in Bangalore recently to deliver the second Prof. S.Ramaseshan Distinguished Lecture, arranged by AstraZeneca Research Foundation India.

He said the use of microwave as an alternative energy source was becoming increasingly attractive, particularly in the context of its environment-friendly and solvent-free approach.

Dr. Varma, who is in the Clean Processes Branch, Sustainable Technology Division of the EPA, got his Ph.D. in natural products chemistry from Delhi University.

He has over 25 years experience in management of multi-disciplinary technical programmes ranging from natural products chemistry and therapeutics to development of genosensor technology.

Even in the U.S. where the development of cleaner chemical processes has been addressed by researchers, there is not enough technology to go round.

Dr. Varma has been responsible for development of a wide range of such processes to prevent pollution, and minimise or eliminate the use of hazardous materials and generation of undesirable byproducts.

India, however, is by no means backward, and a range of local technology that comes in handy for recycling and reusing, or finding useful applications of byproducts that seem to have no use.

There is enough technology and innovation that U.S. and India can share and exchange, Dr. Varma says.

As research professor at the Texas Research Institute for Environmental Studies (TRIES), Dr. Varma was involved in coordinating with in-house scientists, having multi-disciplinary backgrounds, and coordinating major research findings with scientists in government agencies.

Dissemination of "green chemistry" knowledge was a challenging assignment, as it meant assembling teams of professionals from broad-based scientific backgrounds, apart from consulting, peer-reviewing and road-mapping exercises with industry, academia, and federal agencies, which led to the formulation of the "Chemical Industry Vision 2020" for near, mid- and long-term needs.

Dr. Varma also co-chaired the Technology Review of the Environmental Technology Development and Commercialisation Centre, Texas, which he set up, to identify, solicit, and review promising environmental technologies that were ripe for demonstration and commercialisation.

AstraZeneca Research Foundation India, which organised the lecture, has factored environmental concerns into its operations worldwide, S.Anand Kumar of the foundation said.

"In the quest to discover new drugs and improve healthcare it is imperative that researchers and chemists design processes that are clean. Given that India is emerging as the biomedical research destination, there is need to adopt non-conventional technologies such as microwave," he

added.

AstraZeneca Research Foundation India is currently engaged in a mission to foster research related to infectious diseases, drug discovery, and supporting education and technological innovation in these areas.

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