Prof. Bal Dattatreya Tilak served as the Director of the CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL), Pune, from 1966 to 1978. Prof. Tilak significantly contributed to self-reliant chemical technologies in organic chemistry. The industrial research carried out under his leadership led to the establishment of several small, medium, and large-scale Indian industries to produce organic intermediates, dyes, pesticides, and textile auxiliaries. NCL Research Foundation, which promotes excellence in Science and Technology instituted the Prof. BD Tilak Memorial Lecture Series in Chemical Sciences in 2003 to honour his indelible contribution to the organisation. This year’s lecture, held on 24 February 2025 was delivered by Prof. Sanat Kumar, Bykhovsky Professor of Chemical Engineering at Columbia University, USA. He spoke on the topic: Formation Mechanisms of Micro and Nanoplastics.
The oration began by highlighting the theme for the National Science Day 2025 — ‘Empowering Indian Youth for Global Leadership in Science and Innovation for Viksit Bharat’. Prof. Sanat Kumar began by describing the commonly practised linear plastic economy, around 400 million metric tons of plastic waste is produced by humans annually, 14% of this waste is collected for recycling and only about 2% is actually recycled. He spoke about plastic waste management wherein 70% of the plastic waste is dumped in landfills giving rise to micro and nano plastics that are hazardous to the environment and humans. Prof. Sanat’s research focuses on understanding the underlying mechanisms involved in breaking these large plastic fragments into relatively smaller micro and nano plastics.
His research group has performed experiments on the commonly used PVC water-carrying pipes and Poly Ethylene Terephthalate (PET). This work involves a detailed analysis of various parameters and fracture mechanisms involved in the mechanical failure of the semi-crystalline structures to release nanoplastics comprised of polydisperse lamellae stacks. Non-crystalline fragments which do not have a well-defined microstructure, cannot give rise to nanoplastics. Although the amorphous phase of these semi-crystalline nanoplastics degrades, the crystal fragments do not and thus persist in the environment. Hence, his research findings play a critical role in understanding the polymer microstructure and fracture mechanisms and how they lead to particulate nanoplastic creation.
The lecture was very interactive and discussions revolved around addressing the issue of micro and nanoplastic creation, the minimalistic approach toward plastic waste generation, the use of biobased polymers, and so on. After the lecture, the NCL RF research scholar awards for the year 2024 were given by Prof. Sanat Kumar to the meritorious research students of CSIR-NCL.
