In recent months a novel pathogen has emerged from China, whose infection is associated with a Severe Respiratory syndrome and 3.5 million people have already lost their lives as of May 2021 due to getting infected by Coronavirus. Chemistry is making great contributions to the global fight against Coronavirus. Many people are working in the field of chemistry putting their best foot forward and investing their efforts, heart and soul to overcome the pandemic of Covid-19. Everyone is contributing be it as working from home or attending their labs and companies. We have already realized impact of ongoing Covid-19 pandemic on the chemical industries worldwide. This includes the impact of the pandemic on the production of Chemicals, Chemical companies’ profits, Chemical manufacturing plants efficiency and petrochemical prices. Covid-19 directly affects chemistry and its related fields. Global chemical production has drastically changed due to Covid-19 as well as declining performance of chemical and specialty materials by end market.
Research is regularly expanding our understanding of chemistry and leading to new discoveries. Chemistry will aid us elucidate many future problems, including sustainable energy and food production, managing our environment, providing safe drinking water and promoting human and environmental health. Chemistry has a key role to play in understanding everything from viral structure to pathogenesis, manufacture of vaccines and therapies, as well as in the development of materials and techniques used by researchers, virologists and clinicians. In past several days EOSi has received a number of requests for MicroC products from a variety of industries and municipal clients to supplement the BOD/COD carbon loading shortfall as a result of these changes. MicroC carbon sources are non-hazardous enabling easy and rapid deployment in packaged or bulk quantities to maintain the operational and biological process health of the wastewater treatment plant.
One of the main routes of human exposure to pollutants is through drinking water. Thus, this point of view discusses some major contaminants in drinking water known to be immunotoxic, exploring sources and drinking water routes and emphasizing on the known mechanisms or action that could likely compromise the effective immune response of humans, particularly raising concerns regarding people exposed to the Covid-19 virus. Based on a literature review, metals, plastic components, plasticizers and polyfluoroalkyl substances may display the potential to aggravate covid-19 respiratory symptoms, although epidemiological studies are still required to confirm the synergistic effects between the pollutants and the virus.
The overall decrease of BOD and COD concentrations and increase of pH suggests a general improvement in Ganges water quality during the lockdown periods, potentially caused by reduced effluent. We also establish that land use (agricultural/industrial) in the vicinity of the river seems to have a strong influence on river pollutants. The observations provide a cautious optimistic scenario for potentially developing sustainable drinking water sources in the future by using these observations as the basis of proper scientifically prudent, spatially adaptive strategies and technological interventions.
Specialty chemicals have numerous uses across a broad range of industries, like polymers and plastics, adhesives, paints and coatings, lubricants, cleaning materials, etc. Any interruption during this industry features a cascading consequence on various other segments that are hooked in to specialty chemicals. Uneven demand has been detected for specialty chemicals across different segments since the outbreak. While demand for specialty chemicals within the paints and coatings industry has gone down radically, its requirement within the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, cleaning agents, detergents, flavours and fragrances, and plastics has either gone up or remained stable. The paints and coatings industry has been hit severely as its two major end-use sectors, construction and automotive, have witnessed a big collapse in demand. Soon, specialty chemical manufacturers will get to make well-informed tactical changes and streamline their productions to steer this uneven demand situation until the threat of the pandemic is over and industry dynamics return to pre-outbreak levels
Chemists are helping to keep the lights on – literally. There are plenty of researchers whose efforts and conviction keeps power flowing to our houses, allowing those of us at home to connect with distant colleagues and loved ones, educate our children with online learning support. Do you know that Netflix is powered by chemistry? Well, we should be thankful to chemistry for keeping us sane during these difficult times as OTT platforms are our major support systems obviously after our families to keep our spirits high.
They’re also keeping water flowing in and out of our homes and hospitals. Skilled technicians are carefully monitoring and managing a clean and abundant water supply that supports everything: research, healthcare, and daily life. Envision our condition, as many millions face a pandemic in India and other countries and managing a pandemic when washing your hands is a luxury?
Of course, research and development has had a critical role to play too but chemistry-based research institutions and companies of all sizes are refocusing their efforts towards learning more about the virus, developing enhanced testing technologies, and eventually creating a vaccine. Many offer amenities or devices that already use pioneering chemical science to measure smaller samples, or achieve higher throughput. Chemistry is essential at every step of our response to the virus.
Beyond research, technicians are providing the specialist skills needed to run tests, maintain equipment and manage laboratory supplies – including the aids of chemicals for hand sanitizers and safety equipment that are going straight to doctors and nurses on the front lines. No matter how small a contribution is from the levels of technician to the scientific heads and experts, everyone is contributing to the human welfare like small chemical compounds. Each compound has to function in a proper way or the final end result product is toxic or harmful. Same way chemists and chemistry works like a well-oiled machined constantly pushing ahead with times and expanding the envelopes of horizon for research in such difficult times. Chemistry is the magic that keeps happening each day every day in lives of biological beings which eventually helps keep the world perfectly balanced, as all things should be!
