Editorial

Abstract

The present number of ICE is a designated Special Issue, examining the concept of ‘Green Energy and Sustainable Environment’. Conventional energy sources, primarily fossil fuels, are fast depleting. Moreover, they are the leading factor behind massive Carbon Footprints and the resultant Global Warming. The papers, included in this issue, were originally presented at an international conference, held by the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, to explore and investigate innovative ideas and novel technologies within the realm of a sustainable ecosystem. Humanity is at a crossroad today. On the one hand, the mankind is facing an unprecedented threat to its very survival in the long run due to the Climate Change across the globe. On the other hand, for ensuring a better and more liveable world for ourselves and the posterity, nations are joining hands at many levels and the boundaries are blurring. This is particularly true in the realm of science and technology. For instance, our fight against the deadly pandemic would have been much more difficult in the absence of relentless cooperation and collaboration between multiple nations to rein in the dreaded virus with new vaccines and innovative treatment regimens. Against this backdrop, for Chemical Engineering and its allied fields, sustainability through development of innovative technologies is becoming a priority on each passing day. Indeed, Chemical Engineering is an all-embracing discipline as it is present in many layers of the living world – energy, environment, food, water, manufacturing, health and medicines, etc. As responsible members of the Chemical Engineering fraternity, the task, therefore, is to continue with our job to search persistently so as to attain sustainability as well as growth and development through innovative technologies. This Special Issue of ICE is being published in that spirit. ICE will continue to highlight various aspects of sustainability, green technology and development. In the coming issue, we will present select articles on the questions of sustainability in the mineral sector, energy efficiency with regard to fossil fuels, etc. The papers, to be published, were presented at IIChE’s annual Chemical Engineering Congress in 2021 (CHEMCON 2021), which was organised at the CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, Bhubaneswar. Finally, we are keen on receiving quality research papers from ICE’s readers in India and abroad, who are consummate academics, serious research scholars and keen students, and, like us, who are looking for a better world to live.