By Dele Ogbodo
The President, African University of Science and Technology (AUST), Abuja, Prof. Peter Azikiwe Onwualu, the President of Polymer Institute of Nigeria (PIN), Prof. Paul Madus Ejikeme, Chairman of PIN, Dr. Innocent Akuvue and stakeholders in the polymer industry have advocated for a new paradigm in the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the institutionalization of new culture of responsible disposal of polymeric end-products for Nigeria’s overarching industrial development.
Speaking as the keynote Speaker at the Institute’s 34th Polymer Conference in Abuja at the weekend, Onwualu, while pushing for sufficiency of data for stakeholders underscores that the time for adoption of Artificial Intelligence in the sector is now so as to optimize polymer production, design smart packaging and disposal of hazardous chemicals that may pollute environment.
He said: “Remember that the entire chemicals industry from oil and gas is based on polymers and once you process crude oil and get petrol diesel and you get petrol and other products things that you use to make petrol-chemicals which are now use to make polythene bags, plastics and even pharmaceuticals.
“All these things are important for our industries and if we develop this sector very well it means that we will stop importing all these industrial chemicals and all the polymers products that are imported into the country.
Onwualu, acknowledged that polymers otherwise refer to as plastics are ubiquitous and in manufacturing you cannot do anything without plastics or polymers, adding: “The problem that we have is that these plastics or polymers are very useful as materials for manufacturing.
“But, what we find is that people use them irresponsibly, in other words when you use a material the way you dispose-off that material is important and what we find is that people use polymers and plastics irresponsibly and they are not properly disposed.”
He however added that there are recycling companies that actually transform the same polymer that you have thrown away they are recycled and used in another materials for another thing.
“But what happens in our society is that these things are put into the same garbage bin with glass with glass, bio-degradable materials and so at the day you have a basket of all kinds of waste in the landfill site and polymers do not degrade.
“And so they now constitute environmental challenges but if we put our acts together and make sure that we use plastic responsible, first of all some of them you can actually do re-use two or three times before you dispose.
“In disposing it should be done in such a manner that people who are doing recycling can actually buy them and recycle them and use them again so that they don’t constitute environmental pollution or hazards and some people even try to burn them and when this is done they emit toxic substances into the atmosphere.
“So this is another example of another of irresponsible use and as scientists in this conference you will see that people are proposing solutions based on their research on how to degrade these plastics so that you can actually have them degrade like biological materials and there is also a new area of research now, to produce what is call biodegradable plastics that is making plastics from bio materials like plants and in such a way that when they are thrown away they can degrade just like biological materials.”
Also fielding questions from reporters at the sideline of the event, the National President of the institute, Prof. Paul Ejikeme, a Chartered Chemist and Dean, Faculty of Physical Sciences at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) Nsukka in Enugu State, admitted that there are though concerns for health and environmental issues on use of polymer, adding…Just like the keynote speaker said, there are a lot of challenges but the institute has capacity and knowledge to address them.
According to him, the federal government and the institute are concluding arrangements together with industry stakeholders which revolve around the proper and effective disposal of polymer products.
He said: “Anytime polymer is mentioned people will quickly run to those areas where polymer is a problem and as institute what we are doing is to be a pressure group on the government to make sure that a number of policies and legislations are put in place to ameliorate part of the problems associated with the sector.”
On Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) project, the President, said: “At the moment we are liaising with the National Assembly (NASS), and very soon we will be meeting with the office of the leadership of the National Assembly to make our contributions very clear to government that there are a lot that PIN in liaison with other professional bodies can do together on making CNG accessible to Nigerians.
While commending government on the CNG initiative, he said: “To us, CNG is a good project because it will revolutionalise our transportation sector and the way we do things.”
Ejikeme, however dismiss the notion and idea calling for the ban of polymer products, adding: “What is clear is that it will be impossible to ban use of polymer products.
“Polymer goes beyond even the plastic bags and buckets that you see everywhere, it include our dresses and shoes are all polymer and so banning polymer is something that is utopic.
However, he said it is the environmental challenges coupled with the irresponsible use of polymers and for us an institute that we are concerned and we are trying to proffer solution to this.
“We are working on the chartering of our institute through a bill that has passed through the National Assembly but unfortunately the former President couldn’t appended his signature for its enactment.
Hopefully when the Act is signed what it means is that a lot of things will be put in place that will lead to responsible manufacturing and responsible use of these polymeric products.
The President, acknowledged that polymer scientists have done a lot of work on bio-degradable polymers which means that after the life span of any polymer materials can be put out there even at the dumpsite for quick degradation, stressing that this will address irresponsible dumping of polymer materials in the environment.
The Chairman of PIN, Dr. (Engr.) Innocent Akuvue, said proper utilization and deployment of Polymer can turnaround the industrial economy of Nigeria, adding: “That is the reason why we are here for the 2024 conference.
He said: “In everyday life, we must inevitably come in contacts with polymer products and to make its utilization more viable and useful there is the need to use appropriate technology and that is why the theme of the 2024 conference has to do with AI because the world is shifting.
“We therefore need to go along with the best technology on how to maximize the use of polymer products. I can tell you that if we do that a lot of jobs will be created for our teeming youths and for graduates of Polymer sciences and engineering across the country.”
The essence of this institute, the Chairman, said, is to ensure that the right things are put in place in terms of the use and deployment of polymer products, adding: “We talk about recycling and you also know that in every minute of our life we must do something with polymer either through our cloths or polythene bag, leather etc etc, therefore is the responsibility of the institute to ensure that Nigerians should know what benefits they can get from these products and how safe the application of these products can be.
The Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, Dr. Elizabeth Dashie, in a response to the theme of the conference, said: “Polymer is everything, no economic activity can be done without polymer in it.
According to her, polymer has very wide use and for any country to have good economic recovery there is need to develop the polymer sector.
She said: “If you talk of engineering, the textile industry, oil and gas, households etc etc the list is endless and in this era of Artificial Intelligence, we have taken cognizance that technology is moving very fast and if we don’t adopt Artificial Intelligence in developing our own polymer sector we will be left far behind.
“The institute has a lot of experts that have come up with innovations and researches that can turnaround the polymer industry for Nigeria’s economic recovery and those are the people that we have brought together at this year’s conference to rub minds together on new innovations and research outputs to chart the way for the appropriate use of polymer as catalyst to develop Nigeria.
