PIB Summary- 29th April, 2021 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

A simple and fast solution to the Oxygen crisis

Context: IIT Bombay shows how to solve the prevailing Oxygen shortage by converting Nitrogen Generator into Oxygen Generator.

Details

• A pilot project of IIT-Bombay which converts a PSA (Pressure Swing Adsorption) Nitrogen Unit to a PSA Oxygen Unit has been tested successfully.
• Oxygen production could be achieved at 3.5 atm pressure, with a purity level of 93% – 96 %.
• This gaseous oxygen can be utilised for COVID-related needs across existing hospitals and upcoming COVID-19 specific facilities by providing a continuous supply of oxygen.
• How is the nitrogen unit being converted into an oxygen unit?
  - It has been done by fine-tuning the existing Nitrogen Plant setup and changing the molecular sieves from Carbon to Zeolite.
• The pilot project is a collaborative effort between IIT Bombay, Tata Consulting Engineers and Spantech Engineers, Mumbai, who deal with PSA Nitrogen & Oxygen plant production.

Pressure Swing Adsorption

• Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) is a technology used to separate some gas species from a mixture of gases under pressure.
• PSA operates at near-ambient temperatures (temperature relating to the immediate surroundings) and differs significantly from cryogenic distillation techniques of gas separation.
• Cryogenic separation is a commercial process that takes place at very low temperature.

MACS 1407

Context: New variety of soybean developed.

About MACS 1407

• Indian Scientists have developed a high-yielding and pest-resistant variety of soybean.
• This newly developed variety called MACS 1407 is suitable for cultivation in the states of Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and North-Eastern states.
• Its seeds will be made available to farmers for sowing during the 2022 Kharif season.
• The new variety has been developed by scientists from MACS – Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), Pune, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi.
• The variety was developed using the conventional cross breeding technique.
• MACS 1407 gives 39 quintals per hectare making it a high yielding variety and is also resistant to major insect-pests like girdle beetle, leaf miner, leaf roller, stem fly, aphids, white fly and defoliators.
• Its thick stem, higher pod insertion (7 cm) from ground, and resistance to pod shattering make it suitable even for mechanical harvesting.
• It is suitable for rain-fed conditions of north-east India.
• Its seeds have 19.81 % oil content, 41 % protein content and show good germinability.
• This high yielding, pest resistant, low water and fertiliser requiring soybean variety, suitable for mechanical harvesting has recently been released by the Central Sub-Committee on Crop Standards, Notification and Release of Varieties of Agricultural Crops under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare making it legally available for seed production and cultivation.