Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
The young researcher, Bayan, volunteered behind chemistry to purify water from agricultural pesticides, and directed her applied research to solve the pollution challenge that threatens the secret of life.
In this dialogue, "Environmental and Development Perspectives" deals with Bayan's passion for chemistry and follows the conclusions of her scientific research.
young biography
She saw Bayan Khalaf al-Nur in the fall of 1992, then moved with her family from Saudi Arabia, where she was born, to Jordan and Palestine, and completed her education in Burqin, Jenin Governorate, and school was the “golden period” for her.
She finished her bachelor's degree in three and a half years from the Arab American University in early 2016. In the same year, she continued her studies to obtain a master's degree in chemistry at An-Najah National University, and finished it in a year and a half, after which she set out to search for a scholarship to study a doctorate at a foreign university, but that Many obstacles prevented this. Later, she received a grant from the "Middle East Center for Desalination Research", located in Muscat, and received support from him to conduct research related to water pollution, and he gave her a doctorate grant, then she was awarded the "Bridge of Palestinian-German Cooperation" grant, and in the years 2018 and 2019 she moved more than once to Germany to conduct its research.
She lived in Jülich, the German scientific city that includes students from all over the world. She also visited 12 countries during her doctoral research trip. She was acquainted with many cultures. She describes the days of exile and travel as “the most beautiful days of her life” because of the experiences that enriched her experiences in life. And because she is a "Palestinian studying doctorate in chemistry", she raised the astonishment of other students of different nationalities.
Teaching, research and volunteering
Bayan has received several awards in competitions inside and outside Palestine, participated in international conferences in Germany, Turkey, Palestine and Jordan, has scientific papers in international refereed journals, received support for her research during her studies, carried out many volunteer work, and contributed to organizing scientific conferences.
Before that, she taught chemistry in cultural centers in Jenin, and gave private lessons in her home for university and high school students, and after her master’s degree, she moved to teaching at “Arab American” for two years, then devote herself to a doctorate, and returned in the fall of 2020 to the same university as a lecturer, and worked at Al-Quds Open University. She has been volunteering for some time now at Tamkeen to help women provide outside education opportunities, and she is also planning a postdoc, which she completed at the age of 28.
She tells the reporter of "Environmental and Development Perspectives": "Analytical and physical chemistry are two branches of general chemistry that are divided into organic, inorganic, physical and analytical, and my master's and doctoral degrees were in physical and analytical chemistry, knowing that analytical chemistry is similar to environmental chemistry, while physical chemistry means Integrating physics, chemistry and mathematics together.
She added that analytical chemistry is based on knowing the components of materials in terms of quantity and type, so if we have a sample, and we want to know the elements and compounds in it, and their concentration, then this is analytical chemistry, and this ultimately affects the environment.
According to a statement, she was able to finish her doctorate in three and a half years with a grade of distinction. She started by studying theoretical courses, then took a comprehensive exam in the subjects of the Bachelor's, Master's, and Ph.D.
Khalaf chose to delve into chemistry after completing her first university degree in 2014, so she went to a master's degree, and was drawn to water purification and treatment, due to Palestine's urgent need for this specialty, the scarcity of its water resources, and the occupation's control over it.
She continues by saying: "For years, my focus has been on water purification in our country. In my master's degree, I worked on purifying water from toxic metals such as nickel, cadmium, lead, and others. In my PhD, I headed to purify water in Palestine from fixed agricultural pesticides, which resist decomposition in water, air and soil. ".
Pesticide mess
In 2017, the young researcher laid out the first features of the water purification project from agricultural pesticides in general, then began to inventory the pesticides and the technology mechanism, and in the doctorate, she focused on purifying water from the fixed agricultural pesticides used in Palestine.
She confirmed that she knew, during her research, that there are a very large number of pesticides, and she chose the fixed ones, which need a long time to decompose. In the course of her research, she dealt with the scientific names of pesticides, and did not use the trade names that farmers and companies usually deal with.
She added, "My studies were limited to Difenoconazole, a fungicide with trade names such as (Score and Skipper), and Tetraconazole.
At the beginning of the research, I found that the world of pesticides is rapidly changing, and some compounds can be prohibited or allowed by the Ministry of Agriculture, depending on the degree of their toxicity and the necessity of their use.
She explained that the common denominator in fixed pesticides is "that they remain in the soil, air, and water." During her research, she did not find many data about these types of pesticides used in Palestine. In general, the theoretical studies that she carried out did not confirm the existence of significant pollution in water due to pesticides so far. “However, we need to prove or deny this using accurate scientific devices, and devices may be developed that provide us with new data, especially that water pollution with pesticides “occurs in very small proportions, but it represents a great danger,” according to her speech.
In her study, Bayan worked on cellulose, which it extracted from peat (residues of olive pressing) in large quantities of up to 50%, and prepared from peat "cellulose compounds" with very small molecules with great results, and other compounds that she activated with other chemical compounds, all of which are environmentally friendly, and do no harm. .
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Achievements and Awards
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