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内容記述 |
Radiation processing has long been an effective industrial tool for production of functional materials without the use of toxic initiators, offering economic, technical, and environmental advantages. In recent years, electron beam accelerators have emerged as the preferred technology for such applications, however, the acquisition cost of high energy units can be very restricting for local industries. Low energy electron beams (LE-EB) have lower unit costs, require less maintenance and are usually self-shielded, making them the more accessible technological choice. They take up modest space and can be integrated in existing processing lines. To evaluate their applicability for the production of radiation modified products, LE-EB was used to synthesize the kappa carrageenan (KC) plant growth promoter (PGP) developed by the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, which was previously produced using gamma and mid-energy electron beam. In this study, a 250-keV self-shielded machine (Iwasaki) was used to degrade KC solutions, following their molecular weight profile through gel permeation chromatography. Results show that optimum application of dose, dose rate, concentration and solution thickness allowed for the reproduction of the active fragments of the KC-PGP, providing a proof of concept for the technical feasibility of LE-EB for this purpose. This should soon be accompanied by a more comprehensive design of feeding mechanism to enable continuous production along with a thorough financial feasibility to make the technology more accessible for industry. |
