Thermoluminescence studies of calcite extracted from natural sand used in making roasted chickpea

In this study, thermoluminescence (TL) properties of the calcite extracted from natural sand which is used in making roasted chickpeas were investigated. And also the effects of different thermal treatments on thermoluminescence glow curve were observed. Two distinct TL peaks were observed at ∼130 °C and ∼230 °C. The annealing of sample, especially at 900 °C, causes a huge enhancement in sensitization of TL. Linearity in dose response is observed for the values up to 0.6 kGy and above 0.6 kGy linearity is not preserved and dose response becomes sublinear. The best reproducibility is obtained when the samples are annealed between 400°C and 600 °C. - Highlights: • The natural sand sample used in making roasted chickpea shows thermoluminescence properties. • Annealing at 900 °C for about 15 min gives best TL output. • A good sensitization of about 70 factor was observed in annealed samples when they were compared with no annealed samples. • At doses lower than 0.6 kGy, dose response is linear and sublinear at doses higher than 0.6 kGy. • The best reproducibility is obtained when the samples are annealed between 400 °C and 600 °C