Feerix, a Novel Irradiation Platform for R&D, Education and Training

Nowadays, a clear growth in switching from industrial radioactive source based (60Co) irradiators to X-ray and Electron Beam irradiators is observed in the field of industrial radiation processing as well as for health or research applications needing smaller irradiators. This switch is driven by the difficulty to purchase, transport and reload radioactive sources as well as dealing with potential radioactive wastes. Electron beam or X-ray irradiation is a cold, and residue-free physical treatment that has been used for several decades. Among the desired effects on irradiated products one can mention, the microbiological decontamination or sterilization, the modification of the physico-chemical properties of materials, the radical degradation of molecules of interest or the radiochemical creation of neoformed molecules. The feerix facility, setup in 2019, is an industrial like, novel and unique high energy and high power irradiation plant with its multiple beam lines producing 10 MeV electrons and 5 and 7 MV X-rays.