Radiation processing in India. Current status and future program

Radiation processing is an alternative to conventional methods such as thermal and chemical processing in many industrial applications. In India, this technology has found extensive applications in area of healthcare, agriculture, food preservation, industry and environment. Both gamma radiation and electron beam accelerators are being utilized for this purpose. Presently, 6 commercial gamma irradiators housing about 1.5 million curie Co-60 and an annual turnover of over US$ 2 million and 3 commercial electron beam (EB) accelerators with installed capacity of 185 kW are commercially operating in India. Five demonstration plants housing a total of 0.5 million curie Co-60 have been set up to assess the techno-commercial viability of the processes such as radiation vulcanization of natural rubber latex, decontamination of spices, hygienization of sewage sludge, shelf-life extension of onions. The new areas being explored include use of electron beam treated pulp for viscose-rayon process, radiation processed 'hydrogel' burn/wound dressings and radiation processing of natural polymers. In the present paper, the current status of this program, especially the recent developments and future direction of radiation processing technology in India is reviewed. (author)