Radiation sterilization of medical supplies in Europe and the United States has become a new disinfection process, and most of the γ-ray radiation source industrial devices used in this field. The advantages are: ① radiation sterilization is a cold disinfection method, especially for medical products, especially heat-sensitive materials and plastic products sterilization; ② strong penetration, can penetrate the internal disinfection, including encapsulated in glass, metal containers within the items of disinfection; ③ encapsulated disinfection, to facilitate the control of contamination; ④ large-volume continuous production.
The use of radiation on environmental pollutants, is a new technology of environmental protection is valued. Some intermediate test units of this technology have been successfully operated. The use of gas pedal electron beams on the iron and steel mills discharged waste gas irradiation, can remove sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide gas, with ammonia absorption of irradiation of the transformed material can also be produced ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate. Sewage and industrial wastewater radiation treatment, in addition to sterilization, but also many organic and inorganic pollutants can be modified, oxidation or decomposition, so that the BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand) and COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) value is significantly reduced, can be aldehydes, cyanide, organic mercury, nitrosamines, chlorine-containing organics and dyes, etc., effective treatment, especially for those who have difficulty in dealing with biochemical methods of pollutants have a more The practical significance.
The use of radiation on the digestion of sludge irradiation, can kill bacteria and viruses, kill parasite eggs, inhibit the germination of weed seeds, destroy the colloid, improve the rate of dehydration. Sterilized sludge can be used as fertilizer applied to farmland, or as feed for livestock. After the sludge is irradiated, the bacterial residual rate is as low as less than one percent. New application areas of radiation processing are still being developed, such as irradiation cleavage for regulating the molecular weight of polymers, radiation sterilization of animal feed, radiation cleavage of organofluorine polymer wastes, radiation immobilization of biologically active substances, and so on.
China's radiation processing research is mostly concentrated in the radiation preparation of polymer materials and food irradiation preservation, has achieved results and intermediate tests or ready to carry out intermediate tests of about 20 items, including wool radiation disinfection and radiation preservation of food and other 4 projects, which has become a product of more than 10 items.