The accelerated electron ionization It is currently one of the most innovative industrial sterilization and property improvement processes and recognized worldwide for its effectiveness, safety and total absence of environmental impact. The most modern accelerated electron ionization plant has just been inaugurated in Spain. In this plant a linear electron accelerator with 40 KW of power and 10 MeV is used (read mega electron volt). We can say that An electron volt represents the kinetic energy that an electron acquires when accelerated by a potential difference of one volt. So 10 Mev is a very respectable accelerator. The most bestial particle accelerator today is the large hadron collider, or LHC famous for the recent confirmation of the existence of the Higgs boson among other things. In the LHC, the particle accelerator has reached energies of the order of TeV. If 1 mega is ten raised to six, 1 tera is ten raised to twelve. In other words, the electron accelerates a barbarity in the LHC.
And this of beta accelerated electron treatment what is it for? Well, it has important biological and physicochemical applications. The objective is sterilize products, sanitize food, disinfect, disinfect and improve material properties thanks to direct exposure to the electron beam. It is intended to provide sterilization service to the medical-pharmaceutical industry, to the food industry for animal and human consumption with the sterilization of packaging for dairy products, juices or tetra-briks, to the cosmetic industry for the treatment of talcum powder, bronzers or petroleum jelly, the automobile treating plastic components, in addition to products for veterinary use or to the wine industry with ionization of corks and probably those that can be developed.
The plant belongs to the Mevion company and also incorporates a system of automatic and universal transport that allows an integral management of the process which puts Spain at the forefront of this type of technologies. The plant has just opened in Ólvega (Soria) in a beautiful environment and with access to the great transport routes.
Ionization is a totally safe process with mild effects at reduced doses, coming from the medium or from sporadic exposures, similar to X-rays. The products treated by Mevion will follow a simple process and so, after the analysis by the technical team of the speed, intensity and dose necessary for the treatment, the units are received in the plant, they are treated according to the established parameters, a dosimetric reading and a parametric report are carried out that allow the experts to issue a quality certificate and are returned to their place of origin being ready to be distributed with total guarantee.
So when we access sterilized products we can think that it has previously been sprayed with a few accelerated electrons and reaching huge speeds. An exciting technology that encourages us to think that there are many possible futures for our children with adequate preparation and training and with great impact on our current and future daily life.
