Electron Beam Sterilization Process

Electron beam e beam radiation was introduced in the 1950s as a means of sterilizing single use disposable healthcare products the process however was not widely accepted due to the unreliable nature of the e beam equipment.

Electron beam sterilization process.

Given the fact that both gamma and ethylene oxide gas sterilization are effective and readily available technologies the increased focus on e beam can be ascribed to its having the shortest process cycle of any currently recognized sterilization method. Sterilization of single use medical devices and pharmaceutical contamination control in packaging cosmetics and toiletries strengthening of polymers due to cross linking and or. E beam services uses high power state of the art accelerators to create a powerful beam of electrons. Transitioning from cobalt 60 to e beam or x ray for sterilization a model for collaboration.

E beam will deliver a sub lethal dose to a number of units of product. Electron beam irradiation is a flexible and high speed process that can be used for a variety of applications including. In e beam processing the products are scanned for seconds with the bulk of the processing time devoted to transporting the products into and out of the radiation shielding. The micro lab then tests the samples to confirm that no more than 2 units out of 100 fail.

The electron beam sterilization process begins with an electron beam accelerator. The beam a concentrated highly charged stream of electrons is generated by accelerators capable of producing continuous or pulsed beams. The cost for e beam s part of this test is 1200. Electron beam processing has the ability to break the chains of dna in living organisms such as bacteria resulting in microbial death and rendering the space they inhabit sterile.

Electron beam and x ray technologies can be used to treat food and food ingredients to eliminate microbial pathogens i e pasteurization or at higher doses to sterilize food ingredients. The electron beam process can achieve widely differing effects such as sterilization polymer modification crosslinking and chain scission via its action as an ionizing radiation. E beam processing has been used for the sterilization of medical products and aseptic packaging materials for foods as well as disinfestation the elimination of live insects from grain tobacco and other unprocessed bulk crops. Electron beam e beam irradiation is a form of ionizing energy that is characterized by its low penetration and high dosage rates.

In its simplest terms the bombardment of a material with high energy electrons results in a cascade of these electrons moving through the target material.