Industrial use electron accelerator

• Grant number: 00/13111-5
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: December 01, 2001
• End date: June 30, 2002
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Nuclear Physics
• Principal Investigator: Jose Carlos Orsi Morel
• Grantee: Jose Carlos Orsi Morel
• Company: Metron - Física Aplicada & Instrumentação S/C Ltda
• City: São Paulo

Abstract

The present project proposes to build an electron accelerator for industrial use in the areas of petrochemicals, chemical-pharmaceuticals, foods and the treatment of effluents.With modern technology, developed nationally, and which offers reliability, reduction in costs, minimization of primary and secondary environmental impact, in addition to making the technology available to the range of small and medium businesses, which presently are unable to take advantage of it due to serious technical and commercial barriers. The use of electron accelerators in industry is fairly widespread in industrialized countries, however, it presents two serious problems. The high cost of the equipment and its maintenance and the existence of few suppliers. In addition to this, the designs of the machines are of an old conception – the majority of their patents are from 25 years ago –, they are not very efficient and they consume a great deal of energy, which has hampered the spread of the technology in Brazil. The industrial base, however, would benefit greatly from a broad dissemination of this technology, from the point of view of saving foreign currency and the improvement of environmental conditions, as well as the expansion of the possibilities for research and development of new materials, such as, for example, technical packaging, the insulation of electrical cables for applications in the automobile and aeronautical industries and the cure of adhesives, varnishes and paints on different substrates. The proposed machine aims to generate extended electronic fluxes, of high current and moderate energy. The undertaking is divided in three phases. The first is the development of a workbench experimental model, containing the fundamental elements of the project in order to demonstrate the technical-commercial viability. The second phase involves the construction of a prototype with all the elements of the final equipment and which will enable the evaluation of its operation within a realistic industrial environment. The third phase will consist essentially of transfer of the technology generated to an industrial base contemplating the mass production of the items developed in the present project and the development of national suppliers for its accessory items. (AU)