E-BEAM Blog

How hot is my product going to get when it’s processed with e-beam?

How hot is my product going to get when it is beamed? A great question to be sure, and one that can be surprisingly difficult to answer…

Electron beam irradiation is a really fast process and delivers a lot of dose quickly. Dose being energy means there is a temperature rise in the product.

Let’s look at the theoretical part first, as that is the easy part.

The equation is ∆𝑇=1000 𝑥 𝐷𝑐

ΔT is the change in temperature in °C

D is the dose in kilogray (kGy) = 1 kJ/kg; this has to be converted to Gray (J/kg) for the units to cancel and is therefore multiplied by 1000.

c is the specific heat of the material absorbing dose in J/(kg°C)

Now an example using data from engineeringtoolbox.com https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/specific-heat-polymers-d_1862.html

For polycarbonate, a commonly sterilized polymer, using a 25 kGy dose, the math looks like:

1000 𝑥 25 𝑘𝐺𝑦1100 𝐽/(𝑘𝑔 °𝐶)= 23°C

Another example is polyethylene that is commonly crosslinked, and using a 200 kGy dose, the math looks like:

1000 𝑥 200 𝑘𝐺𝑦1550 𝐽/(𝑘𝑔 °𝐶)= 129°C

Wait! The melt point of polyethylene 135°C, how can polyethylene be dosed to crosslink it? Won’t it just melt? The answer is of course it would melt if it was dosed at 200 kGy in a single increment, therefore, when products are irradiated to “higher” dose levels, the dose is delivered incrementally or fractionally to the product. For example, we dose polyethylene parts at 20 kGy per pass for 10 passes. In between each pass is a delay of minutes before the next 20 kGy is delivered (which only takes a few seconds).

This time between passes allows for cooling, and a typical temperature that the parts may get to at 200 kGy may only be 75°C, a 50°C increase in temperature. How much cooling occurs and the ultimate temperature a product may reach is dependent on a number of factors, which makes it difficult to predict. It is also why we like to do qualification runs as close to what production settings will be to account for some of the factors beyond dose.

For sterilization applications, the maximum dose a product may receive within a case needs to be considered. With metals that may have a lower heat capacity, the temperature rise could be dramatic.

In special cases, different techniques of cold processing can be used involving refrigeration, freezing, or dry ice, but that is for another blog!

Posted in Crosslinking & Polymer Modification, E-Beam, Processing Capabilities, Processing Capabilities, Sterilization | Comments closed

Next Stop, The Foam Expo

Olivia RadcliffeNext stop, Michigan!

The Foam Expo provides the foam industry with solutions for end-user markets. Providing world-class contract electron beam processing so our customers can make great products is our jam. When it comes to foam, we use high-speed reel-to-reel equipment with the capability to handle (almost) all applications, ranging from films as thin as 5 mils (0.005”) to sheet as thick as 0.25 inches.

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Posted in Crosslinking & Polymer Modification, E-Beam | Comments closed

E-BEAM heads south to the IME South in Charlotte

 

E-BEAM is excited to be exhibiting at the inaugural MD&M South in Charlotte, North Carolina from June 14, 2022, to June 16, 2022– the Southeast’s most comprehensive medical design and manufacturing event. We’ll be in booth #1843– stop by and tell us about your latest project. We’d love to be a part of your success story! If you would like to request an appointment with our attendees below, please submit a request via the form to the right. Read More »

Posted in E-Beam, Sterilization | Comments closed

We’re off to Dallas, y’all!

Dallas Texas Skyline

This week we will be in Dallas at the Wire Expo, talking about crosslinking and of course electrons (a favorite 😉). The WAI Operations Summit & Wire Expo is held biennially in a different industry hub within the U.S. for the wire and cable manufacturing industry. Read More »

Posted in Crosslinking & Polymer Modification, E-Beam, Wire, Cable, & Tubing | Comments closed

E-BEAM Tech Services Duo to Attend MD&M West

E-BEAM Services does Anaheim, CAThe E-BEAM Technical Services dynamic duo of Olivia Radcliffe and Dr. Gustavo Varca are hitting the road to answer any and all questions related to e-beam sterilization. This pair of experts will be at the Medical Device and Manufacturing (MD&M) West Show from April 12-14 in sunny Anaheim California. Read More »

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E-BEAM Services to Participate in Plastics Technology Expo 2022

PTXPO Logo

 

Our team of electron experts is excited to be heading to the Plastics Technology Expo (or PTXPO, as the cool kids say) March 29-31. As polymer product development and modification collaborators, this new tradeshow connecting the entire North American plastics market under one roof is definitely in our wheelhouse.

It has been a long time since we have been able to exhibit at a full-scale industry event of this size. Since polymer modification is our jam you can imagine how geeked up we are for a comprehensive plastics tradeshow. At E-BEAM Services, we modify polymers and other materials using electron beam technology (hence our name…) to help clients make great products that our world wants and needs. Read More »

Posted in Crosslinking & Polymer Modification, E-Beam | Comments closed

Q&A with Tech Services | E-beam Bioreduction and Food Processing

 

Join the E-BEAM Tech Services duo of Olivia Radcliffe and Dr. Gustavo Varca as they discuss e-beam bioreduction and food processing.

 

(TL;DR: E-beam technology can be used to sterilize or bioreduce food products such as beef and fresh produce. At E-BEAM Services, we don’t process fresh foods, but we do process some food products such as spices. Bioreduction essentially delivers a sterilization-level dose for product that does not need to be labeled as “sterile.” E-beam bioreduction is a good fit for food products because it offers fast turnaround time and a quick dose rate so as to minimize degradation to important qualities such as taste and smell.)

 

Olivia: Alright! Hey everyone, I’m Olivia Radcliffe. I’m the Marketing and Technical Services Specialist here at E-BEAM Services. That is Nola sleeping behind me. She will snore. We’ll see how much it gets picked up on the mic. Hopefully, Gustavo won’t be snoring. So I’ll let you can give your spiel about who you are, what you do for E-BEAM.  Read More »

Posted in Bioreduction, E-Beam, Processing Capabilities, Sterilization | Comments closed

Q&A with Tech Services | Sterilization of Specialty Products

 

Join the E-BEAM Tech Services duo of Olivia Radcliffe and Dr. Gustavo Varca as they explore some of your FAQs about sterilizing specialty products.

 

(TL;DR: Beyond processing truckload quantities, e-beam technology is a good fit for specialty products that have small lots and vary from shipment to shipment, like 3D printed products and parts for bone replacements. E-beam is a good fit for 3 main reasons: 1. E-beam has the capability to deliver a very precise dose, 2. E-BEAM Services has temperature control systems in place that can be used for sensitive products, 3. E-BEAM has fast turnaround time options, which can be utilized in quick-turn scenarios, such as personalized products for surgeries, etc.)

 

Olivia: Alright! Hey everybody, I’m Olivia Radcliffe and I am here with Dr. Gustavo Varca. Gustavo, let you go ahead and introduce yourself a little bit here.

Gustavo: Hello everyone. Good morning. Good afternoon. Depends on where you are. I am Dr. Varca also known as Dr. V and I’m going to be speaking with you guys a little bit about radiation technologies.

And today I think we have a couple of questions again, that people send to us and I’ll be more than happy to answer them. Read More »

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Q&A With Tech Services – Crosslinking, Sterilization, Speciality Processing

 

Join the E-BEAM Tech Services duo of Olivia Radcliffe and Dr. Gustavo Varca as they explore some of your FAQs.

 

Olivia: All right. Hey everyone. I’m Olivia Radcliffe. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m the Marketing and Technical Services specialist at E-BEAM. So chances are, you’ve talked to me at some point or another in your product development journey. And I am here with my colleague from our New Jersey facility, Dr. Gustavo Varca, and we just kind of jumped on to answer some questions we’ve been getting a lot lately, make sure that everyone has the right information out there.

So, Gustavo, I will let you go ahead and tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do at E-BEAM.

Gustavo: Thank you, Olivia. Hello everyone. I am Dr. Varca. I am the New Applications Development Manager at E-BEAM Services, and I am a specialist in radiation technologies.

So I’m here to try to elucidate a little bit. And answer a couple of questions you guys may have had while looking for electron beam options for your product.

Olivia: So let me pull up some of the questions we got here. All right. So Gustavo, if it’s okay with you, I’m just going to read out some of the questions and let you answer rapid-fire. We’ll just go for it.

Gustavo: Fine by me. Read More »

Posted in Bioreduction, Chain Scissioning, Crosslinking & Polymer Modification, E-Beam, Processing Capabilities, Processing Capabilities, Sterilization | Comments closed

Live Foam Expo Trade Show? E-BEAM Crosslinking Experts Will Travel!

E-BEAM Services Foam Expo

E-BEAM Services is attending our first live trade show since early 2020! As trade shows, conferences, and in-person meetings are all returning we are so excited to connect with our peers and customers again at the Foam Expo North America. While we have worked creatively and learned all the virtual things – we appreciate the in-person gatherings.
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