Technology

BGS: The pioneer in radiation treatment for industrial purposes

BGS is one of the pioneers in radiation treatment with ionizing rays for industrial purposes. The company is proud of its contribution in the development of standards, technologies and many of the applications, which meanwhile have become standard in the industry. Radiation is a form of energy which is able to initiate chemical reactions. We utilize this energy to optimize products in many ways. The effects that we achieve are either based on the destruction of harmful microorganisms to guarantee product safety for use, the modification of polymers to give them better properties, or the enhancement of e.g. gemstones, semiconductors or thermosetting plastics.

Radiation Protection

Radiation is harmful to human health. Therefore, the top priority for us is to protect our employees by ensuring that in all of our plants nobody is exposed to radiation. This is achieved by multi-level safety systems which reliably prevent access to radiation plants. The plants are designed in such a way that an emission of radiation is excluded. We provide regular training courses for our employees to make sure that they are qualified in accordance with the current state of technology and therefore able to use our technology safely.

Since the radiation we use is not able to generate radioactivity due to physical limits, the products that we treat can obviously not become radioactive.

Radiation process

The radiation process consists of two main components: At first, the radiation is either generated by an electron accelerator or the use of radioactive isotopes, which emit gamma rays as they decay. There is a special radiation area where the products are treated with rays. This area is enclosed by massive concrete walls, completely shielding and excluding persons from the exposure to radiation.

We provide regular training courses to make sure that our employees are qualified in accordance with the current state of technology and therefore able to use the technology safely. The second equally important component is the transport system of products and goods. In a controlled process, the products are conveyed through the radiation zone. The transport system is able to handle different products, for example coiled products on drums, pallets or single cardboard boxes. The high precision of both components ensures that the correct radiation dose is applied to the product at all times. A high degree of automation and throughput is decisive for cost-efficiency.

Besides the two main components, a complex IT system ensures that the broad diversity of products is able to be processed in a secure, reproducible and error-free way. The system makes sure that the products and batches are completely traceable according to the regulatory specifications, which is required in the medical devices, pharmaceutical and other safety-critical industries.

More information about gamma and beta rays can be found here >>