4 - Applications of nuclear science and radioisotope technology in the industries, and in environmental sustainability

Abstract

Nuclear science and radioisotope technology play an important role in supporting sustainable development. it has wide applications in different industries. oil and gas industry, for instance, are used to explore petroleum and minerals by using a number of technologies such as neutron activation analysis, thus revealing the presence of oil and gas reservoirs, type of mineral elements, and the percentage of their presence in the ground. moreover, nuclear science and radioisotope technology play a significant role in the reservoir understanding and therefore, increasing oil and gas production rates by supporting the enhanced recovery operations. It is also used in the detection of oil spills in oil pipelines and protecting the environment from oil pollutions. Nuclear science and radioisotope contributed to advancing measuring systems that can works in a very complex environment by introducing smart nucleonic gauges technology. this technology has contributed to the creation of a good generation of measuring devices that work in determining different static or continues measurement parameters including the levels, flow, weight, the density of any materials whether liquid or solid or gas stored in closed tanks or flow lines and enable distinguishing separations between different products. it also can be used in production lines to measure the level of liquids in opaque packages, to check the quality, and to exclude nonconforming packages. nuclear science and radioisotope technology contributed to revealing defects in the manufacturing industry using nondisruptive nuclear imaging techniques that classical methods unable to provide. nuclear nondestructive techniques help to detect the presence of any cracks in industrial structures and the extent of the quality of welding, examining the bodies of aircraft, ships and bridges, and detecting any deposits in pipes or alloys. Nuclear energy contributed to the sustainability of the environment and protecting it from greenhouse gas emissions. nuclear technology has enabled the production of electricity for domestic and industrial uses without zero emission of greenhouse gases and the conversion of the surplus into stored hydrogen energy that can be used as hydrogen fuel for transportation, in addition to its ability to desalinate seawater and meet the increasing demand on water and power as a result of population growth. Ionized radiation in cross-linking polymerization to change the properties of materials including but not limited to food packaging polymer foams, electrical wire and cable, radial tires, carbon fiber composites, nano-, and micro composites sensors, medically oriented applications and many other products plastics. Radiation cross-linking polymerization makes make these products have the required strength, flexibility, stiffness, and resistance to heat and weather. In sum, the uses of nuclear technology and radioisotopes in the industry are so wide and very important to raise the quality levels of industrial products, avoidance of industrial defects, protecting the environment not only that but also credited for our safety at home and work through smoke detection devices.