Comparative Study on Absorbed Dose Distribution of Potato and Onion in X-ray and Electron Beam System by MCNPX2.6 Code

Abstract

The absorbed dose distribution and depth dose of X-ray and electron irradiation in a phantom of water, a box of onion and potato powder, and a box of fresh onions and potatoes were calculated by using Monte Carlo N-Particle extended (MCNPX2.6) code. Simulation parameters were extracted from a Rhodotron accelerator at Yazd Radiation Processing Center (YRPC). The estimated absorbed dose distribution and depth dose in the water phantom show the well-distributed absorbed dose of 0.8–1.8 kGy for X-ray. This finding is consistent with the experimental results. However, the dose depth and distribution of electron irradiation are inappropriate. As such, the optimum conditions were obtained for electron irradiation by varying box thickness, beam current and distance between energy source and box surface. Optimum energy and current, box wall thickness, and distance between energy source and box surface were also estimated for onion and potato powders and for fresh onions and potatoes to achieve the appropriate dose distribution and desired depth dose of 1–3 kGy for onion and potato powder and 0.1–1 kGy for fresh onions and potatoes. Therefore, appropriate irradiation processes to powders and fresh materials are X-ray and electron irradiation, respectively.