Preparation and Performance Evaluation of X-ray-Shielding Barium Sulfate Film for Medical Diagnosis Using PET Recycling and Multi-Carrier Principles

Abstract

The use of disposable containers and packaging materials has increased due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the generation of plastic waste is also increasing, and research on recycling such waste is being actively conducted. In this study, an X-ray-shielding film for medical diagnosis was manufactured by mixing a radiation-shielding material and a plastic waste-based polymer material and its effectiveness was evaluated. The film, which is intended as a fabric for a shielding garment, consists of barium sulfate (BaSO4) shielding nanoparticles embedded in a matrix of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a commonly available waste plastic material. A particle-dispersing technology, which can improve the ratio between the shielding and matrix materials while maintaining the tensile strength of the film, was studied. Therefore, to increase the content of the barium sulfate (BaSO4) nanoparticles used as the shielding material, this multi-carrier method—under which the particles are dispersed in units of time—was developed to improve the shielding performance. Compared with the effectiveness of lead (Pb) shielding film, the 3 mm barium sulfate film developed in this study satisfies the lead equivalent of 0.150 mmPb when stacked in two layers. Therefore, a shielding film was successfully manufactured by using plastic waste as a polymer resin and barium sulfate, an eco-friendly radiation-shielding material, instead of lead.