Lead-free glass for radiation shielding application by utilizing agricultural waste material: Organs-specific effective dose rate estimation

초록

The use of rice husk ash (RHA) an agricultural waste not only reduces environmental impact but also contributes to the development of circular economy. The exploration of RHA as a renewable energy resource has enormous potential in promoting sustainable development. The glass composition in this work incorporates silica from RHA derived through sintering processes. A glass system with the composition (60-x)B2O3-xBi2O3-20ZnO-20RHA (x = 25, 35, 45 mol%) was prepared through heavy metal oxide (Bi2O3) substitution using the melt quenching technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to confirm the amorphous nature of the glasses. The BZRBi25, BZRBi35, and BZRBi45 glass samples exhibit appropriate transmittance in the visible region at a consistent thickness of 1 mm. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to identify the vibrational modes and their corresponding functional groups. The replacement of B2O3 with Bi2O3 in the prepared glasses resulted in an increase in the density from 4.061 to 4.843 g/cm3. To confirm the accuracy of the values over an energy range of 0.015-15.0 MeV, a comparative analysis was carried out for the gamma ray shielding parameters, namely, the mass attenuation coefficients (mu m), effective atomic number (Zeff), and effective electron density (Neff) estimated by WinXCom software (theoretical), Compton scattering (experimental), and Particle and Heavy Ion Transport Code System (PHITS-simulation). In comparison to standard shielding materials, the examined glasses exhibit reduced half value layer (HVL) values. At an energy of 0.662 MeV, the lead equivalent thickness (Delta eq) of the glass samples increases with increasing concentration of Bi2O3. Additionally, the total mass stopping power (TMSP) and projected range (PR) have been determined for proton particles (H+) and alpha particles (He+2), respectively. A PHITS Monte Carlo simulation was performed at 0.662 MeV to calculate absorbed dose and effective dose rate in a phantom with and without shielding glass. The results indicate that the incorporation of RHA into the eco-friendly radiation shielding glasses has the potential to be an effective replacement for protection against gamma, proton, and alpha radiations.

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