Forum for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia (FNCA)
Electron Accelerator Application Project
Summary of the Workshop
Meranti Hotel & Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI)
the Philippines
8th - 11th February 2016
1) Outline of Workshop
i)

Date

8th - 11th February 2016ii) Venue

Meranti Hotel, Quezon
Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI), Quezoniii) Host Organisation

Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI), thePhilippines and Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology of Japan (MEXT)iv) Participants

Eighteen (18) participants from eight (8) FNCA
member countries: Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan,
Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia the Philippines andThailandv) Programme

Annex 1

2) Workshop Programme
Opening Session (8 February)
The workshop was attended by experts on applications of electron accelerator
and radiation processing of natural polymers from the FNCA participating countries
namely Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines
and Thailand. The list of participants of the workshop is attached in Annex 2.
Dr Dela Rosa, Ms Aoki and Dr Namba, each gave a welcoming speech andhoped for a fruitful discussion during the workshop. The participants then briefly
introduced themselves.
Session 1: Overview of FNCA
Dr Namba reported on the progress of FNCA projects during JFY2015. In
addition to the major decisions made during the last Ministerial Level Meeting held in
December 2015, the highlights and achievements of on-going FNCA projects, especiallyof radiation utilization projects including Electron Accelerator Application Project wereenumerated.
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Dr Masao Tamada, Director General of Takasaki Advanced Radiation ResearchInstitute, Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) presented history, achievement andchallenges of the project.

Electron accelerator application project in FNCA has two

major research subjects, one on plant growth promoter (PGP) and the other on super water
absorbent (SWA).

High quality PGP is produced by radiation-induced degradation ofnatural polysaccharides such as chitosan and carrageenan.

These environmentallyfriendly PGP products showed significant enhancement of yield on various crops like rice
& chili in field tests.

Synergetic effect of PGP and biofertilizer was observed inpreliminary experiments.

In the phase 5, from 2015FY to 2017FY, the project intends

to commercialize PGP in all participating countries by addressing the challenges andobstacles for its technology transfer. New applications of degraded polysaccharides or
new research will be considered after PGP commercialization.

A new guideline for end

users of PGP is planned to be uploaded on FNCA home page with the addition of newdata.

Promising collaboration between PGP project with other FNCA projects, such as

biofertilizer and mutation breeding, will be arranged. SWA prepared by crosslinking of
natural polysaccharides or grafting of hydrophilic monomer onto natural polysaccharides
is applicable as soil conditioner, especially to maintain the water content of soil in arid
areas.

Mixing of SWA with sandy soil enhanced the germination percentage of various

crop seeds. Field test of SWA showed decreased in watering frequency in sandy soil.
SWA performance and cost effectiveness will be evaluated in arid soil condition toestimate the possibility of commercialization in participating countries. Simultaneously,
new applications for SWA after commercialization as soil conditioner will be explored.
At the first session's discussion, Dr Darmawan Darwis from National Nuclear
Energy Agency (BATAN), Indonesia, recommended that application of PGP to a specificplant should be evaluated to get the suitable concentration with maximum yield, due todifferent plant and soil conditions. It was agreed that suitable concentration for selected
plant will be included in the FNCA Guideline for PGP.
Session 2: Country Report on Challenges in Commercialization of Plant Growth
Promoter (PGP)
Four (4) FNCA member countries, namely Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Mongolia
and the Philippines, have on-going activities towards commercialization of PGP.

The

summaries of the reports are attached as Annex 4 Part A, A-1.
Each member country is facing different types of problems or obstacles during
research and development as well as in commercialization.

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Bangladesh is still inresearch and plot trial, whereas Philippine is already in pre-commercialization stage.
Kazakhstan and Mongolia are facing problems on the source of raw materials to produce
oligochitosan PGP and very short planting period, only 3-4 months during summer to dotrial field which could affect collection of enough data to optimize application of PGP.
Both member countries were advised to conduct studies based on the established protocolof application and to choose the right crop before trial test. They can request forcooperation from the agricultural ministry in their country andfor suggestions onsuitable crop and small plot trial. Indonesia already offered the use of PGP developed bytheir Institute to Kazakstan for field trial.
In conclusion, each member country demonstrated a common beneficial effectof PGP that there is a significant increase in the yield of chosen crop.
Session 3: Obstacles in Commercialization of PGP
In Session 3, Dr Salma Sultana from Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission(BAEC) made a lead speech by wrapping up previous two sessions. She summarized thevarious obstacles faced by each member country as follows:
Kazakhstan and Mongolia
1. No available raw material source or supplier of chitosan in the country to prepare
oligochitosan
2. In one year, there are only few months to conduct planting/testing that is from Juneto September (temperature ranging 15 to 27oC)
3. Limited facilities to irradiate chitosan, human resources, and financial/budget to startexperiment (Mongolia)
Bangladesh
1. Difficult to make collaboration with agriculture institute
2. There are commercialized PGP from other source as competitor
The Philippines
1. PNRI needs to meet the demand of more than 600,000 L of oligocarrageenan PGP
for the multi-location field tests
2. PNRI can only produce 6,720L/month and there is a need for new production
method using the Electron Beam facility (2.5 MeV, 100kW)
3. Technical problems in bulk preparation of KC due to high viscosity and formation
aggregates or lumps when poured directly into water.

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After the discussion, some suggestions were laid down to overcome the obstacles
for commercialization of radiation-processed chitosan or carrageenan as PGP and plant
elicitor:
Kazakhstan and Mongolia
1. Use the oligochitosan PGP product developed by member states (Indonesia or
Malaysia) for a specific plant in green house scale.
2. Determine potential and specific crop to be used for the test.
3. For future activities, chitosan can be purchased from China or Russia.
Bangladesh
1. Collaboration with biofertilizer group is needed in order to get better results and able
to compete with other commercialized PGP.
The Philippines
1. Change in production process from gamma irradiation to electron beam irradiation.
2. Some activities should be done such as evaluate the dose distribution, setting dose to
get the same results as gamma irradiation, alternative procedure for dissolution ofcarrageenan.
Session 4: Country Report on New Research and Follow-up of Commercialized PGP
Three (3) FNCA member countries, namely Japan, Malaysia and Thailand, havealready achieved commercialization of PGP, while Indonesia is in the semi-commercial
stage.

The summaries of the reports are attached as Annex 4 Part A, A-2.
Questions related to application for patent and product permission were raised.

In Indonesian case, registration of PGP is required and the name of product should not be
the same as the original material. Registration is not needed for PGP in Thailand. Forprocessing of PGP, Japan has noted that irradiation with 1% of hydrogen peroxide
solution will enhance degradation of chitosan based on computer simulation. In Thailand
and Malaysian case, 2% and 30% of ethanol, respectively, were added after irradiation of
PGP solution in order to prolong shelf-life.
Session 5: Commercialization of PGP, and Tasks/Challenges and Current Situationof New Research (9 February)
In this session, Dr Darwis took a lead speech about the commercialization of
PGP, tasks, challenges and the current situation of new research. He summarized thecommercialization stages of PGP in member countries, including the market prices andspecifications. He also expressed the big gap in the activities of member countries citingthat Mongolia and Kazakhstan are still in R&D stage while others have achieved field4

test and commercialization. Countries in advanced stage have a role in supporting
Mongolia and Kazakhstan to speed up their activities. One recommendation is to use PGP
produced by Indonesia and follow FNCA Guideline for their identified plant. It wasrecommended for Mongolia to obtain oligochitosan from the Vietnam group.
During the discussion, it was acknowledged that the new semi-batch process of
PGP production using EB in the Philippines is a promising method for mass production.
Other member countries mentioned that solid state irradiation of chitosan for large scale
production seems to be a more practical method in terms of handling and transportation
to end users.
Session 6: Country Report on Hydrogel Super Water Absorbent (SWA)
Six (6) FNCA member countries, namely Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kazakhstan,
Malaysia. Mongolia and the Philippines, presented their on-going activities to achievecommercialization of SWA. The summaries of the reports are attached as Annex 4 Part
B, B-1.
Session 7: Country Report on SWA and Future Possibilities and Needs Analysis
Two (2) FNCA member countries that have already achieved commercializationof SWA, namely Japan and Thailand presented their country reports.

The summaries of

the reports are attached as Annex 4 Part B, B-2.
Session 8: Challenges in Commercialization of SWA in Next 3 Years
The lead speech from the Philippines presented that each country has its own
formulation of superwater absorbent, mainly composed of a natural polymer(carboxymethyl cellulose, sago, starch, kappa-carrageenan seaweed) grafted or
crosslinked with acrylic acid. Among members aiming for commercialization, only
Indonesia has advanced to field testing of SWA. Results on shallots showed

increased

productivity and reduced irrigation or watering frequency. The study also revealed better
productivity if SWA is combined PGP treatment. Bangladesh conducted semi-field tests
on tomato and eggplants and showed higher yield of both crops and lower watering
frequency. For Kazakhstan and Malaysia, concrete plans to conduct field testing weretargeted for this year. The Philippines, aside from continuous R&D activities, will submit
a proposal to Department of Agriculture for funding in order to implement the planned
semi-field and field activities. In the case of Mongolia, the material to be studied for SWA
is wheat husk/straw with acrylic acid.

5For countries that have commercialized SWA, Japan briefly talked about thecommercialized CMC SWA, manufactured by Nissin High voltage, and its applications.
Then a new application of superwater absorbent as radiation dosimeter/indicator forradiotheraphy based on hydroxypropyl cellulose was presented. Thailand presented thepilot scale production of SWA in TINT, with a capacity of 200 kg/day.

A memorandumof understanding (MOU) between TINT and Thai Agriculture Cooperative will be signedon the use of SWA to solve drought crisis in the country. Challenges in thecommercialization of SWA were discussed, which included scaling up of the production
process, especially the drying and grinding of SWA, since much of the cost come fromthese processes. Other concerns were funding and strong support from Agriculture
Ministry. Countries were encouraged to conduct promotional activities of radiation
technology for creating agriculture products like SWA, since these activities will help
increase the interest of farmers as well as potential takers of the technology.
Session 9: Guidelines on Chitosan PGP Application for Rice, Chilli and Other Crops
In this session, the draft version of PGP guideline was discussed for comments
and suggestions of the member countries.

Terminologies were collected to give generalexplanation of PGP in order not to mislead the understanding of readers. Contents wererearranged for better comprehension. In Q& A portion, frequently asked questions by theend users, especially farmers, were listed with corresponding answers. After reflecting
the comments of the participating countries, this guideline will be finalized and uploaded
to the home page of FNCA by the end of March, 2016.
Session 10: Coordination of the FNCA Project with RCA/IAEA Project on
Radiation Processing (11 February)
Dr Marina Talib from Malaysian Nuclear Agency (Nuclear Malaysia) reported
on the recent RCA activities. It was reported that RAS 1014 was properly implemented
and by and large the objectives were achieved. Under the project about 50 advanced
radiation grafted materials were developed in various categories namely (1) adsorbents(2) ion exchange membranes (3) catalysts (4) bioactive carriers (5) tissue scaffold (6)pervaporator membranes and (7) active packaging. FNCA project could collaborate with
Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand because some of their research activities are on superwater absorbent for agricultural application.

It was also reported that there are different

stages of up-scaling of developed products among member countries. More than 100
participants were trained during RTC’s in the last three years. The RAS project will be

6extended to the end of 2016 and member of FNCA could get benefit from the training
courses and the established radiation grafting protocol.
Session 11: Planning for 5th Phase (2015-2017) and Future Plan
Current status and planning of PGP and SWA projects were summarized for
application and commercialization in the 5th phase. Research and development of the
projects were conducted in each member states. Malaysia has commercialized
oligochitosan named as “GoGrow”. Philippines semi-commercialized oligocarrageenan
named as “Carra-Vita” and distributed it freely to end-users. The member states
confirmed to cooperate and exchange information to promote field test andcommercialization. Thailand commercialized SWA as soil conditioner with the productname of “TINT SWA”. Member states are facing the common problems of funding
shortage to conduct field tests and launch the applied research. See attached Annex 5.
Session 12: Summary
The Workshop summary was adopted with some modifications by theparticipants.
Closing Session
The workshop was officially closed by Dr Dela Rosa and Dr Namba.
Open Seminar: “Applications of Radiation Technology to Support Sustainable
Development” (10 February)
The Open Seminar titled “Applications of Radiation Technology to Support
Sustainable Development” was held in Philippines Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) on
10th February.

The seminar was attended by around 50 participants from research

institutes and universities in agricultural and industrial fields in the country.
First, Dr Alumanda Dela Rosa, Director of PNRI gave a welcoming speech andexplained about structure and achievements of FNCA.

Next, Ms Moe Aoki, Researcherof Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (MEXT) and
Dr Hideki Namba, FNCA Advisor of Japan also gave an opening speech and expressed
deep gratitude to PNRI for holding the Open Seminar and hoped the participants enjoy
the seminar. Four (4) presentations were delivered by scientists from Philippines (2),Japan (1) and Thailand (1). The summary of the Open Seminar is attached as Annex 3.
Technical Visit

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The participants visited the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI)
Gamma and Electron Beam Irradiation Facilities.

Ms. Haydee Solomon, Officer-in-

charge of the facility, gave an orientation about the Gamma Semi-Commercial andMutlipurpose Facility and enumerated the materials being processed in that facility.
Next stop was the Electron Beam Irradiation Facility, which was only launched lastDecember 2014. The facility which has EB accelerator of 2.5 MeV and 100 kW power iscurrently utilized for R&D activities on radiation processing of different polymericmaterials. A video presentation was shown to the participants regarding the operation of
the EB facility and potential products that can be processed. The production ofcarrageenan, from preparing of solution to dispensing to the liquid handling system, wasalso demonstrated. Lastly, the participants went to the Radioisotopes Laboratory andlearned about the different activities being done in the laboratory.
.

8Conclusion and Recommendations
 PGP and SWA as products in electron accelerator application project can give theeconomical benefit to participating countries in terms of yield increment of crops andvegetables.
 FNCA meeting is an information exchange meeting supported by MEXT, which has
played the significant role of promotion for commercialization of PGP and SWA
although funding for research and field test for plant growth and productivity inparticipating countries is the driving force for the data acquisition for applications of
PGP and SWA.
 Recommendation of coordinators’ meeting held in March 2015 was informed to eachproject leader. The recommendation is to commercialize PGP in all participant
countries in phase 5 (2015 – 2017). Participating countries discussed the effective
strategies for the commercialization of PGP.
 To clarify the obstacles and problems for commercialization stage of SWA,
participating countries discussed the implementation plan for phase 5.
 Collaborative works with agriculture sector such as agricultural institute and FNCA
projects of biofertilizer and mutation breeding are strongly recommended to promote
the commercialization of PGP and SWA.
Outcomes and planning are listed in the following table. (Pp12-23)[PGP]
Noteworthy achievements
 Process development of PGP synthesis for field test was reported by Thailand. The
capacity of production of oligochitosan PGP in batch irradiation of gamma ray is
50,000L/month.
 Philippines produced carrageenan PGP in semi-commercial scale. Initial production
was in Gamma irradiation Facility. Test production is being conducted at the Electron
Beam Facility to meet the 600,000 liters needed for multi-location testing, with a
total test area of 37,000 hectares.
Recommendation to the countries of ongoing commercialization
 Bangladesh will start the collaborative work with biofertilizer group to increase yieldof crops.
 Installation of irradiation facility in Mongolia is recommended for the radiationinduced degradation treatment of chitosan with government financial support.

9 Short planting period (June - September) in Kazakhstan and Mongolia needs growth
acceleration to mature stage of plants. In this viewpoint, the adequate plant will beselected by pot tests. Chitosan will be bought from China for Kazakhstan.
Conclusion of countries commercializing PGP
 PGP prepared by the irradiation facility in the research institutes has been supplied
to end-users by suppliers.
 Collaborative work with biofertilizer project has proceeded in Indonesia and Japan.
 Malaysia has applied PGP to the new variety rice obtained by mutation breeding.
 Japan can estimate the optimum condition of dose and material properties forchitosan degradation by the simulation program. Request of participanting countries
will be accepted.
Guideline on PGP application
 Contents of the guideline draft was reconsidered by the viewpoint of end-users.
Q&As were listed to respond to expected inquiries from end-users. The guideline
will be finalized by end of March 2016 and will be uploaded to FNCA home page.
[SWA]
Noteworthy achievements
 Production plant of SWA was established in Gamma Irradiation Facility in Thailand
with the capacity of 200 kg/day.
 New application of SWA as dosimeter/indicator for cancer therapy was investigatedusing HPC hydrogel by Japan.
Conclusion and Recommendation
 Cost effectiveness should be evaluated to promote the commercialization of SWA.
 Drying and grinding contribute to the costly process for SWA production. In
commercial scale, production method should be developed to realize the costeffectiveness of radiation processing technology.
 Capacity building of SWA preparation by radiation processing is necessary to launch
the applied research in Mongolia.

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