Mumbai, January 29: With new research opening fresh vistas for its non-nuclear applications, India will continue to sincerely pursue its heavy water programme with cost-effective and energy-efficient techniques, Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Srikumar Banerjee on Thursday said.
“India being an established international supplier, we are exploring many more areas of non-nuclear applications of heavy water for societal benefits,” he said inaugurating the first national conference on “Non-nuclear applications of Heavy water and Deuterium.”
Speaking about the non-nuclear applications of heavy water, Banerjee said it could be used to replace cold chain for polio vaccine and animal vaccines in far-flung areas.
Deuterium and heavy water have vast scope for applications in communication through optic fibre, polymers and pharmaceutical industry, he said.
Heavy water export is going to be a big business even in the fusion energy sector as Tritium from heavy water has a crucial role. India exports heavy water to the US and South Korea, he said.
The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre recently conducted a study in Uttarakhand to successfully recharge the mountain springs using isotope hydrology, Banerjee said.
Chairman and Chief Executive of Heavy Water Board (HWB) A L N Rao shared Banerjee’s optimism for large-scale non-nuclear applications of heavy water.
“In collaboration with Mumbai-based Entero Virus Research Centre (EVRC) we have successfully demonstrated improved thermal stability of deuterated polio vaccine. After being clinically tested by various institutions it is ready for commercial production and should be in the market within a year,” Rao said.
He said HWB had recently signed an MoU with the Board of Radiation and Isotope Technology (BRIT) and a number of Deuterium-labelled compounds including solvents had been taken up for synthesis.
K V Raghavan, Emeritus Professor at Hyderabad-based Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IITC) said heavy water with a wide-range of applications could be a useful component in cosmetics industry, particularly in anti-ageing products.
HWB is collaborating with a large number of R&D institutions like IIT, CSIR, International Vaccine Research Institute and Indian Institute of Chemical Technology to explore fresh areas for hard water application.
-PTI