Mumbai: 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
