Effectiveness of high energy electron beam against spore forming bacteria and viruses in slurry

•This paper discusses the effect of electron beam on inactivation of bacterial spores and viruses.•Clostridium spp. and the BPV required application of high doses of high energy electron beam to be eliminated.•The lethal dose of electron beam for BPV was significantly higher than for Clostridium sporogenes spores.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of high energy electron beam effect against the most resistant indicators – spore forming bacteria (Clostridium sporogenes) and viruses (BPV) – which may occur in slurry. The applied doses of electron beam were 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10 and 12 kGy. The theoretic inactivating dose of high energy electron beam for Clostridium sporogenes spores calculated based on the polynomial curve equation was 11.62 kGy, and determined on the basis of regression line equation for BPV virus was equal 23.49 kGy. The obtained results showed a quite good effectiveness of irradiation in bacterial spores inactivation, whereas relatively poor against viruses.