Design and Numerical Simulation of a High-efficiency Microwave Applicator for Industrial Processes
a report by Sateesh Mutyala,1 Craig Fairbridge,2 JR Jocelyn Paré,3 Ankam Bhaskar4 and Jacqueline MR Bélanger3
1. Research Scientist, CanmetENERGY Upgrading Program, Natural Resources Canada; 2. Manager, Fuels and Emissions, CanmetENERGY, Natural Resources Canada; 3. Research Scientist, Your World; 4. Post-doctoral Fellow, National Changhua University of Education
The magnetron was designed by Randall and Booth and was used for Radio Detection and Ranging (RADAR) in World War II.1
It was soon
recognised that microwaves could heat water in an effective manner; consequently microwave-heating appliances became available in the US from the 1950s. These devices were widespread by the 1980s, and it was around this time that the application of microwave heating in chemical reactions and other industrial applications were developed. Microwaves have been shown to be effective in many applications in areas of oil production, from underground extraction to upgrading and refining. The use of microwaves in oil sands and petroleum has been the object of significant investment in terms of research and development for nearly three decades. However, despite the contribution of several researchers in terms of application and the microwave sector, no definitive application has evolved into everyday life. In fact, the work carried out to date may well have served to pose more questions than answers.
One likely reason is the lack of a universal experimental approach from both an energy calculations and an appropriate dielectric properties measurement standpoint.2
In performing a more in-depth
review of ‘applications’ publications, the researcher may get easily frustrated when attempting to correlate energy balance data because the experimental procedures being reported do not contain – in several instances – sufficient information to perform such calculations, thus the difficulty in reaching the conclusions being proposed by the publication.3
This situation is due to the general lack of understanding of microwaves by end-users, and, perhaps more importantly, the lack of commercially available equipment that would provide the user with tools to obtain meaningful dielectric properties data on one hand, and to perform scale-up activities on the other. The rigorous methodical approach to microwave applications that is required in the industry is lacking as microwave research itself remains a topic of just a handful of researchers. This leads to the difficulty of comparing data between applications and even within an application as operating conditions are not always the same from a dielectrics standpoint, even though they may appear to be.
Cavity optimisation for a single process is also often overlooked. Many researchers have underestimated the critical importance of process-specific cavity. Again, to be able to design and build such a cavity, dielectric properties data that are lacking in the literature are required.
With the view to contribute to better communication between microwave manufacturers and industrial end-users, our organisation has set up a collaboration network that is designed to work on the design and construction of well-characterised measurement and
© TOUCH BRIEFINGS 2011
processing apparatus. In turn, these will be used for two distinct objectives. First, to provide meaningful dielectric properties data that will be used to find some definitive answers in terms of microwave influence on processes and whether such a thing as a ‘microwave effect’ exists or not. Second, to determine the potential for use of microwaves as an efficient selective energy source in a number of well-defined and well-controlled environments.
The Development of an Industrial Microwave Applicator This article will present our research approach aimed at assessing the viability of using microwaves as a processing tool in the petrochemical and petroleum industry. Of particular interest is the development of microwave-susceptible materials that will serve as reactor components or as catalysts with the view to provide microwave-specific conditions that could not be achieved via conventional processing. To date, limited work has been performed to monitor in situ the behaviour of materials and the variations in dielectric properties of materials as a reaction takes place, yet this could have a major impact on the commercial viability of numerous microwave-assisted industrial processes. To further enhance the efficiency of this approach we have designed a novel high-efficiency microwave applicator for the industrial processing of non-absorbing materials via the selective heating of dielectric susceptors. The design was validated via numerical simulation and demonstrated excellent field uniformity. The versatility of the cavity was
Sateesh Mutyala is a Research Scientist at CanmetENERGY – part of Natural Resources Canada – working on the development of novel catalysts for hydroprocessing in upgrading oil sands. His research programme has expanded to include microwave- assisted processes, with an emphasis on catalysis and chemistry.
E:
Sateesh.Mutyala@
NRCan-RNCan.gc.ca
Craig Fairbridge is Manager, Fuels and Emissions at CanmetENERGY – part of Natural Resources Canada – and leads the Petroleum Conversion for Cleaner Air Program under the Program of Energy Research and Development in Natural Resources Canada.
JR Jocelyn Paré is Principal Scientist and Founder of Your World, where he concentrates research and development and teaching at various universities worldwide. He is the author of nearly 200 publications, 13 patents and over 400 communications. His interests lie mainly in the understanding of fundamental microwave-assisted processes (MAPTM) and their industrial applications. He is recognised as the pioneer and inventor of the MAP technology.
Ankam Bhaskar is a Post-doctoral Researcher in the Department of Physics, National Changhua University of Education in Taiwan where he is investigating thermoelectric materials.
Jacqueline MR Bélanger is Senior Advisor at Your World, where she focuses on research and development and providing training at various industrial centres worldwide. Her interests lie mainly in the understanding of fundamental microwave-assisted processes (MAPTM) and their industrial applications. She played a pivotal role in the pioneering and development of the MAP technologies where she is recognised as an inventor of some major applications.
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