Dynamic Model for a Uniform Microwave-Assisted Continuous Flow Process of Ethyl Acetate Production

The aim of this work is to present a model of a reaction tube with cross structures in order to improve ethyl acetate production and microwave heating uniformity. A commercial finite element software, COMSOL Multiphysics 4.3a (Newton, MA, USA), is used to build the proposed model for a BJ-22 rectangular waveguide system. Maxwell’s equations, the heat conduction equation, reaction kinetics equation and Navier-Stokes equation are combined to describe the continuous flow process. The electric field intensity, the temperature, the concentration of water, the coefficient of variation (COV) and the mean temperature at different initial velocities are compared to obtain the best flow rate. Four different initial velocities are employed to discuss the effect of flow velocity on the heating uniformity and heating efficiency. The point temperatures are measured by optical fibers to verify the simulated results. The results show the electric field intensity distributions at different initial velocities have little difference, which means the initial velocity will have the decisive influence on the heating process. At lower velocity, the COV will be smaller, which means better heating uniformity. Meanwhile, the distance between each cross structure has great influence on the heating uniformity and heating efficiency, while the angle has little. The proposed model can be applied to large-scale production of microwave-assisted ethyl acetate production.

A Microwave Thermostatic Reactor for Processing Liquid Materials Based on a Heat-Exchanger

Microwaves have been widely used in the treatment of different materials. However, the existing adjustable power thermostatic reactors cannot be used to analyze materials characteristics under microwave effects. In this paper, a microwave thermostatic chemical reactor for processing liquid materials is proposed, by controlling the velocity of coolant based on PLC (programmable logic controller) in different liquid under different constant electric field intensity. A nonpolar coolant (Polydimethylsiloxane), which is completely microwave transparent, is employed to cool the liquid materials. Experiments are performed to measure the liquid temperature using optical fibers, the results show that the precision of temperature control is at the range of ±0.5 °C. Compared with the adjustable power thermostatic control system, the effect of electric field changes on material properties are avoided and it also can be used to detect the properties of liquid materials and special microwave effects.

Microwave Reactor Concepts: From Resonant Cavities to Traveling Fields

Microwave chemistry has been investigated for nearly thirty years with many notable results being published on apparent process enhancement due to microwave exposure. Conclusive proof of beneficial microwave-chemical interactions is lacking though, as are design rules for successful implementation of microwave-chemical processing systems. In this chapter, the main cause for this is asserted to be the current absence both of suitable instrumentation for research, and processing equipment that merges chemistry with electromagnetic aspects. Several concepts are presented to show how these challenges may be addressed.