Scaleup of a Single-Mode Microwave Reactor

• Published in: Industrial & engineering chemistry research Vol. 59; no. 6; pp. 2516 - 2523
• Main Authors: Goyal, Himanshu, Mehdad, Ali, Lobo, Raul F, Stefanidis, Georgios D, Vlachos, Dionisios G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society 12.02.2020
• ISSN: 0888-5885; 1520-5045
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.9b04491

Widespread use of microwave technology requires quantitative scale-up models. Currently, microwave models are typical qualitative in nature. This work focuses on rendering models quantitative and elucidating the scale-up behavior of microwave heating using numerical simulations. A commonly used bench-scale microwave reactor from the CEM Corp. (CEM Discover SP) is used for benchmarking. To enable quantitative modeling, microwave heating experiments are conducted and compared to COMSOL calculations to develop a calibration curve for the set point vs the actually delivered microwave power. Using the validated computational model, microwave-heating of various liquids in a wide range of vial sizes is investigated. The computational study shows that during the scale-up, the volumetric power absorbed passes through a maximum, whereas the energy efficiency and heating uniformity exhibit strongly nonlinear behavior. This work introduces a method for quantitative microwave models and insights into the scale-up of commercial microwave reactors.