Continuous-Flow Microwave Reactor for High-Performance Heating of a Dynamic Chemical Reaction System

作者：Fengming Yang, Yan Xia, Wenyan Tian, Kama Huang, Wencong Zhang, Shumeng Yin, Yang Yang, Huacheng Zhu · 发表于：Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.1021/acs.iecr.3c03294 · 被引用次数：16 · 研究领域：Microwave-Assisted Synthesis and Applications

Continuous-flow microwave reactors find widespread application in chemical production. However, dynamic changes in the dielectric constant of reactants result in a low microwave energy efficiency. This paper reveals a circular waveguide developed using a meta-surface unidirectional propagation of microwaves. This waveguide was integrated into a continuous-flow heating system that efficiently heats materials with varying dielectric constants. A multiphysics model incorporating electromagnetic, fluid heat transfer, and chemical engineering has been built to analyze the microwave heating performance under different loads. Based on simulation and experimental findings, the meta-surface can achieve an energy efficiency of over 90% for loads with dielectric constants from 10 to 80. Moreover, a continuous-flow heating experiment conducted for biodiesel production indicated that meta-surfaces can enhance the heating efficiency by over a quarter. This research presents a promising approach toward efficient continuous-flow microwave heating, which can potentially revolutionize large-scale chemical production in industry.