Uniformity of heating with precise temperature control is important to many industries. Nowhere is it more important than in the chemical industry where uniformity and control correlate directly with improved quality, higher yields and lower costs.

IMS enables microwaves to deliver huge benefits to the chemical processing industry. Both Planar Drying Systems and Cylindrical Heating Systems create uniform energy distribution throughout an exposure region, providing the following benefits:

• Uniformity of temperature means better yields, more consistent quality
• Precise temperature control, via instantaneously variable power control, allows the process to run at the exact temperature required without fluctuations up and down, which are common in conventional systems as they overshoot and undershoot the preset temperature.
• High energy density enables material to be heated quickly in a very short exposure region utilizing minimal floor space in the plant while dramatically reducing production time.
• Microwave heating is up to 50% more efficient than heating by conventional methods.
  

IMS Planar Drying Systems and Cylindrical Heaters are used for chemical applications including:

Planar Drying Systems are used to dry or cure web-like materials or beds of conveyed materials. Examples of such products are composites, catalysts, coatings, inks and adhesives. The benefits of using Planar Drying Systems are demonstrated in the following example:

IMS was contracted by a foam manufacturer to provide total microwave drying of continuously poured hydrophilic polyurethane foam to a final moisture of less than 2%. The Planar Drying System needed to overcome the difficulties of conventionally drying absorbent foam, including slow drying speeds, a long dryer footprint, inefficient use of and lack of control over fossil fuel-based ovens, and off-quality issues due to skinning, blistering, scorching, and discoloration.

IMS installed a 100 kW, 915 MHz Planar Drying System. Its use resulted in a 250% increase in drying speed. In addition, the system operated in a footprint of only 18 feet, achieving 96% absorption efficiency of the microwave energy generated and a total system efficiency of 81% when calculated from the raw electricity entering the facility. Uniform, volumetric microwave heating also eliminated skinning, blistering, scorching, and discoloration. The payback for the project was approximately eight months.

Cylindrical Heaters are used to uniformly preheat chemical processes and expedite chemical reactions. In a minimum footprint, as little as three feet, Cylindrical Heaters generate yields approaching 100% via instantaneously controllable microwave power output and the achievement of uniform cross-sectional temperature profiles. The benefits of using Cylindrical Heaters are demonstrated in the following example:

IMS was contracted to pre-heat an epoxy resin from 50° C to 180° C prior to extrusion for a Fortune 50 global chemical manufacturer. The customer required the system to pre-heat while also maintaining a final product specification within existing quality ranges. The existing challenges facing the customer stemmed from the difficulties of conventional heating through a tubular heat exchanger, that included:

• Low-volume throughput
• High volume of catalyst required
• Wide ranging variation in final product quality
• Frequent shut down of the production line due to solidification of the epoxy in the heat exchanger resulting from the lack of temperature control
• High maintenance costs resulting from need to clean 200 feet of heat exchanger

IMS installed a 100 kW, 915 MHz Cylindrical Heating System that enabled a 130° C change in temperature in less than two seconds through a microwave exposure region of less than three feet. This resulted in an ideal, consistent, final product quality and the doubling of throughput while reducing production line shut-downs and maintenance costs generating a payback of less than six months.

ADDITIONAL LINKS:
Chemical | Food Processing | Textiles | Product Development