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Technology
Microwave Assisted Processing
Game-Changing Technology
Microwave Assisted Processing (MAP) is a means by which manufacturers take advantage of microwave energy to change the properties of materials and food. MAP includes processes such as rapid low-temperature drying, rapid precision heating, and microwave assisted reactions.
Why use NuWave Research’s Microwave Assisted Processing?
Achieve results you couldn’t before
Microwaves are a powerful way to heat materials and food indirectly. Unlike other heat sources, which heat from the outside inwards, microwaves heat volumetrically by penetrating deep into the material to heat the whole volume simultaneously. This volumetric heating speeds up otherwise slow processes like extraction and dehydration, all while improving final product quality. Until today, the design of most industrial-scale microwave systems meant uneven heating leading to low-quality final products due to the presence of hot (high energy) and cold (low energy) areas.
Much like your kitchen microwave which rotates your food, traditional industrial microwave technology relies on moving the product through both hot and cold spots to average out the heating. Unfortunately, relying on moving the product to balance out the heating is ineffective, consider how you still must stir your soup after you take it out of your kitchen microwave. The difficulty of achieving even and consistent heating has limited the applications of this powerful technology.
NuWave Research’s patented technology overcomes this challenge at scale, by controlling the product exposure to microwaves, evenly distributing the energy. This control enables our microwave equipment to reach higher power levels than traditional designs – moving from the kW to MW range and transitioning to processes requiring high throughput (tons per hour).
Taking advantage of MAP
Solution Flexibility for Different Applications
By taking a modular approach to system design, NuWave Research combines a library of components and microwave expertise to provide customers with standard and custom machines that can be specific to their requirements. We can process material at different pressures (vacuum to ambient) and under the ideal atmosphere (inert or reactive), or whatever combination is required. Because our MAP technology is platform independent, we are not limited to any type of material handling so we can use the best vessel or material handling equipment for your product or process. Be it a belt conveyor, tray, mixer, reactor or something more custom, NuWave Research is able to provide the best solution for your application.
NUWAVE RESEARCH MAP APPLICATIONS
Microwave Assisted Processing (MAP) is a means by which manufacturers take advantage of microwave energy to change the properties of materials and food. MAP includes processes such as rapid low-temperature drying, rapid precision heating, and microwave assisted reactions.
Click below to read more about the types of MAP NuWave Research technology enables.
Dehydration
Microwave systems designed by NuWave Research can dry products in both ambient and vacuum conditions.
Vacuum lowers the boiling point of water, meaning less heat is needed to achieve the same result. Combined with microwave, vacuum allows you to gently heat a product up to the desired temperature and quickly remove moisture. For food drying, this maintains product quality and high nutrient levels compared to other drying methods.
Ambient microwave drying allows for products to dry quicker, as microwave heats volumetrically. It also avoids any case hardening that is caused by other ambient drying technologies, such as air drying, that heat from the outside in.
Heating
NuWave Research industrial microwave processing equipment can be used to pre-heat products ahead of existing cooking or high-temperature processes – increasing the efficiency of those high-temperature processes. In the case where those high-temperature processes are fossil fuel-based, microwave heating in advance could reduce the fossil fuel required to heat the product to the desired temperature.
Synthesis
Microwave assisted synthesis equipment by NuWave Research can facilitate and decrease the reaction time for some chemical productions and peptide synthesis. Microwaves can rapidly provide additional heat (energy) to a system to lower the barrier for a reaction. These systems can occur in various environments (ambient vs vacuum, inert vs normal atmosphere). This reduces solvent requirements and production time, while significantly increasing efficiency.
Purification and Extraction
Using microwave as the heat source, NuWave Research can facilitate the removal of volatiles quickly using volumetric heating. If vacuum is also used we can decrease the temperature needed, meaning a much more gentle treatment of the product.
Pyrolysis
NuWave Research’s microwave technology allows for low-carbon manufacturing using recycled materials. Our technology can help transform end-of-life materials into high-value-added products comparable to their standard virgin counterparts. In addition, our novel microwave technique can offer a low-carbon alternative to traditional fossil fuel industrial chemical processing.