Journal of Microwave Power and Electromagnetic Energy (JMPEE)

 

TITLE

Microwave Heating of Coal and Coal/Caustic Mixtures [PDF]

AUTHORS

G. Fanslow, C. Hou, D. Bluhm and R. Markuszewski

1988

23

4

211-217

YEAR

VOLUME

ISSUE

PAGES

 

Abstract

The temperature, conductivity, and depth of penetration were measured for coal mixtures in order to help elucidate a chemical coal cleaning process, in which coal and coal/caustic mixtures are heated with microwaves at 2.45 GHz.  The results on model systems show that the bulk temperatures of the materials remain relatively low, less that 2000C, during the one to two minutes that the sample is being irradiated. Other measurements show that the conductivities of these materials increase by more than three orders of magnitude during the irradiation.  Combined with observations on depth of penetration, this effect implies that microwave heating of coal and coal/caustic mixtures may be limited to the surfaces of the samples.

 

Key Words:

Coal cleaning, microwave heating, caustic coal cleaning, resistance of coal/caustic mixtures, depth of penetration