A Study of a Microwave Resonant Cavity Structure for Hydrocarbon Recovery from Waste

The aim of this article is to design a microwave heating device using resonant cavities operating at 915 MHz, which will replace the usual heat treatment devices in hydrocarbon waste refinery facilities. By analyzing the interaction of the waste with electromagnetic fields, selective heating can be achieved, providing the scope for energy savings compared to classical heating methods (e.g. hydrocarbon combustion). Electromagnetic eigen-analysis will be performed to estimate the resonance eigenvectors for the specific cavity, followed by electromagnetic analysis with a power supply. Subsequently, the heat transfer problem is solved by considering the electromagnetic energy absorbed by the material as the source when the waste material flows inside quartz tubes. The resulting temperature distribution determined that the desired heating had been achieved.