Pilot-Plant Scale 12 kW Microwave Irradiation Reactor for Woody Biomass Pretreatment

A simple, low reflection, and highly-efficient pilot-plant scale microwave irradiation reactor for woody biomass pretreatment was fabricated. Pretreatment is an essential process for effective bioethanol production. The fabricated reactor consists of 8 microwave irradiators which are attached to a metal pipe. The woody biomass mixture which contains water and organic acid flows through the metal pipe and is heated by microwaves at a total power of 12 kW. To design the microwave irradiators, we used a 3D Finite Element Method (FEM) simulator, which was based on the measured complex permittivity data of the woody biomass mixture. The simulation results showed that the reflection coefficient vertical bar S-11 vertical bar from the reactor was less than 30 dB when the woody biomass mixture temperature was between 30 C and 90 C. Finally, we experimentally confirmed that the fabricated irradiation reactor yielded a microwave absorption efficiency of 79%.