Tunnel Microwave Vacuum Drying Equipment for Heat-Sensitive Materials
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current microwave drying equipment is limited by atmospheric-pressure structures that are unsuitable for flammable, explosive, or heat-sensitive materials, and small vacuum equipment is not suitable for mass production, leading to inefficiencies and potential material damage.
Innovation Solution
A tunnel-type microwave vacuum ultra-low temperature drying equipment with a cylindrical chamber, microwave generators on the outer wall, a vacuum unit, and a chiller unit, utilizing microwave heating and vacuum to achieve rapid, low-temperature evaporation, and a closed regular polygon structure to withstand high vacuum pressure and ensure uniform microwave action.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If atmospheric-pressure rectangular tunnel structure is used, then equipment structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but it is not suitable for drying flammable, explosive, and heat-sensitive materials, affecting product quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the operating pressure parameter from atmospheric pressure to vacuum pressure, enabling the drying equipment to handle flammable, explosive, and heat-sensitive materials while maintaining the tunnel structure for continuous processing
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines vacuum technology with microwave heating to create a composite drying system that overcomes the limitations of traditional atmospheric pressure drying, allowing safe processing of sensitive materials
2Adaptability or versatility
If small vacuum equipment is used, then it is suitable for drying flammable and heat-sensitive materials, but it is not suitable for mass production, restricting its promotion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the vacuum chamber into multiple sections with intermediate sealing doors, allowing continuous loading and unloading of materials while maintaining vacuum in other sections, thus enabling mass production under vacuum conditions
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from small-scale batch vacuum drying to a long tunnel-type continuous vacuum drying system, adding the dimension of continuous material flow through multiple chambers to achieve mass production capability
3Adaptability or versatility
If traditional heat sources such as steam, hot water, thermal oil, hot air, electric heat, and infrared are used, then most moist materials can be dried, but drying time is long, energy consumption is high, and physical state of materials may be destroyed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional thermal conduction and convection heating mechanisms with microwave electromagnetic radiation, enabling direct internal heating of materials that dramatically reduces drying time while preserving material structure
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the phase transition of water from liquid to vapor under vacuum conditions at lower temperatures, combined with microwave heating, to achieve rapid drying without destroying material physical state
4Adaptability or versatility
If traditional heat sources are used, then most moist materials can be dried, but energy consumption is high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces inefficient thermal conduction and convection heating with direct microwave electromagnetic heating, which heats materials internally and eliminates heat loss to surrounding air and equipment, dramatically reducing energy consumption
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the typically harmful effect of microwave energy that can overheat materials into a beneficial rapid heating mechanism when combined with vacuum pressure, achieving efficient drying with lower overall energy input
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The equipment enables efficient, low-temperature drying of materials without damage, suitable for a wide range of materials, including flammable and heat-sensitive ones, with high production capacity and low energy consumption.
Implementation Method 1
a vacuum unit, having a vacuum port connected to the chamber through a pipeline
Implementation Method 2
Microwave, as a drying heat source, differs significantly from the aforementioned heat sources. It does not require a heat transfer medium and directly acts on moist materials
Implementation Method 3
utilizes the characteristics of microwave heating that can cause the oscillation of polar molecules
Implementation Method 4
a chiller unit, having a cooling water pipe connected to the microwave generator; the chiller unit is used to cool the microwave generator and a microwave power supply
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention discloses a tunnel-type microwave vacuum ultra-low temperature drying equipment and a material drying process for drying a material. The tunnel-type microwave vacuum ultra-low temperature drying equipment comprises: a host device, comprising a chamber and a plurality of microwave generators, wherein the plurality of microwave generators are respectively provided on an outer wall surface of the chamber and sequentially arranged at least along a lengthwise direction of the chamber; a vacuum unit, having a vacuum port connected to the chamber through a pipeline; a chiller unit, having a cooling water pipe connected to the microwave generator, wherein the chiller unit is used to cool the microwave generator. This disclosure enables rapid low-temperature evaporation of water-containing materials in a vacuum environment to achieve drying with high efficiency. In addition, it can also prevent damage to materials caused by excessive temperatures.