Apparatus and method for microwave processing of liquids
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for microwave processing a liquid material comprising:
- a microwave cavity;
a vessel for containing a liquid material, said vessel at least partially disposed within said cavity;
a microwave source disposed to direct microwaves into said cavity;
at least one field perturbing tool having a selected size, shape, and composition, said tool disposed to apply a controlled, localized concentration of microwave power to at least one selected portion of said liquid material; and
a means for controllably circulating said liquid material relative to said tool so that over time said concentration of microwave power is applied in turn to substantially all portions of said liquid material.
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Abstract
A microwave heating apparatus designed to allow concentration of microwave power to a liquid sample to be processed, by use of a field-perturbing tool disposed within or proximate to the volume of liquid. Uniformity of processing is achieved by circulating the liquid past the tool during processing. The apparatus and method is particularly useful when used to excite a nonlinear process whereby greater overall process efficiency may be achieved.
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Citations
42 Claims
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1. An apparatus for microwave processing a liquid material comprising:
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a microwave cavity;
a vessel for containing a liquid material, said vessel at least partially disposed within said cavity;
a microwave source disposed to direct microwaves into said cavity;
at least one field perturbing tool having a selected size, shape, and composition, said tool disposed to apply a controlled, localized concentration of microwave power to at least one selected portion of said liquid material; and
a means for controllably circulating said liquid material relative to said tool so that over time said concentration of microwave power is applied in turn to substantially all portions of said liquid material. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An apparatus for microwave processing a liquid material comprising:
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a microwave cavity;
a vessel for containing a liquid material, said vessel at least partially disposed within said cavity, said vessel maintaining an internal pressure greater than or less than atmospheric;
a microwave source disposed to direct microwaves into said cavity;
at least one field perturbing tool having a selected size, shape, and composition, said tool disposed to apply a controlled, localized concentration of microwave power to at least one selected portion of said liquid material; and
,a means for controllably circulating said liquid material relative to said tool so that over time said concentration of microwave power is applied in turn to substantially all portions of said liquid material. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for microwave processing a liquid material comprising the steps of:
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a. disposing said liquid material in a vessel;
b. disposing said vessel at least partially within a microwave cavity;
c. exposing said liquid material to microwaves from a microwave source disposed to direct microwaves into said cavity;
d. disposing at least one field perturbing tool having a selected size, shape, and composition to apply a controlled, localized concentration of microwave power to at least one selected portion of said liquid material; and
,e. circulating said liquid relative to said tool whereby said concentration of microwave power is applied in turn to substantially all portions of said liquid material. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A method for microwave processing a liquid material comprising the steps of:
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a. disposing said liquid material in a vessel, said vessel maintaining an internal pressure greater than or less than atmospheric;
b. disposing said vessel at least partially within a microwave cavity;
c. exposing said liquid material to microwaves from a microwave source disposed to direct microwaves into said cavity;
d. disposing at least one field perturbing tool having a selected size, shape, and composition to apply a controlled, localized concentration of microwave power to at least one selected portion of said liquid material; and
,e. circulating said liquid relative to said tool whereby said concentration of microwave power is applied in turn to substantially all portions of said liquid material. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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Specification