Microwave drying is a new type of drying method. During drying, microwave energy directly acts on the molecules of the medium and converts them into thermal energy. Due to the penetrating properties of microwaves, both the inside and outside of the medium are heated simultaneously without the need for thermal conduction, resulting in a very fast heating speed. For food with a moisture content of less than 30%, the drying speed can be shortened by hundreds of times. At the same time, regardless of the shape of the object, due to the simultaneous heating of the medium inside and outside the object, the temperature difference between the inside and outside of the material is small, and the heating is uniform, without the occurrence of external coke and internal heating in conventional heating, greatly improving the drying quality.
Below, the editor will briefly introduce the workflow and usage precautions of microwave drying equipment:
The workflow of microwave drying equipment
1. Raw material pretreatment: Pre treat the materials to be dried, such as cleaning, sorting, crushing, etc., to remove impurities and improve the drying effect.
2. Loading: Place the pre treated material evenly into the drying chamber of the microwave drying equipment.
3. Start the microwave generator and turn it on. The microwave generator generates microwaves, which are guided into the drying chamber through a waveguide system,
4. Microwave heating, microwave radiation penetrates the material, causing the internal moisture molecules of the material to vibrate, generating heat and causing the moisture of the material to evaporate
5. Hot air assisted drying, in addition to microwave heating, some microwave drying equipment is also equipped with a hot air assisted system, which blows hot air through the material through circulating air or induced draft to accelerate water evaporation.
6. Moisture removal: The generated water vapor is extracted by the moisture removal system inside the drying chamber to reduce the humidity inside and improve the drying efficiency
7. Automatic control: Microwave drying equipment is usually equipped with temperature, humidity, and power controllers, which automatically adjust the microwave output power and drying time according to preset drying parameters to ensure uniform drying of materials.
8. Material drying: Under the action of microwave and hot air, the moisture inside the material gradually evaporates, and the moisture content of the material continuously decreases until the expected degree of drying is achieved.
9. After discharging and drying, the material is discharged from the drying chamber to complete the drying process.
Precautions for Microwave Drying Equipment
1. Microwave radiation in microwave drying equipment has strong penetrability, and necessary radiation protection measures should be taken, such as wearing radiation protective clothing and goggles
2. Different materials have different drying characteristics, and it is necessary to adjust parameters such as microwave power, drying time, and auxiliary hot air temperature for different materials to achieve the best drying effect.
3. Microwave drying equipment should be placed in a well ventilated environment to ensure the normal operation of the dehumidification system.
4. Regular maintenance and upkeep of microwave drying equipment, timely replacement of damaged parts to ensure normal operation and safe use of the equipment.