Continuous flow microwave heating : evaluation of system efficiency and enzyme inactivation kinetics

A continuous flow microwave heating system was set up by using one domestic microwave oven (1000W nominal output at 2450MHz). Water was run through the coil centrally located inside the oven cavity for microwave heating. Microwave absorption efficiency was evaluated by measuring inlet and outlet temperatures of coil as a function of system variables. In order to optimize the coil configuration, the influence of tube diameter (6.4, 7.9 and 9.7mm); initial temperature (10, 20 and 30 ºC); number of turns (3.5, 4.5 and 5.5); coil diameter (61.5, 88, 102, 121 and 153 mm) and pitch (16, 18, 20, 22 and 24mm) were evaluated, respectively at different flow rates (240, 270, 300, 330 and 360ml/min). In helical systems, Dean number is used as a measure of secondary flow which enhances mixing of the fluid providing uniform heating even under laminar flow conditions. Results showed that microwave absorption efficiency was a compromise between coil volume and Dean number. Therefore, a helical coil (110 mm high) with a coil diameter of 108 mm, tube diameter of 8.2 mm, 5.5 turns demonstrated the highest efficiency, fast heating rate, more uniform heating and less temperature fluctuations. The optimized coil configuration parameters were used subsequently to set up continuous-flow microwave heating system