Design and performance of an industrial microwave drier for on-line drying of wood components

The most common industrial method for drying wood is by air circulation. However, an alternative method - microwave drying-has been investigated at the Division of Wood Physics, Luleå University of Technology in Skellefteå, Sweden. The use of microwave energy to dry wood is not very common, but it could be advantageous due to the possibility of heating and drying wood much faster than conventional methods and with preserved quality. The objective of the investigation is to install an on-line microwave drier for wood components and, furthermore, to integrate this drying process into the total production. The purpose of this paper is to briefly describe the design and performance of this on-line microwave drier, its advantages and its limitations.Godkänd; 2003; 20070522 (lenant