M I C R O WAV E TECHNOLOGY FOR YOU

Siemianowice 14-05-2019

DRYING WITH MICROWAVES

MATERIAL AFTER DISPOSAL OF ACID BATTERIES

1. MATERIAL

According to the information received, waste from the treatment of acid batteries, contaminated
with lead, was sent for testing. The material was moist, probably also battery acid residue.
A mixture of various materials, mostly thermoplastic (probably PP) with the addition of fragments
of textile materials and trace amounts of products of unknown origin were sent for tests. The test
material was in the form of flakes of irregular shapes and very different sizes.

2. MICROWAVE DEVICE

A 1500W microwave source operating at 2450 MHz was used for testing. The source was
connected to a microwave chamber with known parameters, in which the tested samples were
placed. The exhaust fan installed removed water vapor and gases generated during heating from the
chamber.

3. MEASUREMENT METHOD

Material moisture level was not measured before testing. The mass humidity of the material was
determined as a percentage of the mass of water removed to the mass of dried material.
The initial humidity calculated in this way was approx. 46%.

mw −ms m
w m= ∗100 %= water ∗100 %
ws ws
Although this method of determining humidity is subject to some error, this method is sufficiently

MARKOM Marek Komraus tel. : +48 32 2200580 e-mail: biuro@markommicrowaves.com

ul. Powstańców 24/2 mobile: +48 535876135 www.markommicrowaves.com
41-100 Siemianowice
 M I C R O WAV E TECHNOLOGY FOR YOU

accurate for preliminary testing.

The test sample was weighed with 1g precision.

The sample was dried in the chamber for 60s. Then it was weighed, temperature measurements
were also made.
The drying process was therefore necessarily interrupted periodically for about 2 minutes.
Temperature measurements were made using a graphical pyrometer.

4. DRYING PROCESS

As a result of the tests, the following conclusions can be drawn:

• the tested material absorbs microwaves very well,
• in a short time it heats up to high temperature of about100-120 oC,
• the drying process follows the curve shown in the graph.

70 Water loss

60

50

40
mass [g]

30

20

10

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
time [min]

The chart above shows that the largest moisture loss occurred within two minutes. Further drying no
longer brings such spectacular results.

5. RESULTS

During 6 minutes of microwave drying, 62g of water was evaporated from a moist sample of 197g.

MARKOM Marek Komraus tel. : +48 32 2200580 e-mail: biuro@markommicrowaves.com

ul. Powstańców 24/2 mobile: +48 535876135 www.markommicrowaves.com
41-100 Siemianowice
 M I C R O WAV E TECHNOLOGY FOR YOU

After this time, further drying did not bring measurable effects. It can therefore be concluded that
the material was completely dry after this time. The weight of the dried sample was 135g.
Calculations show that the initial moisture content is over 46%.
The largest regression during drying was recorded in the first 2 minutes. A decrease in humidity was
recorded from 46% to 8%.

Humidity

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
time [min]

6. CONCLUSION

Analysis of the results obtained and additional tests indicate that the intervals for weighing and
temperature measurements have little or no effect on the drying results and performance.
Measurement of the material temperature during tests indicated that the drying process and its
intensity depend slightly on the material temperature. The largest water loss was recorded when the
material temperature was still within 60-100 oC. After 3-4 minutes of drying, the material warmed
up to the temperature at which it ignited. Therefore, the dried sample sent for further testing is
partially ashed.
The performance of the microwave system was calculated taking into account the energy needed to
remove a certain amount of water. At 1500W microwave power, 51g of water depleted during 120s.
The efficiency of the microwave device can be estimated at 70%. This means that 1,3 kWh of
energy is needed to remove 1 kg of water.

120
1500W× h
P×t 3600 Wh kWh
∗1,3= ∗1,3=0,98∗1,3 =1,27
m 51g g kg

MARKOM Marek Komraus tel. : +48 32 2200580 e-mail: biuro@markommicrowaves.com

ul. Powstańców 24/2 mobile: +48 535876135 www.markommicrowaves.com
41-100 Siemianowice
 M I C R O WAV E TECHNOLOGY FOR YOU

To remove 1 kg of water, you will need a device with a microwave power of approx. 1 kW during 1
hour. This device will draw approximately 1.27 kWh from the power supply network.
An official rate of 221 PLN/MWh, i.e. 0,221 PLN/kWh, was adopted. The cost of energy needed to
remove 1 kg of water will therefore be approx.

0,221 zł /kWh∗1,27 kWh=0,28 zł

For drying from 46% to 8%, 0,38 kg of water will be removed from every kilogram of wet material.
The cost of drying 1 kg of material will be:

0,38 kg∗0,28 zł / kg=0,11 zł

Of course, the above calculations and prices should be treated as approximate.

The results obtained during the microwave drying tests of thermoplastic waste from used batteries
are promising, but further research is required.

MARKOM Marek Komraus tel. : +48 32 2200580 e-mail: biuro@markommicrowaves.com

ul. Powstańców 24/2 mobile: +48 535876135 www.markommicrowaves.com
41-100 Siemianowice