KR20130003152A - Microwave reactor with microwave mode conversion coupler for chemical reactor and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A microwave reactor using a microwave is provided to improve reaction rate and yield in a chemical reactor by putting high power microwaves from a wave guide into a chemical reactor without energy loss. CONSTITUTION: A microwave reactor using a microwave comprises a microwave mode conversion input device(130). The microwave mode conversion input device inputs microwave into a chemical reactor. The microwave mode conversion input device is vertically combined with the wave guide(120). The microwave mode conversion input device comprises a dielectric window(131), and a conductor rod(132) which penetrates the core part of a dielectric window. The conductor rod is installed and spaced apart at a specific distance from the closed end of the wave guide. A TE mode of input microwaves is converted into a TEM mode by the microwave mode conversion input device and the converted microwaves passes through the dielectric window and are absorbed into a reactor in the chemical reactor. [Reference numerals] (AA) Microwaves; (BB) Resultant product

Description

Microwave Reactor with Microwave Mode Conversion Injector for Chemical Reactor and Method Thereof {Microwave Reactor with Microwave Mode Conversion Coupler for Chemical Reactor and Method}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a microwave reactor for applying a microwave to heat or chemically react a substance to be reacted, such as a liquid or a solid, and more particularly, to a microwave reactor and a method for introducing a high power microwave from a waveguide into a chemical reactor without loss. .

Microwaves are a type of electromagnetic wave, also called microwaves. It is an electromagnetic wave having a wavelength of 1 mm to 1 m and a frequency of 300 MHz to 300 GHz. The microwave was developed and used for radar during World War II, and has been widely used in communication devices and the like since then. In recent years, the use of such devices has been expanding in mobile phones and wireless LANs. During the radar development in 1946, microwave was found to heat up food rapidly, which led to the invention of microwave ovens.

Microwave heating involves the rotation of polar molecules or ions under the influence of an oscillating electric field at microwave frequencies. In the presence of a vibrating electric field, the particles try to match the direction or phase of the electric field, but the movement of these particles is limited by their interaction or electrical resistance, which causes random movement of the particles to generate heat.

Dipolar polarization The exothermic mechanism is the process by which heat is generated in polar molecules. When polar molecules attempt to align with the direction and phase of the electric field under an oscillating electric field at an appropriate frequency, the intermolecular forces cause the polar molecules to resist and to follow the electric field, causing random motion of the molecules and this generates heat.

Electric conduction An exothermic mechanism is a process in which heat is generated by resistance to current. A vibrating electric field causes vibrations of electrons or ions in the conductor to generate a current, which is generated by internal resistance.

In 1947 Dr. Spencer developed the first microwave oven and used the microwave as a heating method for over 60 years. Microwave heating has since been developed and applied not only for domestic use but also for industrial heating. In the mid-1980s, microwave heating began to be applied to chemical analysis (ashing, extraction, digestion, etc.), and in 1986, chemical synthesis was attempted using microwave heating to report reactions occurring about a thousand times faster than conventional heating methods. In the 1990s, the products developed by microwave chemical device makers became popular as they developed technically.

Microwaves have been reported to be expected not only to accelerate the reaction speed by several to several thousand times in various reaction systems, but also to expect new reaction zones beyond simple heating effects such as improved selectivity and nanoparticle generation. In particular, since the reaction can be quickly realized, it has been widely used for drug development, combinatorial chemistry, and the reaction screening at the laboratory level. In some cases, the heating process does not require an essential solvent or catalyst. Therefore, it is recognized as a very useful tool from the point of view of clean chemistry, and thousands of SCI-level papers are already pouring out. In the journal Nature, 'Out of the kitchen' points out that there is great potential for future synthesis reactions using microwaves.

Microwave has proved to be a very effective means of heating in chemical reactions. Microwave heating speeds up the reaction, improves yields, enables uniform and selective heating, improves reaction reproducibility, and helps develop cleaner, eco-friendly synthetic routes.

Such microwave heating improves the reaction rate by 10 to 1000 times depending on the reaction compared to conventional heating, and consumes less energy than conventional heating because the reaction object itself is heated without heating the device. In addition, microwave heating allows higher yields relative to conventional heating depending on the reaction, and the yield increases from 70% to 82% for microwave synthesis of fluorescein. In addition, selective heating is possible because the material reacts differently to microwaves, while some materials pass through microwaves, while others absorb microwaves. Microwaves are environmentally friendly because they directly heat the reactants, reducing the amount of solvent used in chemical reactions or eliminating solvents. much better.

Microwave chemical reactors are currently at the lab because they are not scalable. Microwave equipment companies are now working toward product development that can substantially increase production. However, there is still no achievement in expanding to industrial production.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to inject a high power microwave of kW level into a chemical reactor without loss from the waveguide, and to withstand the pressure of the chemical reactor while losing the microwave in the waveguide. A microwave reactor and method using a microwave mode conversion injector to transfer into a chemical reactor without the present invention.

First, to summarize the features of the present invention, in accordance with one aspect of the present invention for achieving the object of the present invention, the microwave reactor, the microwave flowing from the other open inlet of one end of the waveguide is blocked. And a microwave mode conversion injector for feeding into a chemical reactor, wherein the microwave mode conversion injector coupled in the form of a coaxial waveguide perpendicular to the long axis direction of the waveguide comprises a dielectric window traversing a coaxial axis and a central portion of the dielectric window. And a conductor rod, wherein the conductor rod is installed at a predetermined distance from the closed end of the waveguide, and the microwaves converted from the TE mode to the TEM mode by the microwave mode conversion inserter are converted into modes. The chemistry half through the dielectric window To be absorbed in the reaction in the group.

The microwave mode conversion inserter is installed such that the distance from the center of the conductor rod to the blocked end of the waveguide is about one quarter of the wavelength in the waveguide of the microwave introduced.

The cross-sectional shape of the waveguide may be rectangular, circular or coaxial.

The microwave mode conversion injector may be installed in plural in the chemical reactor.

In addition, according to another aspect of the present invention, a method for introducing microwave energy into a chemical reactor includes a microwave mode conversion injector for introducing microwaves introduced from the other open inlet of the waveguide at one end into the chemical reactor. Using the microwave mode conversion input unit coupled in the form of a coaxial waveguide perpendicular to the long axis direction of the microwave mode conversion input unit, the microwave mode conversion input includes a dielectric window crossing the coaxial and a conductor bar penetrating the center of the dielectric window, The conductor rod is installed to be positioned at a predetermined distance from the closed end of the waveguide, and the microwaves converted by converting the introduced microwaves from the TE mode to the TEM mode by the microwave mode conversion inserter are passed through the dielectric window. In a chemical reactor It is characterized in that to be absorbed in the reactant.

According to the microwave reactor and the method according to the present invention, by using a microwave mode conversion injector that withstands the pressure of the chemical reactor and delivers the microwaves in the waveguide without loss, a high power microwave of several tens of W to several tens of kW It can be introduced into the chemical reactor without loss from the waveguide.

As a result, the reaction targets such as solids and liquids in chemical reactors or the combined chemical field can be treated by improving the reaction rate by several to several thousand times with less energy consumption than conventional heating, increasing the yield, and treating the reaction targets in an environmentally friendly manner. Good reproducibility can be secured.

1 is a view for explaining a microwave reactor having a microwave mode conversion input for a chemical reactor according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is another example of a microwave reactor in which a plurality of microwave mode conversion injectors of the present invention are installed.
3 is a plan view from above of the microwave reactor of FIG. 2;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout.

1 is a view for explaining a microwave reactor 100 having a microwave mode conversion injector 130 for a chemical reactor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the cross-sectional view of FIG. 1, the microwave reactor 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a chemical reactor 110, a waveguide 120, and a microwave mode conversion injector 130.

The chemical reactor 110 is filled with a reaction object, such as pharmaceuticals, such as solids and liquids, or a combination chemical field, and the microwaves flowing through the waveguide 120 are lost to the chemical reactor 110 through the microwave mode conversion injector 130. Was added without the treatment to treat the reaction object according to the microwave heating mechanism.

One end of the waveguide 120 is blocked, and microwaves are introduced into the other open inlet. The microwave may be generated to have a frequency from 0.3 GHz to 300 GHz through a predetermined microwave generating means such as an oscillation device using a magnetron, etc., and a high power microwave having a kW level is introduced into an open inlet of the waveguide 120. . In FIG. 1, the cross-sectional shape of the waveguide 110 is illustrated as being rectangular (including square). However, the cross-sectional shape of the waveguide 110 may be a tubular shape in which one end is blocked, such as a circular shape or a coaxial shape. .

The microwave mode conversion injector 130 is manufactured to withstand the pressure of the chemical reactor 110 and to deliver the microwaves in the waveguide 120 into the chemical reactor 110 without loss, thereby coaxially perpendicular to the long axis direction of the waveguide 110. The waveguide is coupled between the chemical reactor 110 and the waveguide 110 in the form of a waveguide.

The coaxial waveguide type microwave mode conversion inserter 130 includes a dielectric window 131 crossing the coaxial and a conductor bar 132 passing through the center of the dielectric window 131. The conductor bar 132 is formed to extend through the center of the dielectric window 131 to both sides. The dielectric window 131 is made of a material of constant dielectric constant to withstand the pressure of the chemical reactor 110. The microwave mode conversion injector 130 having the coaxial waveguide shape by the conductor rod 132 may convert the propagation mode of the microwave flowing through the waveguide 120 into the chemical reactor 110.

For example, the microwave flowing through the waveguide 120 may be a transverse electric (TE) mode, which is converted into a transverse electromagnetic (TEM) mode according to the coaxial waveguide shape of the microwave mode conversion inputter 130, and thus Mode-converted microwaves may pass through the dielectric window 131 without loss and are transferred into the chemical reactor 110 and absorbed in the reactants within the chemical reactor 110. When the wavelength of the microwave is small compared to the outer diameter of the coaxial waveguide type of the microwave mode conversion injector 130, the microwave in the TEM mode without interference of other modes (for example, TM, TE mode, etc.) Between the outer diameter material (eg, metal) of the microwave mode conversion injector 130, the dielectric window 131 may be passed without loss.

However, the position of the conductor rod 132 is very important to increase the microwave transmission efficiency in the TEM mode. For example, the distance from the center of the conductor bar 132 to the closed end of the waveguide 120 is preferably located at a quarter of the high power microwave wavelength in the waveguide 120.

The dielectric window 131 is in contact with a material at the bottom or side of the chemical reactor 110 that absorbs microwaves while withstanding the pressure of the reactants in the chemical reactor 110. That is, microwaves passing through the dielectric window 131 may immediately meet and be absorbed by the reaction object to heat the reaction object.

Such a microwave reactor 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is not significantly constrained by the kind of reactants (materials that absorb microwaves well) in the chemical reactor 110, and the installation position of the chemical reactor 110 is also very high. There is an advantage that can be applied to a variety of choices. In addition, since the microwaves introduced into the chemical reactor 110 are almost absorbed in the vicinity of the dielectric window 131, several (eg, four) microwave mode conversions in one chemical reactor 110 as shown in FIG. 2/3. Even if the injector 130 is installed, it may be prevented from affecting each other. Therefore, even when the size of the chemical reactor 110 is increased to require several microwave generation sources, as shown in FIG. 2/3, the microwave mode conversion injector 130 requires a plurality of positions (for example, 2, 3, 4, 5. It can be easily handled by installing it properly.

As described above, in the present invention, using the microwave mode conversion injector 130 that withstands the pressure of the chemical reactor 110, but transmits the microwaves in the waveguide 120 into the chemical reactor 110 without loss, high-power microwave of kW level Can be introduced into the chemical reactor 110 without loss from the waveguide 120, thereby reacting the reaction targets such as solids, liquids, pharmaceuticals, etc. in the chemical reactor 110 with less energy consumption than conventional heating It can be processed by increasing the speed 10 to 1000 times, can be used in various industrial fields to increase the yield, to treat the reaction target in an environmentally friendly manner, and to ensure good reproducibility.

As described above, the present invention has been described by way of limited embodiments and drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains various modifications and variations from such descriptions. This is possible. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be determined by the equivalents of the claims, as well as the claims.

Chemical reactor (110)
Waveguide (120)
Microwave Mode Conversion Feeder (130)
Dielectric window 131
Conductor Bar (132)

Claims (5)

A microwave mode conversion injector for introducing microwaves from the other open inlet of the waveguide with one end plugged into the chemical reactor,
The microwave mode conversion injector coupled in the form of a coaxial waveguide perpendicular to the long axis direction of the waveguide includes a dielectric window transverse to the coaxial and a conductor rod penetrating the center of the dielectric window, wherein the conductor rod is blocked by the waveguide. Installed at a distance from the end,
And converting the introduced microwaves from the TE mode to the TEM mode by the microwave mode conversion injector so that the mode converted microwaves are absorbed by the reactants in the chemical reactor through the dielectric window. The method of claim 1,
And the microwave mode conversion input device is installed such that the distance from the center of the conductor rod to the blocked end of the waveguide is one fourth of the wavelength in the waveguide of the microwave. The method of claim 1,
Cross-sectional shape of the waveguide is a microwave reactor, characterized in that the rectangular, circular, or coaxial. The method of claim 1,
The microwave mode converter is a microwave reactor, characterized in that a plurality is installed in the chemical reactor. One of the microwave mode conversion inputs, in which a microwave mode conversion input for inputting microwaves from the other open inlet of the waveguide with one end plugged into the chemical reactor, is combined in the form of a coaxial waveguide perpendicular to the long axis direction of the waveguide. But
The microwave mode conversion inserter includes a dielectric window crossing the coaxial axis and a conductor bar penetrating the center of the dielectric window, the conductor bar being installed at a distance from the blocked end of the waveguide,
Microwave energy input into the chemical reactor characterized in that the microwave is converted from the TE mode to the TEM mode by the microwave mode conversion injector to be absorbed by the reactants in the chemical reactor through the dielectric window. Way.

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