초록 ▼

Porous desiccant material, such as silica gel, activated alumina, molecular sieves or mixtures thereof, is efficiently regenerated for reuse as a drying agent by irradiating a bed of the desiccant material with microwave energy preferably having a frequency of from 2400 MHz to 2500 MHz or from 900 t

Porous desiccant material, such as silica gel, activated alumina, molecular sieves or mixtures thereof, is efficiently regenerated for reuse as a drying agent by irradiating a bed of the desiccant material with microwave energy preferably having a frequency of from 2400 MHz to 2500 MHz or from 900 to 915 MHz to heat and substantially affect only moisture adsorbed by the material and to vaporize the moisture in consequence of the heating of the moisture, the vaporized moisture being purged out of the bed with a forced draft of scavenging air while the bed undergoes irradiation by the microwave energy, and the resulting mixture of scavenging air and vapor being disposed of by discharging the mixture to an effluent receiving region isolated from the bed. As the moisture adsorbed on the pore, capillary and other surfaces of the desiccant material is preferentially heated by energy taken up from the microwave energy, moisture conversion from a liquid phase to a vapor phase is achieved directly, thereby to obviate raising the temperature of the desiccant material itself sufficiently to achieve the phase conversion of the adsorbate indirectly.

대표청구항 ▼

A method of regenerating porous desiccant material for reuse as a drying agent, said method comprising the steps of: (a) irradiating a bed of the desiccant material with microwave energy to heat moisture adsorbed by said material and to vaporize said moisture in consequence of the heating thereof; (

A method of regenerating porous desiccant material for reuse as a drying agent, said method comprising the steps of: (a) irradiating a bed of the desiccant material with microwave energy to heat moisture adsorbed by said material and to vaporize said moisture in consequence of the heating thereof; (b) purging the vaporized moisture from the bed with blown scavenging air while said bed undergoes irradiation by said microwave energy; (c) discharging the purged vaporized moisture in admixture with said scavenging air to an effluent receiving region isolated from said bed; (d) preheating the blown scavenging air enroute to the bed of desiccant material to a temperature, e.g., about 120°F., which is considerably below the vaporization level of said moisture adsorbed by said material.