1.

INTRODUCTION

Microwave frequencies occupy portions of the electromagnetic spectrum between 300 MHz to 300 GHz.
The full range of microwave frequencies is subdivided into various bands. Because microwaves are also used
in the communication, navigation and defence industries, their use in thermal heating is restricted to a small
subset of the available frequency bands. In Australia, the commonly used frequencies include 434 ±1MHz,
922 ± 4 MHz, 2450 ± 50 MHz and 5800 ± 75 MHz . These frequencies have been set aside for Industrial,
Scientific and Medical (ISM) applications. All these frequencies interact to some degree with moist materials

Wavelength in
Band Frequency Free Space
Designator (GHz) (centimeters)
L band 1 to 2 30.0 to 15.0
S band 2 to 4 15 to 7.5
C band 4 to 8 7.5 to 3.8
X band 8 to 12 3.8 to 2.5
Ku band 12 to 18 2.5 to 1.7
K band 18 to 27 1.7 to 1.1
Ka band 27 to 40 1.1 to 0.75
V band 40 to 75 0.75 to 0.40
W band 75 to 110 0.40 to 0.27

Table 1.
Standard Radar Frequency Letter-Band Nomenclature (IEEE Standard 521-1984)

The major advantages of microwave heating are its short start up, precise control, and volumetric heating.
In industry, microwave heating is used for drying, oil extraction from tar sands, cross-linking of polymers,
metal casting, medical applications, pest control, enhancing seed germination, and solvent free chemistry.
Microwave heating has been applied to various agricultural and forestry problems and products since the
1960’s. Studies have been undertaken to use microwave energy: to improve crop handling, storage and
preservation; to provide pest and weed control for agricultural production, for food preservation and
quarantine purposes; and for preconditioning of products for better quality and more energy efficient
processing. This chapter is concerned with microwave heating applications in the agricultural and forestry
industries for purposes other than human food processing and consists of a review, update, and discussion
of some potential applications that may be of interest to the microwave power and agricultural industries.

1
1.1. HISTORY

The development of dielectric heating applications in food industry started in the radio frequency range in
the 1930s (Püschner, 1966.) The desired energy transfer rate enhancement led to an increased frequency: the
microwaves. The first patent, describing an industrial conveyor belt microwave system was issued in 1952
(Spencer, 1952), however its first application started 10 years later. This was caused by the need for high
power microwave sources to be developed. The first major applications were finish drying of potato chips,
precooking of poultry and bacon, tempering of frozen food and drying of pasta (Decareau, 1985). Whereas
the first applications were only temporarily successful, since the quality enhancement due to the microwave
process could quickly be achieved by a more economic improvement of the conventional technique, the other
techniques survived and are still successful in industrial application.

2
 2.MICROWAVE HEATING PRINCIPLE

Microwave heating is a multiphysics phenomenon that involves electromagnetic waves and heat transfer;
any material that is exposed to electromagnetic radiation will be heated up. The rapidly varying electric
and magnetic fields lead to four sources of heating. Any electric field applied to a conductive material will
cause current to flow. In addition, a time-varying electric field will cause dipolar molecules, such as water,
to oscillate back and forth. A time-varying magnetic field applied to a conductive material will also induce
current flow. There can also be hysteresis losses in certain types of magnetic materials.

These phenomena will lead to current flow and oscillation of the molecules in the material. These losses
will dissipate as heat and so cause a rise in temperature of the material. As the temperature of the material
changes, the properties that govern how much heat is generated, such as the material's conductivity and
the dielectric loss tangent, will change. In addition, the material-specific heat and thermal conductivity
will also change. Microwave heating considers the coupling between all of these phenomena.

3
 3.APPLICATIONS OF MICROWAVE HEATING

3.1. Heating Food

One obvious example of microwave heating is in a microwave oven. When you place food in
a microwave oven and press the "start" button, electromagnetic waves oscillate within the
oven at a frequency of 2.45 GHz. These fields interact with the food, leading to heat
generation and a rise in temperature.

The efficiency of microwave heating depends upon the material properties. For example, if you
place foods with varying water content in a microwave oven, they will heat up at different
rates. A dinner plate may come out with some food on it that is very hot while the rest of it is
still cold. Furthermore, the position of food relative to each other will also affect the
electromagnetic field within the oven. That is why most microwave ovens have turntables to
rotate the food and promote even heating.

3.2.Treating Cancer

Another application that leverages the effects of microwave heating is cancer treatment, in
particular hyper thermic oncology. This type of cancer therapy involves subjecting tumour
tissue to localized heating, without damaging the healthy tissue around it.

Doctors performing microwave coagulation therapy insert a thin microwave antenna directly
into the tumour and heat it up. The microwave heating generates a coagulated region, killing
the cancerous cells. This treatment method requires controlling the spatial distribution and
heating power. The temperature sensors must be both well designed and strategically placed in
order to avoid harming healthy tissue.

4
3.3. Application in industries

Due to the very large number of microwave ovens in households, the food related industry not only uses
microwaves for processing but also develops products and product properties especially for microwave
heating. This way of product enhancement is called product engineering or formulation.

3.3.1. Baking and cooking

Detailed references to the baking process of bread, cakes, pastry etc. by the help of microwaves on industrial
scale can be found. An enhanced throughput is achieved by an acceleration of the baking where the additional
space needs for microwave power generators are negligible. Microwaves in baking are used in combination
with conventional or infrared surface baking; this avoids the problem of the lack of crust formation and
surface browning. An advantage of the combined process is the possible use of European soft wheat with
high alphaamylase and low protein content.

3.3.2. Thawing and tempering

Thawing and tempering have received much less attention in the literature than most other food processing
operations. In commercial practice there are relatively few controlled thawing systems. Frozen meat, fish,
vegetables, fruit, butter and juice concentrate are common raw materials for many food manufacturing
operations. Frozen meat, as supplied to the industry, ranges in size and shape from complete hindquarters of
beef to small breasts of lamb and poultry portions, although the majority of the material is `boned out' and
packed in boxes approximately 15 cm thick weighing between 20 and 40 kg. Fish is normally in plate frozen
slabs; fruit and vegetables in boxes, bags or tubs; and juice in large barrels. Few processes can handle the
frozen material and it is usually either thawed or tempered before further processing.

3.3.3. Drying

The benefits of microwave drying we should first have a quick look at the much more conventional method
of air drying. As shown in figure, a typical drying curve of a foodstuff can be subdivided into three phases.
The first period is one of constant drying rate per unit of surface area. During this period the surface is kept
wet by the constant capillary driven flow of water from within the particle. The factors that determine and
limit the rate of drying in the so-called `constant rate period' all describe the state of the air: temperature and
relative humidity as well as air velocity

5
Figure 1.
Typical drying curve for air drying

3.3.4. Quality of microwave dried food products

In general, the quality is somewhere between air-dried and freeze-dried products. The reduction of drying
times can be quite beneficial for the color and the aroma. Venkatesh and Raghavan (2004) dried rosemary in
a household microwave oven with good aroma retention. Krokida and Maroulis (1999) measured color and
porosity of microwave dried apples, bananas, and carrots. Khraisheh et al. (2004) compared air-dried and
microwave dried potatoes and found a reduction of shrinkage and improved rehydration for the latter.
Venkatesh et al (2004) reported on chicken products, seafood, and vegetables of good quality. He used air at
10±20 0C to cool the product during microwave drying. Quality can often be improved further by the use of
vacuum. This reduces thermal as well as oxidative stress during processing.

6
 4.A BRIEF REVIEW OF MICROWAVE HEATING IN MOIST MATERIALS

Most agricultural and forest products are a heterogeneous mixture of various organic molecules and water,
arranged in various geometries. There are some important features of microwave heating that will determine
the final temperature and moisture distribution during microwave processing.

Any realistic study of microwave heating in moist materials must account for simultaneous heat and moisture
diffusion through the material. The coupling between heat and moisture is well known but not very well
understood. Henry first proposed the theory for simultaneous diffusion of heat and moisture in a textile
package. Crank later presented a more thorough development of Henry’s work. Since then, this theory has
been rewritten and used by many authors. Microwave heating can be described by a combined heat and
moisture diffusion equation that includes a volumetric heating term associated with the dissipation of
microwave energy in the material:

This can be expressed in a simpler form if ( = pMv + nT:

The constants of association, p and n, are calculated to satisfy:

Essentially, the combined heat and moisture diffusion coefficient (() has two independent values, implying
that heating and moisture movement occurs in two independent waves. The slower wave of the coupled heat
and moisture system is always slower than either the isothermal diffusion constant for moisture or the
constant vapor concentration diffusion constant for heat diffusion, whichever is less, but never by more than
one half. The faster wave is always many times faster than either of these independent diffusion constants.

7
Considerable evidence exists in literature for rapid heating and drying during microwave processing ;
therefore it is reasonable to assume that the faster diffusion wave dominates microwave heating in moist
materials whereas the slower wave dominates conventional heating. A slow heat and moisture diffusion wave
should also exist during microwave heating; however observing this slow wave during microwave heating
experiments may be difficult and no evidence of its influence on microwave heating has been seen in
literature so far.

The fast heat and moisture diffusion wave has a profound effect on biological materials during microwave
heating. In particular, very rapid heat and moisture diffusion during microwave heating yields: faster heating
compared to conventional heating; and localized steam explosions which may rupture plant and animal cells.

Other important phenomena associated with microwave heating include: no uniform heat and moisture
distribution due to the geometry of the microwave applicator and the geometry of the heated material ; and
phenomenon such as thermal runaway which manifest itself as localized “hot spots” and very rapid rises in
temperature. The volumetric heating term (q) in equation is strongly influenced by the geometry of the heated
material. Ayappa et al. demonstrate that the equation for electromagnetic power distribution generated in a
slab of thickness (W) can be described by:

It has been shown elsewhere that using this volumetric heating relationship, the solution for equation is:

From
this it
can be
deduced that the temperature/moisture profiles in thick slabs and rectangular blocks usually result in
subsurface heating where the maximum temperature is slightly below the material surface.

The microwave’s electric field distribution in the radial dimension of a cylinder can be described by:

8
The resulting solution to equation can ultimately be derived:

The temperature/moisture profiles in small diameter cylinders, such as a plant stem, usually exhibit
pronounced core heating. On the other hand, temperature profiles in large cylinders exhibit subsurface
heating, with the peak temperature occurring slightly below the surface .

Microwave heating in spheres is similar to that in cylinders. The microwave’s electric field distribution in
the radial dimension of a cylinder can be described by:

The resulting solution to equation can ultimately be derived:

This analysis can be used, in conjunction with experimental data, to better understand how microwave
heating affects agricultural and forestry products.

9
 5.CROP DRYING

5.1.Motivation

Many studies have investigated the application of microwave energy to speed up crop and wood drying.
Higgins and Spooner investigated alfalfa, which was microwave- dried for 7, 8, 9 or 10 min in a microwave
oven, compared with field and convective oven- dried alfalfa. They found no differences in crude protein, in
vitro dry matter digestibility or acid detergent lignin between the various drying methods. Microwave-dried
alfalfa generally retained a higher proportion of the cell-wall constituents (neutral detergent fibre) than did
field-dried alfalfa. Microwave dried Alfalfa that was treated for 7 minutes had significantly lower acid
detergent fibre values than all other drying treatments.

Adu and Otten studied the kinetics of microwave drying of white beans. They found that microwav drying
was a falling rate process. When constant power was absorbed, seed temperature increased rapidly to a
maximum value during the initial stages of drying and began to decrease gradually during the latter stages
of drying. To maintain a constant drying temperature, the microwave power had to be increased progressively
as the moisture content of the beans decreased due to drying.

This is linked to reductions in the dielectric properties of the beans as moisture is removed, which reduces
the interactions between the microwave fields and the beans. The gradual decrease in seed temperature, when
the drying rate decreases, is opposite to what is observed during conventional hot air drying. This may be
caused by a progressively increasing heat of desorption during the drying process, which is a common
phenomenon in hygroscopic solids. Thus, the microwave heating characteristics observed for white beans
may apply to other hygroscopic solids, such as soils, wood, and fodder chaff.

5.1.Modelling microwave drying

Microwave drying is fast, as may be expected from the coupling of heat and moisture transport described
earlier. The drying curve exhibits a short relatively slow drying period, followed by a much faster almost
linear relationship between applied microwave energy and moisture loss. This is followed by a more
conventional falling rate drying period ; however prolonged microwave treatment at high power leads to a
phenomenon known as “thermal runaway”, which causes charring. Microwave treatment profoundly affects
the germination performance of grains, with any reasonable application of microwave power totally
inhibiting grain germination. The microwave drying curve can be described by:

10
Figure 1.

Wheat grain moisture content as a function of applied microwave energy

Figure 2.

Charring of wheat during prolonged microwave treatment

11
Problems with thermal runaway during microwave drying can be overcome by using cyclic drying instead
of continuous microwave heating. In this technique, microwave energy is applied for a short time to induce
rapid heating and moisture movement and then the product is allowed to equilibrate during a period with no
microwave heating. This technique has been successfully applied to timber drying. The resulting drying
curve is still described by equation.

Microwave treatment time

Microwave (minutes)
Power (%)
3.5 7.0 10.5
20 88% 42% 4%
50 46% 0% 0%
70 6% 0% 0%
100 0% 0% 0%
Control 90% 88% 94%

Table 2.
Effect of microwave drying of 700 g samples of wheat in a 750 W, 2.45 GHz, domestic oven on germination
percentages of grains

Figure 3.

Wood moisture content as a function of the number of microwave energy cycles applied

12
Walde, et al. studied the effect of microwave drying on the grinding properties of wheat. The microwave
dried samples were crisp and consumed less energy for grinding compared to the control samples. The
Bond’s work index for the bulk sample was 2.26 kWh

kg-1 compared to 2.41 kWh kg-1 for the control samples of equal moisture content. These studies indicated
that microwave drying of wheat before grinding helps reduce power consumption in wheat milling. The
microwave drying did not change the total protein content, but there were some functional changes in the
protein, which was evident from gluten measurements.

Studies have also been carried out on the dry milling characteristics of maize grains, which were dried
previously from different initial moisture contents (MCi) in a domestic microwave oven The MCi ranged
from 9.6% to 32.5% on a dry sample basis. Drying was also carried out in a convective dryer at temperatures
of 65 – 90 °C. The drying rate curve showed a typical case of moisture loss by diffusion from grains. The
dried samples were ground in a hammer mill and the Bond’s work index was found to decrease with
increasing duration of microwave drying. There was no difference in protein and starch content between the
different treatments. Viscosity measurements were made with 10% suspensions of the flour in water which
were heated to 80 – 90 °C and allowed to cooled. Viscosity decreased with increasing microwave drying of
the grains. The colour analysis showed that flour of the microwave-dried samples was brighter than the
control and convective dried samples. Based on these and other studies, microwave drying of agricultural
and forestry commodities appear to be a viable alternative to conventional methods, especially when rapid
drying and high throughputs of moist material are desirable.

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 6.QUARANTINE

6.1.Motivation
Dried timber, nuts and fruits are commonly treated by chemical fumigation to control field and storage pests
before being shipped to domestic and international markets. Because chemical fumigants such as methyl
bromide are no longer available, there is a heightened interest in developing non–chemical pest control. An
important key to developing successful thermal treatments is to balance the need for complete insect
mortality with minimal impact on the product quality. A common difficulty in using conventional hot–air
disinfestation is the slow heating rate, non–uniform temperature distribution, and possible heat damage to
heat–sensitive commodities. A more promising approach is to heat the commodity rapidly using radio
frequency (RF) or microwave dielectric heating to control insects.

Interest in controlling insects, using electromagnetic energy, dates back nearly 70 years. Headlee, cites one
earlier report of experiments determining lethal exposures for several insect species to 12 MHz electric fields
and the body temperatures produced in honey bees due to dielectric heating. Nelson has shown that
microwaves can kill insects in grain; however one of the challenges for microwave insect control is to
differentially heat the insects in preference to their surrounds. Nelson shows that differential heating depends
on microwave frequency. It appears that using a 2.45 GHz microwave system, which is the frequency used
in domestic microwave ovens, heats the bulk material, which then transfers heat to the insects; however
lower frequencies heat the insects without raising the temperature of the surrounding material beyond 50°C.

Nzokou et al investigated the use of kiln and microwave heat treatments for the sanitization of emerald ash
borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) infested logs. Their microwave treatment method was conducted in a
2.8 GHz microwave oven (volume: 0.062m3, power: 1250 W) manufactured by Panasonic (Panasonic Co.,
Secaucus, New Jersey). Due to the limited volume of the microwave oven, two runs were necessary to treat
logs assigned to each microwave treatment temperature. Their results showed that a temperature of 65°C
was successful at sanitizing the infested logs. Microwave treatment was not as effective as kiln treatment,
probably because of the uneven distribution of the microwave fields and temperature inside the treated logs.
This uneven temperature distribution is partly due to the nature of microwave heating, but may also be due
to their choice of microwave chamber used during their experiments.

In spite of this, with the high costs and level of energy needed to thoroughly heat logs to the desired 65 °C
using conventional heating, microwave heating is still a very attractive solution for rapid heat sterilization of
infested wood materials. The problem of ensuring appropriate temperature distribution inside treated
materials can be easily overcome by using appropriate microwave applicators rather than a multi-mode
cavity. Several options are available including conveyer belt feeds through a long choke tunnel into a purpose

14
built applicator, or projecting a very intense but short duration microwave field pulse into the material, using
an antenna. Plaza et al. have developed a system which employs a circular wave-guide energized by two
microwave sources oriented at 90 ° to one another. This orthogonal orientation of the microwave fields
ensures that they do not interfere with each other, but provides a high power source from relatively cheap
mass produced 1 kW magnetrons. Microwave magnetrons of greater power output than 1 kW are usually
one or two orders of magnitude more expensive than the 1 kW versions.

It has been shown earlier that microwave heating in moist materials, such as the body of an insect, induces a
very fast moving wave of heat and water vapour. The intensity of this wave is directly linked to the intensity
of the microwave fields, therefore using very intense microwave fields may rupture the internal organs of
insects, due to local steam explosions.

The interaction of electromagnetic energy with matter is determined by the dielectric properties of the
material. The permittivity of a material can be expressed as a complex quantity, the real part (κ’) of which is
associated with the capability of the material for storing energy in the electric field of the electromagnetic
wave, and the imaginary part (κ”) is associated with the conversion of electromagnetic energy to heat inside
the material. This is the phenomenon commonly referred to as dielectric heating. The dielectric properties
also determine the reflectivity of a material.

6.2.Modelling microwave heating

The power dissipated per unit volume in a nonmagnetic, uniform material exposed to radio frequency (RF)
or microwave fields can be expressed as:

Therefore in a system composed of two or more materials, there will be preferential heating in favour of the
material with the least reflectivity and higher dielectric loss factor. The rate of temperature increase also
depends on the density and thermal capacity of the heated material:

Termites are a good example of insects that infest economically important products. For example, in the
United States, the annual cost of treating damage caused by the Formosan termite (Coptotermes formosanus)
exceeds $US 1 billion. The radar cross section of some insect species, including termites, has been modelled
by treating them as drops of water of equivalent size and shape.

15
6.3.Modelling the dielectric properties of water

Liquid water exhibits dielectric relaxation at around 22 GHz. There are higher dielectric relaxations in water
at about 280 GHz, 4.5 THz and 15.4 THz. The dielectric properties of grains, soil and wood also depend on
their moisture content.

Figure 4.
Dielectric properties of pure water as a function of frequency and temperature (calculated using equations
and data from literature)

6.4.Modelling the dielectric properties of wood

Figure 5.
Dielectric properties of wood (density = 500 kg m-3) as a function of frequency and moisture content varying
between 0 % and 100 % on a dry wood basis (calculated using equations and data from literature)

16
Dry wood-in-service is in hydro thermodynamic equilibrium with its surroundings. This condition is known
as the equilibrium moisture content. Depending on the atmospheric conditions, equilibrium moisture content
is usually about 12% moisture on a dry wood weight for weight basis. When termites invade wood, they
often import moisture into the structure to maintain a suitable microclimate for their foraging activities. The
maximum moisture content that wood can attain before free water begins to form is known as fibre saturation.
This occurs at about 25 - 30 % moisture content, depending on the wood species. Fibre saturation refers to
the state when all the cells are free of water and only bound water is found within the cell walls. Usually
termites do not increase the moisture content beyond fibre saturation. The dielectric properties of termites
(modelled as water) and wood at fibre saturation are significantly different from each other.

Figure 6.

Comparison of the dielectric properties of wood (density = 500 kg m-3) at fibre saturation with water

Treatment of termite infestations using microwave energy, at 2.45 GHz, has been available for some time.
This technique does not directly heat the termites, but heats the surrounding wood to more than 55°C, which
then causes termite mortality. Unfortunately, the combination of high reflectivity and low dielectric losses
for water in the lower microwave frequency band (2.45 GHz) means that there is virtually no differential
heating between the termites and wood that is at fibre saturation; however significant differential heating
should occur once the frequency increases above 20 GHz. Research in the field of ultra-high frequencies
(>20 GHz) indicates that these frequencies may selectively heat insect pests in favour of the materials they
infest. Therefore research into ultra-high frequency microwave based insect control should yield some
valuable insights over the coming decades.

17
.

Figure 7.

Relative dielectric heating and wood at fibre saturation moisture content, calculated using equation and the
dielectric properties of water and wood

Park, et al. studied the survival of microorganisms after heating in a conventional microwave oven. Kitchen
sponges, scrubbing pads, and syringes were deliberately contaminated with wastewater and subsequently
exposed to microwave radiation. The heterotrophic plate count of the wastewater was reduced by more than
99 percent within 1 to 2 minutes of microwave heating. Coliform and E. coli in kitchen sponges were
completely inactivated after 30 seconds of microwave heating. Bacterial phage MS2 was totally inactivated
within 1 to 2 minutes, but spores of Bacillus cereus were more resistant than the other microorganisms tested,
requiring 4 minutes of irradiation for complete eradication. Similar inactivation rates were obtained in
wastewater­contaminated scrubbing pads; however microorganisms attached to plastic syringes were more
resistant to microwave irradiation than those associated with kitchen sponges or scrubbing pads. It took 10
minutes for total inactivation of the heterotrophic plate count and 4 minutes of treatment for total inactivation
of total coliform and E. coli. A 4-log reduction of phage MS2 was obtained after 2 minutes of treatment with
97.4 percent reductions after 12 minutes of microwave treatment.

18
Devine et al. conducted a trial in which microwave radiation, coupled with steam heat, was used to treat
organic waste (1,136 kg of culled turkey carcasses), designed to simulate a small-scale poultry mortality
event. They inoculated the turkey carcasses with Bacillus atrophaeus spores and Salmonella enterica before
inserting them into a purpose built portable microwave unit (Sanitec Industries), along with other organic
waste. The units are designed to treat in excess of 250 kg/per hour of waste. The system has been designed
so that the waste is transported through the microwave fields along a screw so that the final exposure time
and temperature profile is a minimum of 30 minutes at 95 °C. The system generated a seven-log reduction
in the microbial load of Salmonella and a five-log reduction in Bacillus spores. These results illustrate the
potential of using microwave radiation for quarantine procedures. The following sections will illustrate more
specifically how microwave energy can manage pests in agricultural and forestry systems.

19
 7.MICROWAVE TREATMENT OF ANIMAL FODDER

Hay is an important feed source for ruminant animals so every effort should be made to improve its feed
conversion efficiency and reduce the risk of importing weed seeds as hay is transported from one location to
another. Similarly, cereal grains are the base of most horse rations, because they are a valuable source of
digestible energy; however their use is always associated with some risk.

The major concern when feeding cereal grains to horses is the risk of incomplete starch digestion in the small
intestine, which enables significant amounts of starch to pass through to the caecum and colon. When starch
is able to reach these organs it rapidly ferments producing an accumulation of acidic products, which place
the horse at risk of developing serious and potentially fatal illnesses such as laminitis, colic and ulcers.

Dong et al. discovered that organic matter degradability of wheat straw in the rumen of yaks was increased
by around 20% after 4 min of treatment in a 750 W, 2.54 GHz, microwave oven. Sadeghi and Shawrang
showed that microwave treatment of canola meal increased in vitro dry matter disappearance, including
substances that were deemed to be ruminally undegradable. Sadeghi and Shawrang also showed that
microwave treatment reduced the rumen degradable starch fraction of corn grain and decreased crude protein
degradation of soya-bean meal compared with untreated samples. No studies of microwave treatment of
horse feeds could be found in the available literature.

Small scale in vitro pepsin-cellulase digestion experiments, similar to the technique developed by McLeod
and Minson, demonstrated that microwave treatment: increased dry matter percentage with increasing
microwave treatment time; increased in vitro dry matter disappearance with increasing microwave treatment
time; but had no significant effect on post-digestion crude protein content.

When 25 kg bags of Lucerne fodder, treated in an experimental 6 kW, 2.45 GHz, microwave heating chamber
were subjected to a similar in vitro pepsin-cellulase digestion study, dry matter disappearance significantly
increased compared to the untreated samples; however there was no significant difference attributable to the
duration of microwave treatment. Feeding 12-14month old Merino sheep on a “maintenance ration” of
microwave treated Lucerne resulted in a significant increase in body weight instead of the relatively constant
body weight that would be expected from a maintenance ration. By the end of the 5 week feeding trial the
control group was only 0.4 % heavier than when they started, which would be expected from a maintenance
ration. How ever the group being fed the microwave treated Lucerne gained 7 % of their initial body weight
in the second week of the trial and maintained this body weight until the end of the trial. Their finishing
weight after 5 weeks was 8.1 % higher than their starting weight.

20
In vitro assessment of microwave treated oats, using the Megazyme Total Starch Assay Procedure, which
simulates the initial digestive processes in the stomach and small intestines of a horse, demonstrated
significantly increased starch digestion. This implies that less undigested starch should proceed through the
intestinal tract where it could cause significant health risks to the animal.

The efficiency of chaff and fodder treatment using microwave energy depends on the applied microwave
energy and the frequency at which the microwave system operates. Absorbed energy, calculated by
measuring the combination of sensible (temperature rise) and latent heat (moisture loss) in treated samples,
is much higher at 2.45 GHz than at 922 MHz. It is also evident that efficiency (i.e. the ratio of absorbed
energy to applied microwave energy) decreases as the applied microwave energy increases. This is
attributable to the increasing transparency of the fodder material to microwave energy as it dries during
microwave treatment. The dielectric properties, and therefore the microwave heating effect, reduce as the
moisture content of plant materials decrease. Some of these problems of material transparency during
microwave treatment can be overcome by compressing the fodder, which increases its ability to absorb
microwave energy.

Figure 12.

Absorbed energy in crop chaff (fodder) as a function of applied microwave energy for 922 MHz and 2.45
GHz

21
Brodie et al. treated 25 kg samples of Lucerne chaff in an experimental 6 kW microwave chamber. The
temperature in the air space at the top of the Lucerne bags rose to 100 °C in ~12 min and fluctuated above
100 °C for the remainder of the treatment time. The maximum temperature in the air space was 115 °C. The
maximum temperature in the Lucerne (99.5 °C) was measured by the probe facing the microwave magnetrons
whereas the maximum temperature measured by the probe in the front of the bag, facing the door of the
microwave chamber, was only 94 °C.

The temperature in the Lucerne increased steadily at a rate of ~2 °C/min of microwave heating time for the
first 20–25 min of heating. At this stage there was a sudden increase in heating rate (~6 °C/min) until the
temperature stabilized at ~98 °C. The sudden jump in the heating rate after some time of steady heating may
be evidence of thermal runaway. Observation of the treated chaff showed no signs of charring; however the
chaff was dry and crisp. The onset of thermal runaway dramatically increases the heating efficiency. In this
example, the heating rate during thermal runaway is three times higher than during the normal heating phase.
Provided charring can be avoided, inducing thermal runaway in the treated chaff may drastically improve
treatment efficiency. The onset of thermal runaway is usually quicker when the microwave field intensity is
higher and the thermal conductivity of the material is increased. In the case of fodder chaff, thermal
conductivity is proportional to density, which may partially explain why increasing the material density
significantly increases the heating rate of the chaff. This needs further exploration.

22
 8.MICROWAVE ASSISTED EXTRACTION

During microwave assisted extraction (MAE), plant materials such as wood, seeds and leaves are
suspended in solvents and the mixture is exposed to microwave heating instead of conventional
heating. Enhanced rates of plant oil extraction have been observed for a range of plant materials.
Chen and Spiro examined the extraction of the essential oils of peppermint and rosemary from hexane
and ethanol mixtures and found that yields were more than one third greater in the microwave assisted
extractions. Saoud et al. studied MAE of essential oils from tea leaves and achieved higher yields
(26.8 mg/g) than conventional steam distillation (24 mg/g).

Chemat et al. studied the extraction of oils from limonene and caraway seeds and found that MAE
led to more rapid extraction as well as increased yields. Scanning electron microscopy of the
microwave treated and untreated seeds revealed significantly increased rupture of the cell walls in
the treated seeds. MAE also led to a more chemically complex extract, which was thought to be a
better representation of the true composition of the available oils in caraway seed.

Although less well described in the literature, an alternative approach for utilizing microwave heating
of plant based materials has been to treat the materials with microwave energy prior to conventional
extraction processes. Microwave preconditioning of sugar cane prior to juice diffusion studies led to
significant decreases in color and significant increases in juice yield, Brix %, purity and Pol %.
Microwave treatment significantly reduced the compression strength of the sugar cane samples,
especially while the cane was still hot from the microwave treatment. This treatment option reduced
the compressive strength of the cane to about 18 % of its original strength, implying that much less
energy would be required to crush the cane for juice extraction.

Controlled application of microwave heating to green timber results in local steam explosions and
can directly manipulate both permeability and density with potentially less strength loss than is
caused by conventional steam conditioning. This technique does not attempt to dry the wood using
microwave energy. Rather, it is used to modify the wood structure to facilitate faster drying in more
conventional systems. This technology has the potential to: relieve internal log stresses in susceptible
species; substantially accelerate drying; improve preservative treatment and resin uptake; and
produce new wood-based products for commercial applications. Application of microwave
processing technology has the potential to streamline production and to facilitate conveyor belt
automation in the timber industry.

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9.ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF MICROWAVE HEATING

Today’s uses range from these well-known applications over pasteurization and sterilization to
combined processes like microwave vacuum drying. The rather slow spread of food industrial
microwave applications has a number of reasons: there is the conservatism of the food industry
(Decareau, 1985) and its relatively low research budget. Linked to this, there are difficulties in
moderating the problems of microwave heating applications. One of the main problems is that, in
order to get good results, they need a high input of engineering intelligence.

Different from conventional heating systems, where satisfactory results can be achieved easily by
intuition, good microwave application results often do need a lot of knowledge or experience to
understand and moderate effects like uneven heating or the thermal runaway. Another disadvantage
of microwave heating as opposed to conventional heating is the need for electrical energy, which is
its most expensive form. Nevertheless, microwave heating has a number of quantitative and
qualitative advantages over conventional heating techniques that make its adoption a serious
proposition. One main advantage is the place where the heat is generated, namely the product itself.
Because of this, the effect of small heat conductivities or heat transfer coefficients does not play such
an important role. Therefore, larger pieces can be heated in a shorter time and with a more even
temperature distribution. These advantages often yield an increased production.

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 10.CONCLUSION

Microwave and radio frequency heating have many potential applications in the agricultural and
forestry industries. This chapter has discussed a few of these, but there are many more that have not
been included. The purpose of this chapter was to encourage practitioners within the microwave
engineering and agricultural and forestry industries to explore the many possibilities of applying
microwave heating to address many problems and opportunities within the primary industries.

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 11.REFERENCES

1.Microwave and Radio-frequency technologies in agriculture by Graham Bodies

2.Microwave heating applications by Mohan.V.Jacob

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