Scale-up of Microwave-assisted Heterogeneous Catalytic Processes

Abstract

Energy has become a critical issue for industrial activities, prompting a demand for the implementation of techno-economically viable carbon-neutral technologies. Industrial complexes may require more flexible solutions for their processes. Microwave-assisted heating technology (MWH) is being positioned as a promising alternative for promoting energy-efficient, sustainable, and clean heterogeneous catalytic processes. The scale-up and integration of MWH into industrial heterogeneous catalytic processes, thus, rely on a clean application and thorough understanding of its different main components. The most prominent bottlenecks hindering its upscaling are related to reactor cavity design, processing volume/mass microwave absorption correlation with its placement distribution inside cavities, and temperature measurement systems. The current chapter presents an overview of reported heterogeneously catalyzed thermo-chemical transformations assisted by microwave irradiation, highlighting the technological readiness level, industrialization degree and scale-up strategies, advantages, drawbacks, and challenges for each application.