Welcome MPEG!
The Microwave Processing & Engineering Group
This center is the world’s leading institution in the study of the interaction of matter with microwave radiation. It has published some 190+ papers and about 20 patents. Its success is based on a sequence of remarkable discoveries:
- Increasing the kinetics by 10-100X, of all reactions involving the most important materials of modern materials science: BaTiO3; ferrites, silicon, powdered metals, WC/Co, etc.
- The details and principles of "Anisothermal" reactions in any multiphase systems
- Applicability of microwave energy to process metallic materials: Sintering, brazing, melting, etc.
- The physical materials processing utilizing separation of E & H fields at microwave frequencies
- The radical differences between the E & H fields in interaction with matter, including the formation of different phases, and dramatic differences in reaction kinetics.
- The ability to de-crystallize many of the most significant crystalline phases of materials technology—in a few seconds
- Synthesis of ZnO microtubes and carbon nanotubes
Most of the center support has come from two dozen companies and the government agencies.
In the News:
 "Microwave Heating: Fundamentals and Applications to Cement-based Materials" Released |
Microwaving malaria away
About 40 per cent of the world's population is at risk for malaria. An estimated 300 million to 500 million people worldwide contract the disease each year, and as many as 1 million of them die each year, a large majority of them are children under five.
Recent reports from Cambodia suggest that currently effective anti-malarial drugs are beginning to lose their effectiveness as the most virulent malaria strain develops resistance.
Pennsylvania State University materials scientists Dinesh Agrawal and Jiping Cheng are working to develop a process which uses low-power microwaves to destroy malaria parasites in the blood minus any medication. Their research has been further boosted by a donation from The Gates Foundation. |
Microwave Energy Applied to Processing
|
Green Technology: Hi-Temperature Microwave Sintering Reduces Energy Use Up to 80% and Process Time Up to 90%
Asian industry is leading the development and switch to high-temperature microwave sintering, replacing inefficient gas and electric furnaces with this newer “green” technology. “Switching to microwave furnaces cuts energy use up to 80% and reduces processing time by 90%
|