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Microwave Enhanced Freeze Drying of Solid Waste

Award Information
Agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Branch: N/A
Contract: NNA04CB24C
Agency Tracking Number: 034554
Amount: $70,000.00
Phase: Phase I
Program: SBIR
Solicitation Topic Code: B3.01
Solicitation Number: N/A
Timeline
Solicitation Year: 2003
Award Year: 2004
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): 2004-01-16
Award End Date (Contract End Date): 2004-07-19
Small Business Information
P.O. Box 609
Myrtle Creek, OR 97457-0102
United States
DUNS: 068766781
HUBZone Owned: Yes
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 Richard Wheeler
 Principal Investigator
 (541) 863-2661
 rwheeler@urcmail.net
Business Contact
 John Aker
Title: Business Official
Phone: (541) 863-2655
Email: aker@urcmail.net
Research Institution
N/A
Abstract

Development of technology for Microwave Enhanced Freeze Drying of Solid Waste (MEFDSW) is proposed. The present state of the art for solid waste stabilization using lyophilization is very effective at removing water (up to 99.9%), but suffers from long processing times and high specific energy, because system equipment must operate continuously over the duration of the process. For conventional freeze drying operations, the system vacuum pump and the heat transfer system are in continuous operation. By utilizing microwave power to provide the necessary phase change energy to convert solid water to water vapor via sublimation at low pressure and temperature, the conductive heat transfer rate limitation that plagues conventional freeze dryers can be short-circuited. In addition, since the product quality of the dried solid waste is less of an issue than for food and pharmaceutical products, the sublimation envelope can be pushed. If the eutectic temperature is exceeded in localized regions in the solid waste during processing and partial melting to liquid water occurs in these regions, little significant impact, if any, will be made on the final state of the dried solid waste, but the rate of drying may be greatly accelerated, making the overall process more efficient.

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

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