The Use of Microwave Energy at Thermal Treatment of Grain Crops

Background

Dielectrics are a class of materials that are poor conductors of electricity, in contrast to materials such as metals that are generally good electrical conductors. Many materials, including foods, living organisms, and most agricultural products, conduct electric currents to some degree, but they are still classified as dielectrics. The electrical nature of these materials can be described by their dielectric properties, which influence the distribution of electromagnetic fields and currents in the region occupied by the materials, and which determine the behavior of the materials in electric fields. Thus, the dielectric properties determine how rapidly a material will warm up in RF or microwave dielectric heating applications. Their influence on electric fields also provides a means for sensing certain other properties of materials, which may be correlated with the dielectric properties, by nondestructive electrical measurements. Therefore, dielectric properties of agricultural products may be important for quality-sensing applications in the agricultural industry as well as in dielectric heating applications (Bakker-Arkema F.W., 1995; Nelson S.O., 2015, 2004; Suzan Tireki, 2006; Stanislaw Grundas, 2008).