(22g) The Use of Induction Heating for On-Demand Desorption and Catalytic Reaction

Ferromagnetic materials (like Fe or Fe₂O₃) are known to generate heat when exposed to an alternating magnetic field in the radiofrequency range (RF). This property can be utilised for indirect or remote heating of a composite medium, where one component is magnetic.

Here we report two sets of experiments of utilising RF magnetic field for i) desorption from composite pellets, and ii) endothermic reaction in a composite porous medium.  By adding iron microparticles to the composite adsorbent or catalyst pellets and consequently exposing them to RF field, we were able to control the temperature and consequently the progress of desorption and turning on/off the autocatalytic reaction. The desorption was investigated in three systems: water-zeolite, water-silica and toluene-activated carbon. The progress of desorption was evaluated from the energy balance by comparing the pellet heating progress with and without adsorbed compound. The dehydratation of ethanol on alumina (with iron microparticles) to form ethene was chosen as a model endothermic, temperature controlled catalytic reaction.