Dehydration and incineration of sample material

Abstract From the Canadian patent

This invention relates to a process and an apparatus for the dehydration and incineration of sample material. The sample material to be dehydrated is enclosed in a container which is transmissive to microwaves. Air is passed through the container which is subjected to microwave radiation to preferentially remove water from the sample. The dehydrated sample may be incinerated by switching the air supply to an oxygen supply under the microwave radiation. The prior art discloses alternate methods such as hot-air drying infrared ray drying and refrigeration drying which generally require a long time to dry the sample, particularly if the sample has a small surface area and low thermal …