Microwave synthesis of zeolites. 2. Effect of vessel size, precursor volume, and irradiation method.

The enhancement of synthesis reactions under microwave heating is dependent on many complex factors. We investigated the importance of several reaction engineering parameters relevant to microwave synthesis. Of interest to this investigation were the reaction vessel size, volume of precursor reacted, microwave power delivery, and microwave cavity design. The syntheses of NaY zeolite and beta-zeolite were carried out under a number of varying conditions to determine the influence of these parameters on the nucleation rate, the crystallization rate, and the particle size and morphology. The rates of NaY and beta-zeolite nucleation and crystallization were more rapid in the multimode CEM MARS-5 oven compared to the more uniform field CEM Discover. The faster synthesis rate in the MARS-5 may be the result of the multimode microwave electric field distribution. Slower rates of NaY and beta-zeolite formation observed in the Discover and a circular waveguide may be the result of a more uniform microwave electric field distribution. Changes in reaction vessel size and precursor volume during the microwave synthesis of beta- and NaY zeolite were found to influence the rate of zeolite formation. These results indicate that reactor geometry needs to be considered in the design of systems used for microwave synthesis. Comparative synthesis reactions were carried out with conventional heating, and microwave heating was shown to be up to over an order of magnitude faster for most of these syntheses.