Production of carbon storage sintered body from fly ash by microwave heating

• Sintered material was prepared from discarded concrete sludge cake and fly ash. • Roadbed material can store up to 10% carbon by adding additives. • Abundant low-thermal conductivity materials can be heated at high speed. • Microwave heating furnace can be used for electrification of chemical plants. Environmental 1 1 fly ash (FA), concrete sludge cake (CSC), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscope (SEM). concerns have spurred research into replacing thermal power with microwaves in chemical plants to promote sustainability. However, there is a lack of established methodologies for scaling up microwave heating furnaces through analytical and experimental approaches. In this study, a sintered material intended for use as roadbed material was developed using concrete sludge cake and fly ash from a thermal power plant. This material can incorporate up to 10 % carbon with the addition of certain additives. Furthermore, a microwave heating furnace was designed based on parametric analysis to ensure both homogeneity and efficiency in operation. The developed microwave furnace, with a capacity of 30 kW, is capable of sintering 640 kg of fly ash daily in a uniform manner. Employing the methodology outlined, microwave furnaces can be optimised to accommodate specific materials, facilitating the design of systems suitable for the electrification of chemical plants.