Eco-Compatible Microwave Phytosanitary Treatments

This thesis investigates a green, eco-friendly, and effective Microwave Phytosanitary Treatment against other phytosanity treatments, with the help of two case studies. This treatment is based on the principle of dielectric heating, which is efficiently administered with the knowledge of the dielectric/electromagnetic parameters of the materials involved in the treatment, which was carried out during this investigation. The Microwave Phytosanitary Treatment is made at 2.45GHz, which is an unlicenced frequency for telecommunication purposes in both the case studies. The empirical models developed to investigate the method in the two case studies are discussed in detail in this thesis. The data from the empirical model and measurements were used in the numerical software, CST Studio Suite® to model, and study the various aspects of the structures in the two case studies; this aided in the prediction of the extent of the effectiveness of the Microwave Phytosanitary treatment in both cases. In case study one, the effectiveness of this treatment to disinfest the Date Palm from the Red Palm Weevil is presented. Wherein the effectiveness to reach the lethal temperature of 55°C for the Red Palm Weevil, while protecting the Date Palm in the process, by means of the suitably developed protocol during the PhD is discussed. The effectiveness of Microwave Phytosanitary treatment in Case study one was validated in Moderna, Italy, where a temperature of 79.5°C was attained at 3cm inside the Date Palm, after the second cycle of the administered protocol, when the power to the applicator was 1.3kW. In Case study two, an optimized applicator for the purpose of disinfesting greenhouse soil is presented, alongside the novel layered model developed to make the analysis. The optimised applicator was validated at a greenhouse in Brescia, Italy, where a temperature of 78.4°C on the surface of the soil was attained after 12 minutes of application to a drenched soil, when the power to the applicator was 1.5kW. Both case studies were developed in close synergy with the activities carried out within two funded projects, in the framework of Programma Operativo Nazionale Ricerca e Innovazione (PON) 2014-2020, ESF REACT-EU resources, “Doctorates and research contracts on innovation topics” and “Doctorates on Green topics”.