1. Presented by
Bane Kshitij Suhas
Birje Nishad Prakash
Ghodake Ajinkya Balasaheb
Majgaonkar Vinayak Vivek
(BE EXTC)
Under the guidance of
Dr. Savita R. Bhosale & Prof. K Venkat Raman
Department of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering
MGM’s College of Engineering and Technology
2015-2016

2.  Introduction
 Physical Principle
 Advantages
 Experiments
 Results & Analysis
 Application on commercial level
 Challenges & Solutions
 Conclusion

4.  In India, average loss due to pests in agriculture is almost Rs.
60,000 Cr. Per annum
 Most of these losses occur in the post-harvest storage
Name of crop Losses (in %0
Cotton 60
Wheat 47
Rice 37
Soybean 29
Maize 31
Potato 40

5.  Ionization radiation: The main problem is that it is not possible
to shut of the radiation after ending the treatment.
 Cold treatment: It is not a complete method due to high price
and relatively long required time.
 Conventional heating: This kind of heating warms both pest
and the agricultural product similarly which may destroy
product’s quality.
 Chemical sprays: It has methyl bromide which is harmful to
health and it affects on thickness of ozone layer.

6.  Environmental Effects : Pollute Air, Water and Soil.
Ecosystems are damaged. Reduce Nitrogen fixation, threaten
fish, birds and animal habitat.
 Reducing the thickness of Ozone layer.
 Health Effects: May cause neurological and psychiatric
complications, brain tumors, cancers, spontaneous abortions,
stillbirths, and birth defects.

7. When a dielectric material is brought into a rapidly altering
electrical field, heat is generated inside the material. This is
known as ‘Dielectric Heating.’
Important points
 Heat is generated within the material.
 Rapid in comparison with conventional heating.

8. The rubbing between the individual molecules when they are trying
to align with the electric field generates heat.
•Rapid heating
•Selective heating

9.  𝜀′′=𝜀′×tan(𝛿)
𝜀′′ : Dielectric Loss Factor
𝜀′: Relative Permittivity (Dielectric constant) of Material
𝛿 :Loss Angle
Loss factor is dependent on the frequency of the electrical field, the
temperature, the moisture content, etc.
For water
𝜀′:77
𝜀′′: 0.4 at 30 MHz
13 at 2.4 GHz

10.  The power that is dissipated in a dielectric material is given by
the following formula:
𝑃=2𝜋×𝑓×𝜖0 × 𝜖′×tan(𝛿) x E²
 This is defined as the depth in the material at which the
transferred power has been reduced to 37% of its original value
𝑑≈1/[𝑓×√𝜀′×tan(𝛿) ]
POWER DISSIPATION

11.  Heat isn’t transferred to material. Instead the material is
induced to heat itself.
 Lower energy consumption.
 Causes less damage to substance than other conventional
methods using high temperature.
 Does not cause shrinkage or toughening of food.
 Flavours and taste remain unchanged.

12. EXPERIMENTS
2.45 GHz (ISM band) frequency is available in standard Microwave
oven

13. Result of keeping 300gm of rice sample having insects in
microwave oven for 30 seconds

14. Frequency Quantity of grain Average Time (sec)
2.45GHz 100gm 28
2.45GHz 300gm 31
2.45GHz 1000gm 50

15. For higher frequencies (8-12GHz) microwave test bench was used

17. Frequency
(GHz)
Quantity of grain
(gm)
Average Time
(sec)
2.4 100 28
8 100 23
9 100 20
10 100 18
11 100 14
12 100 11

18.  As frequency of the microwaves increases,
time required to kill the pests decreases (as
power dissipated is directly proportional to
the frequency)
 As quantity of grain increases, the average
time required for the treatment gradually
increases

19.  Based on our experiments and results, the dielectric heating
treatment for pests can be applied on the commercial level
in the post-harvest treatment.
 After the crop-harvest, grains are stored in godowns where
they are majorly affected by pests and insects.
 So, we can use this method to kill the pests/insects present
in the grain and stop their reproduction so there won‘t be
any further damage to the crop.

20. There are at least four challenging problems against the vast
implementation of electromagnetic waves use in agricultural
applications :
 High electromagnetic power needed.
 Probable human health effects.
 Finalized price.
 Frequency allocation.

21.  Microwave source can be installed on ceiling of the
godown
 Klystron power supply can be used to generate
microwaves at desirable frequency (higher the frequency,
lower will be the treatment time. But higher frequency
will also have high power requirements )
 Metal sheets need to be installed on the walls to reflect
the microwaves
 This method can be costly
Installation in godowns

22. 1) A smaller metal chamber can be constructed.
The grains can be kept in the chamber part-by-part and
exposed to the microwaves for particular amount of time.
Maximum electromagnetic field intensity is obtained at the
center of the chamber, so grain should be placed at the center
of the chamber.
2) A low power source can be used, grains can be passed through
a conveyer belt before packaging.

23.  The concept of dielectric heating can be used to kill the pests
in post harvest agricultural storage without affecting the
product.
 This method would be more effective compared to the
conventional methods.
 When applied on commercial level, this project will prove to
be an efficient way of controlling the pests with minimum
environmental and health hazards.
 Solutions to the challenges faced in applying this method on
commercial level were given through this project

24. 1. Wang, S.; Tang, J.;Sun, T.; Mitcham, E.; Koral, T.; Birla, S.L. (2006).
“Considerations in design of commercial radio frequency treatments for
postharvest pest control in in shell walnuts”, Journal of Food Engineering,
August 10, 2006.
2. Wang, S.; Tang J.; (2001). "Radio Frequency and Microwave Alternative
Treatments for Insect Control in Nuts: A Review"; Agricultural Engineering
Journal, vol. 10 (3and4), pp.105-120, 2001.
3. Flores, A. (2003)2. “Radio Frequencies Used To Kill Agriculture Pests”,
Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Agricultural Research magazine.
4. Aliakbarian, H.; Enayati, A.; Ameri H.; Ashayer-Soltani, M. (2007).
“Agricultural Applications for Electromagnetic Exposure”, Proceeding of Asia-
Pacific Microwave Conf., 11-14 Dec. 2007, Bangkok.
5. Application Note Dielectric Heating by Jean Callebaut- European Copper
Institute in October 2014.