Conventional Electric Heating Research Articles

A Highly Efficient Catalytic Co-Combustion of Aromatic and Oxygenated Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) via H2-Driven Onsite Heating

Catalytic combustion, a highly efficient technique for reducing volatile organic compounds (VOCs), is the focus of this study. We investigate the improved catalytic efficiency of the physical mixing of nanosized Pt and atomically dispersed Co, supported on Al2O3 catalysts (Pt-Co)/Al2O3 (PM) for the catalytic combustion of VOCs. The catalyst efficiency is evaluated for the hydrogen-assisted catalytic oxidation of various VOCs, including aromatic and oxygenated VOCs such as benzene, toluene, methanol, and formic acid. Our study aims to understand the impact of hydrogen incorporation on the combustion process of various VOCs. The findings of this work underscore the potential of hydrogen-assisted catalytic ignition, which can achieve ignition at ambient temperature, a significant departure from conventional electric heating that typically requires additional energy to raise the temperature. Various characterization techniques, such as BET, STEM, and XRD, are employed to assess the structure–activity relationship of the catalyst. The optimal hydrogen concentration for complete VOC conversion is 3%. Notably, even at a lower hydrogen concentration of 2%, benzene and methanol reach an ideal ignition temperature of over 500 °C when introduced into the physically mixed catalyst. This study highlights the significant potential of hydrogen-assisted catalytic combustion, inspiring further research and offering a promising method to reduce VOCs effectively.

Activation of NO with microwave irradiation for low temperature direct decomposition

Direct decomposition of nitric oxide (NO) on metal oxides under microwave (MW) irradiation was investigated and it was found that the most metal oxides show higher NO decomposition activity than that in the conventional electric furnace heating at low temperature. Among the examined oxides, it was found that TiO2, CeO2, ZrO2, and Y2O3 show about 95 % or higher NO conversion at 573 K, and both N2 and O2 are formed with almost equimolar amount. In particular, ZrO2 exhibited high and stable NO decomposition activity more than 25 h. In this study, the influence of coexisting gases on NO decomposition activity on ZrO2 under microwave heating was further investigated and the direct decomposition of NO can be proceeded even in the presence of 5 % O2, 5 % CO2, or humidified condition. Mechanism of high NO decomposition activity under MW irradiation was also studied and it was found that removal of oxygen from the catalyst was much increased under MW irradiation because of direct activation of oxygen and also direct activation of NO which is also suggested by pulse reaction.

Syngas production via microwave-assisted Dry Reforming of Methane over NiFe/MgAl2O4 alloy catalyst

Dry reforming of methane (DRM) represents a promising avenue for generating syngas while simultaneously reducing CO2 emissions. However, its industrial application has been constrained by the necessity for elevated temperatures to prevent coke. Microwave (MW)-assisted DRM emerges as a compelling solution to facilitate high-temperature reactions, capitalizing on surplus renewable electrons to heat the catalyst bed swiftly and selectively, thereby circumventing the inefficient heating of the entire reactor. In this study, DRM is conducted under MW irradiation using NiFe/MgAl2O4 alloy catalysts. The impacts of MW power and catalysts' temperature-response behavior are investigated as well as the active components (Ni and Fe), and space velocity on the DRM reaction are explored. We determined the optimal quantities of Fe and Ni necessary to achieve the desired balance between MW heating and driving the DRM reaction. Under specific conditions—Ni content at 25 wt%, Fe content at 40 wt%, MW power of 286 W g−1, a temperature of 700 °C, flow rate of 450 mL min−1 and a space velocity of 12857 mL·g−1·hr−1—conversion rates of 85 % for CH4 and 62 % for CO2 are achieved. NiFe/MgAl2O4 catalysts demonstrated high potential to be used in the MW-driven DRM as compared to conventional electric heating methods.

Ca2Fe2O5-Based WGS Catalysts to Enhance the H2 Yield of Producer Gases

Ca2Fe2O5-based catalysts were synthesized from siderite and calcite precursors, which were processed in the form of pelletized samples and tested as water gas shift catalysts. Catalytic tests were performed in a tubular reactor, at temperatures in the range 400–500 °C and with different H2O:CO ratios, diluted with N2; this demonstrates the positive impact of Ca2Fe2O5 on conversion of CO and H2 yield, relative to corresponding tests without catalyst. The catalytic performance was also remarkably boosted in a microwave-heated reactor, relative to conventional electric heating. Post-mortem analysis of spent catalysts showed significant XRD reflections of spinel phases (Fe3O4 and CaFe2O4), and SiO2 from the siderite precursor. Traces of calcium carbonate were also identified, and FTIR analysis revealed relevant bands ascribed to calcium carbonate and adsorbed CO2. Thermodynamic modelling was performed to assess the redox tolerance of Ca2Fe2O5-based catalysts in conditions expected for gasification of biomass and thermochemical conditions at somewhat lower temperatures (≤500 °C), as a guideline for suitable conditions for water gas shift. This modelling, combined with the results of catalytic tests and post-mortem analysis of spent catalysts, indicated that the O2 and CO2 storage ability of Ca2Fe2O5 contributes to its catalytic activity, suggesting prospects to enhance the H2 content of producer gases by water gas shift.

Solar-Air Source Heat Pump Water Heater for Scorching Climatic Condition: Energy, Exergy, Economic and Enviroeconomic (4E) Exploration for Sustainable Future

As solar-powered air source heat pump is an emerging water heating technique in scorching climatic conditions, it is necessary to explore their performance in terms of energy, exergy, economic, and environeconomic (4E) perspective. Henceforth, current research experimentally investigates and reports on 4E of Direct Expansion Solar-Air Source Heat Pump water heater for hot regions. A heat pump with a dual source evaporator is proposed in two working modes: solar air source mode and air source mode. The impact of ambient conditions on the thermal performance, such as power consumption, evaporator and condenser capacity, heating time, coefficient of performance, and exergy efficiency of the heat pump water heating system in both the working modes, was experimentally investigated. Results depict the coefficient of performance of the proposed heat pump system in solar air source mode and air source mode in the range of 2.37-5.05 and 2.26-4.21, respectively. On average, the system heating time in solar air source mode is 16.5% shorter than in air source mode. Based on the simulation results, compared to a conventional standard electric heating system, the payback period and lifetime carbon-dioxide mitigation savings cost of the proposed dual-source heat pump system are about 616 days and $179866, respectively.

Design and application of a novel direct light-driven thermogravimetric analyzer

Thermogravimetric analysis is one of the evaluation means widely used to characterize thermoinduced chemical reaction and mass variation processes. However, the emergence of photothermal characteristics research makes traditional thermogravimetric analysis unable to meet the requirements. Therefore, a novel direct light-driven thermogravimetric analyzer is designed for fast photothermal integrated pyrolysis weight loss measurement based on the principle of high temperature measurement under light flux. The photothermal conversion characteristics are studied by analyzing the calcination progress of the blackened calcium carbonate particles. At the same time, the error and uncertainty analysis of the instrument is carried out. Compared with the conventional thermogravimetric electric heating approach, the direct light-driven thermogravimeter provides the same environment as the actual solar photothermal capture and utilization scenarios and enables getting deep insights into the mechanism of the photothermal conversion and chemical reaction kinetics involved which are consistent with the real solar-thermal energy applications. Its unique photothermal integrated design is also valuable for the composition analysis, kinetic analysis or evaluation of solid-gas balance of the materials, which provides an important analysis method for solar photothermal conversion.

Ring opening polymerisation of ɛ-caprolactone with novel microwave magnetic heating and cyto-compatible catalyst.

We report on the ring-opening polymerization of ɛ-caprolactone incorporated with a magnetic susceptible catalyst, FeCl3, via the use of microwave magnetic heating (HH) which primarily heats the bulk with a magnetic field (H-field) from an electromagnetic field (EMF). Such a process was compared to more commonly used heating methods, such as conventional heating (CH), i.e., oil bath, and microwave electric heating (EH), which is also referred to as microwave heating that primarily heats the bulk with an electric field (E-field). We identified that the catalyst is susceptible to both the E-field and H-field heating, and promoted the heating of the bulk. Which, we noticed such promotion was a lot more significant in the HH heating experiment. Further investigating the impact of such observed effects in the ROP of ɛ-caprolactone, we found that the HH experiments showed a more significant improvement in both the product Mwt and yield as the input power increased. However, when the catalyst concentration was reduced from 400:1 to 1600:1 (Monomer:Catalyst molar ratio), the observed differentiation in the Mwt and yield between the EH and the HH heating methods diminished, which we hypothesized to be due to the limited species available that were susceptible to microwave magnetic heating. But comparable product results between the HH and EH heating methods suggest that the HH heating method along with a magnetic susceptible catalyst could be an alternative solution to overcome the penetration depth problem associated with the EH heating methods. The cytotoxicity of the produced polymer was investigated to identify its potential application as biomaterials.

Comparative Efficacy of Humidifiers for Noninvasive Infant Respiratory Support

Abstract Delivery of cold, dry air to infants while supporting their breathing can lead to hypothermia in addition to irritating and damaging their sensitive nares and negatively impacting outcomes with these therapies. In high resource settings, electric heated humidifiers are used to mitigate this problem. In many resource-constrained settings, passive nonelectric bubbling humidifiers are instead used. We here compare the efficacy of conventional electric heated humidification, custom-built low cost heated humidification, passive nonelectric bubbling humidification and a control of no humidification. In a hospital patient room (temperature 22 °C, humidity 50%), the temperature and humidity delivered to a simulated patient lung via a BC161-10 Fisher Paykel bubble continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) system were measured with conventional electric heated humidification, low cost custom-built heated humidification, passive bubbling humidification and no humidification. (Delivered CPAP: 5 cm H2O; flowrate varied from 4 to 8 liters per minute (LPM) in 2 LPM increments.) As the flowrate was varied from 4 to 8 LPM, delivered relative humidity (standard deviation) with each humidifier was as follows: control 10% (3.6%), passive bubbler 44% (3.7%), custom-built humidifier 67% (1.7%), electric heated humidifier 91% (0.86%). Delivered temperature with the electric heated humidifier was 38 °C (0.21 °C) versus 33 °C for all other setups. Conventional electric heating humidification is more effective than passive bubbling humidification, and the custom-built low cost humidifier provides an intermediate degree of humidification. Through further improvement of this concept with a heated inspiratory circuit and sensor based control of the heating element, an effective yet low cost solution heating humidification could be developed.

Microwave-assisted rapid synthesis of nanosized SSZ-13 zeolites for effective conversion of ethylene to propylene

SSZ-13 is an attractive zeolite with chabazite topology composed of small pores with 8-membered rings. In this work, we report a highly effective method to synthesize SSZ-13s with microwave (MW) heating. Compared with conventional electric (CE) heating, MW heating accelerates both the nucleation and crystal growth rates of the synthesis by 6 and 18 times, respectively. Importantly, MW-assisted rapid synthesis produces the SSZ-13 with the smallest particles (<50 nm). However, the CE-assisted synthesis produces large/inhomogeneous particles (size: 0.4–1 μm). The obtained SSZ-13s were employed in acid catalysis or ethylene-to-propylene (ETP) reactions. The record-small SSZ-13s were more efficient in the ETP reactions, with more stable ethylene conversion/propylene yield (at the same time on stream) and higher propylene selectivity (at the same ethylene conversion), than large SSZ-13s. Finally, the maximum propylene yield (62%) is competitive or better than any SSZ-13s obtained via direct synthesis from precursors like silica and alumina.

Distributed recycling system with microwave-based heating for obsolete alkaline batteries

In the recycling sector, the transition in system networks from centralization to decentralization is an emerging concept. The feasibility to decentralize the recycling of e-waste needs to be analyzed, considering the different characteristics of each municipality. We propose a distributed recycling system for obsolete alkaline batteries using microwave apparatus as a small-scale recycling technology. Firstly, the reactivity of obsolete alkaline batteries with microwave irradiation was empirically examined. In lab-based experiments, pyrometallurgical microwave-based heating successfully separated a mixed sample of Mn 3 O 4 and ZnO contained in obsolete alkaline batteries and recovered MnO and Zn separately, achieving a recovery rate of 97% under an ambient atmosphere. It was also found that the recovery rate of zinc obtained by microwave-based heating is 1.5-fold that using conventional electric furnace-based heating, with less than half of the heating time required. The experimental results were then used to analytically determine the energy efficiency of the distributed recycling system for the treatment of obsolete alkaline batteries with microwave apparatus compared with the centralized recycling system. In an analytical study which considered the characteristics of 1710 municipalities in Japan, it was found that an annual energy and greenhouse gas reduction of 26,500 GJ and 1.54 Gg-CO 2 eq, respectively, can be achieved at the national level by creating a well-balanced harmony between the centralized and distributed systems. The method applied in this study to determine the effectiveness based on population and intercity transport distance can be readily implemented in any city for the adoption of a distributed recycling system. • An empirical-and-analytical hybrid study was conducted. • Recovery rate of Zn from obsolete alkaline batteries reaches 97%. • 25300 GJ of energy saving is achieved by distributed recycling. • 1.54 Gg-CO 2 eq of greenhouse gas emissions are saved by distributed recycling. • Microwave technology is appropriate to distributed recycling.

Ergonomic design and evaluation of carbon nanotube film (CNTF) and metal wire based flexible electrically heated gloves

Electric heating gloves are essential for people working in severe cold environments which could protect their hands warm efficiently. Existing electric heating gloves, however, tend to restrict the movement of the fingers and have limited thermal protection, affecting the working efficiency of the wearers. Here, we report on the development and evaluation of carbon nanotube film (CNTF) and metal fiber based electric heating gloves. The electric heating elements were placed in the back of the gloves, and we tested the electric heating properties of the gloves. They showed great electrothermal performance and it had a certain repeatability and stability through multiple experiments. Then the electro-thermal and ergonomic performance of the gloves were evaluated under the severe cold outdoor environment of −20 ± 2°C. In comparison with conventional single layer polar fleece gloves and carbon fiber electric heating gloves that purchased from the market, CNTF based gloves and metal fiber-based gloves demonstrated outstanding advantages in terms of faster heating speed, great warmth retention, and enhanced finger agility, which is attributed to the electrothermal properties of CNTF and metal fiber as well as the structural design of the gloves.

Experimental investigation of the natural convection heat transfer characteristics of cylinder walls with a DBD actuator as the heat source

Conventional electric heating methods applied when evaluating the natural convection heat transfer parameters at the outer walls of cylinders produce uneven heat flows and large measurement errors. The present work addresses these issues by developing a new heating method using a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) actuator as the heat source. An experimental system is constructed, where the thermal power output of the DBD actuator is first measured by calorimetry, and the natural convection heat transfer characteristics of a representative cylinder are analyzed with an explicit accounting of the temperature distribution at the outer wall of the cylinder. The results demonstrate that the DBD actuator can provide more uniform heat flow than conventional electric heaters. The temperature difference between the top and the bottom of the cylinder wall initially increases with increasing thermal power, decreases to a minimum at a thermal power of about 400 W, and subsequently increases with increasing thermal power. In addition, and the feasibility of the DBD actuator as a heat source is demonstrated according to the high degree of conformation between the calculated values and empirically established correlations between Nusselt number, which generally deviate by less than 10%.

Enhanced oxidative desulfurization of liquid model fuel under microwave irradiation over W2N@C catalyst nanoarchitectonics

Oxidative desulfurization (ODS) of liquid fuel was conducted using a series of W-based catalysts like WO3/ZrO2, WO3/AC, and tungsten-nitride@porous carbon (W2N@C), under both microwave (MW) and conventional electric heating to estimate firstly the quantitative contribution of MW in ODS kinetics. At first, because of the favorable effect of MW on ODS, the most stubborn thiophenic compound, thiophene (Th), could be eliminated (97%) within only 30 min at 60 °C under MW irradiation in the presence of the W2N@C catalyst (that showed the highest ODS performance among the studied catalysts). Importantly, the activation energies of Th oxidation over the W2N@C were 22 and 38 kJ⋅mol−1 with microwave and conventional heating, respectively. Moreover, the kinetic constant of Th oxidation with MW was about 3.4 times that of the oxidation with the electric heating at the same temperature (60 °C). The rapid kinetics and low Ea under microwave irradiation might be because of the facile formation of reactive superoxide radicals (⋅O2−) (different from the conventional heating where non-radical mechanism prevails) that could be suggested from the oxidations in the presence of radical scavengers and electron spin resonance experiments. The recyclability of the catalyst, after regeneration from oxidation reactions under MW, was also secured, supporting the possible application of W2N@C in removing of thiophenics (especially under MW) from fuel. Finally, MW heating, compared with conventional electric heating, could be recommended as a highly effective strategy for ODS with rapid kinetics and low Ea because of the ready formation of active radicals.

Pyrolysis behaviors of anaerobic digestion residues in a fixed-bed reactor with rapid infrared heating.

Fast pyrolysis via rapid infrared heating may significantly enhance the heat transfer and suppress the secondary reaction of the volatiles. The effects of various pyrolysis temperatures on pyrolysis behaviors of anaerobic digestion residues (ADR) were studied in this research utilizing a fixed-bed reactor equipped with rapid infrared heating (IH), as well as to compare the pyrolysis products produced by rapid infrared heating (IH) to those produced by conventional electric heating (EH). Thermogravimetric (TG) analysis revealed that pyrolysis of ADR occurred in three decomposition stages. The results of pyrolysis experiments showed that increasing temperature first raised the bio-oil yield for IH and EH, peaking at 500-600°C, but thereafter decreased the yield. In contrast to the findings achieved with EH, infrared heating (IH) presented a greater overall bio-oil yield but a lower gas yield. The bio-oil produced by IH increased from 8.35 wt.% at 400°C to 12.56 wt.% at 500°C before dropping to 11.22 wt.% at 700°C. Gaseous products produced by IH have a higher heating value than those generated by EH. Nitrogenous compounds, ketones, and phenols make up the majority of the bio-oil. In the IH bio-oil, nitrogen compounds rose with increasing temperature, while those varied slightly in the EH bio-oil. The phenols content in IH bio-oil was much more than that of EH, exhibiting values of 8.63% and 2.95%, respectively. The findings of the FTIR spectra of biochar indicated that as the temperature increased, the chains of aliphatic side professedly reduced and the structure of biochar became considerably ordered for both heating techniques. The Raman spectra of IH biochar showed that the ratio of AG/AD rose progressively from 0.17 to 0.20 as pyrolysis temperature rose from 500 to 700°C.

Ultrasonic Vibration Hot Embossing

Abstract Hot embossing has become a popular method for replicating precise micro-features onto large plastic plates. However, a long cycle time of the process due to conventional electric heating or hot oil heating is one of problems that confound the overall success of this technology. This study proposed a novel hot embossing method by using ultrasonic vibration as a heat generator. Experiments were carried out on a 2000-watt ultrasonic welding machine. A 2 mm thick polymethyl methyl acrylic (PMMA) plate was used for embossing microstructures onto its surface. The results in this study suggest that ultrasonic vibration hot embossing can provide an effective way of molding microstructures onto the surface of polymeric plates. Nevertheless, this novel process will need some improvements in the design of the ultrasonic vibration machine in order to make the process feasible.

A Tb-based-metal–organic framework prepared under ultrasound for detection of organic amines in aqueous solution through fluorescence quenching

A luminescent Tb–benzenetricarboxylate (BTC) metal–organic framework (MOF) was synthesized, ultrasonically, and used (without any functionalization) for selective detection of organic amines through fluorescence quenching of the Tb-metal. Several amines, with various basicity, such as ethylenediamine (ED), diethanolamine (DOA), diethylamine (DEA), triethylamine, pyridine, aniline, and pyrrole were chosen as representative analytes. The quenching efficiency of the amine solutions relied on the basicity of the analytes and steric hindrance between the analytes and MOF. A Tb–BTC MOF, synthesized using ultrasound irradiation, shows better results than MOF synthesized using conventional electrical or microwave heating, which might be the effect of a better dispersion of the MOF due to smaller particle size, higher analyte diffusivity, and higher defect-site contents. The change in the luminescence of the Tb–MOF was attributed to the interaction of amines with the Tb-metal ions of the MOF through coordination/complexation. By applying the luminescent Tb–MOF (prepared with ultrasound), aliphatic organic amines like ED, DOA, and DEA could be detected up to 100 μM and 2 μM, with naked eyes and fluorescence spectrophotometry, respectively. However, other chemicals, such as alcohol, ketone, hydrocarbon, and hydrogen peroxide did not quench appreciably the fluorescence of Tb–MOF, suggesting the possible selective detection of amines.

Advances in Microwave Synthesis of Nanoporous Materials

Usually, porous materials are synthesized by using conventional electric heating, which can be energy- and time-consuming. Microwave heating is commonly used in many households to quickly heat food. Microwave ovens can also be used as powerful devices in the synthesis of various porous materials. The microwave-assisted synthesis offers a simple, fast, efficient, and economic way to obtain many of the advanced nanomaterials. This review summarizes the recent achievements in the microwave-assisted synthesis of diverse groups of nanoporous materials including silicas, carbons, metal-organic frameworks, and metal oxides. Microwave-assisted methods afford highly porous materials with high specific surface areas (SSAs), e.g., activated carbons with SSA ≈3100 m2 g-1 , metal-organic frameworks with SSA ≈4200m2 g-1 , covalent organic frameworks with SSA ≈2900 m2 g-1 , and metal oxides with relatively small SSA ≈300 m2 g-1 . These methods are also successfully implemented for the preparation of ordered mesoporous silicas and carbons as well as spherically shaped nanomaterials. Most of the nanoporous materials obtained under microwave irradiation show potential applications in gas adsorption, water treatment, catalysis, energy storage, and drug delivery, among others.

Catalyst Ni-Mo/Al2O3 promoted with infrared heating calcination for hydrodesulfurization of shale oil

Ni-Mo/Al2O3 catalyst calcinated using infrared radiation heating was applied for the first time to hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of shale oil in a fixed bed reactor. Its catalytic performance was measured under varied operating conditions and compared to that obtained by using a catalyst with the same Ni-Mo composition but calcinated in a conventional electric furnace. The operation parameters of HDS were varied among temperature (320–400 °C), pressure (1.0–4.0 Mpa), H2/oil (v/v) (200:1–600:1) and LHSV (1–4 h−1). Under all tested conditions, the catalyst using the infrared heating method always yielded a product oil having the lower sulfur content than the catalyst heated by the conventional furnace did. At the optimal condition of T = 380 °C, P = 4 MPa, H2/oil (v/v) = 600:1 and LHSV = 4 h−1, the infrared-heating catalyst enabled the oil to decrease its sulfur content to 2600 ppm, which thus met the national Marine fuel oil standard (S < 0.5 wt%, GB1711-2015, China). Characterization of the fresh, sulfided and spent catalysts shown that the catalyst calcinated with the infrared heating had the higher BET surface area, smaller and narrower size distribution of metal particles, higher binding energy between Mo and S, and more oxygen-deficient sites in comparison with the catalyst calcined using conventional electric heating.

Infrared heated pyrolysis of corn stover: Determination of kinetic and thermodynamic parameters

High-value bio-oil and gaseous products can be produced by pyrolysis of corn stover. This work presents a systematic study on pyrolysis characteristics of corn stover using an innovative infrared heated pyrolysis reactor. Firstly, the analytical pyrolysis was performed in a thermogravimetric (TG) analyzer at 10, 20, 30 and 40 °C/min to investigate the thermal degradation behaviors, and the pyrolysis kinetics and thermodynamics parameters were calculated. The activation energies calculated by FWO and KAS method were 19.61–38.33 kJ/mol and 11.40–29.51 kJ/mol respectively at conversion fractions (α) ranging from 0.2 to 0.8, and the one-dimensional diffusion (D1) has the highest fitting degree. The infrared heated technology effectively suppressed the secondary reaction of primary volatiles, and it presented a higher bio-oil yield than electrically heated technology, and as a result, the char and gas yields had a lower value. In both reactors, the yield of bio-oil increases at first and then decreases with the increase in temperature, and the bio-oil yield of the infrared heated furnace and electrically heated furnace reaches the maximum value at 550 ℃ and 500 ℃, which are 34.34 wt.% and 26.40 wt.%, respectively. The acids content of bio-oil decreased gradually with the temperature increased in the infrared heated reactor. The yield of phenolic compounds in bio-oil was higher in the former than in the latter, at 19.36 % and 14.86 %, respectively. The infrared heated reactor has superior performance in producing high quality bio-oils compared to conventional electric heating methods and may be considered as a promising biomass conversion technique.

Microwave-Catalyzed Conversion of Phenolic Resin Waste to Activated Carbon and Its Applications for Removing Ammonium from Water

The influences of reactive and dielectric characteristics of activators were investigated in the microwave-catalyzed conversion of phenolic resin waste to activated carbon (AC). To compare with the dielectric interactions of the microwaves with treated samples, conventional electric heating for AC carbonization was also conducted in parallel. The porosity and chemical features of the prepared AC were examined, and the AC was used to remove ammonium from water through adsorption. The results revealed that KOH-activated wastes developed a highly porous structure, whereas H3PO4 treated wastes were functionalized with surficial phosphate groups. Both of these features were more pronounced in the cases of microwave-catalyzed carbonization than those using conventional electric heating. Because of the intense dielectric interactions of the H3PO4-activated waste with microwave, the abundant phosphate functional groups formed on the phenolic resin waste surface during microwave-catalyzed carbonization. They facilitated the resulting AC as an effective adsorbent for aqueous ammonium.