Electrostatic precipitators have been developed to remove particulate matters containing a large amount of black carbon that are emitted from ships and diesel generators. In order to keep them functioning in a highly efficient manner, it is necessary to wash away dust collected at the electrode. From this point of view, we investigated ways to burn carbon black using microwaves. In this study, carbon black dust was irradiated with microwaves after calculating the distribution of microwave intensity. We also measured the absorption power and temperature of carbon black and concentrations of CO generated in this process. Furthermore, we studied the influence of O2 concentrations and traveling waves on the combustion rate. The results indicated that the absorption of microwaves led to an increase in the temperature of the carbon black dust and CO concentrations. Although the combustion rate decreased in accordance with a reduction in O2 concentrations, the carbon black dust burned even when the O2 concentration was 13%, which is almost the same as those of exhaust gas. It was also demonstrated that traveling waves contributed to more uniform combustion of the dust.
