The use of microwave energy for processing materials has the potential to offer many advantages in reduced processing times and energy savings. In conventional thermal processing, energy is transferred to the material through convection, conduction, and radiation of heat from the surfaces of the material. In contrast, microwave energy is delivered directly to materials through molecular interaction with the electromagnetic field. In heat transfer, energy is transferred due to thermal gradients, but microwave heating is the transfer of electromagnetic energy to thermal energy and is energy...