Effect of microwave radiation drying on soil chemical and mineralogical analysis

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Abstract
Soils dried by microwave radiation drying had chemical test values different from those of either air‐ or oven‐dried soils. The effects, however, were not consistent among the four soils tested, indicating that neither clay content nor organic matter governed the observed response. Some test values were correlated to accumulative radiation received, but not always for the same analysis or the same soil. The erratic chemical response soils exhibited to microwave drying indicate that this method should not be used in any chemical‐test procedure without first establishing a suitable correlation factor for soil type and drying time. Microwave drying did not alter the clays or any of their properties tested which suggests that this method could be used to prepare slides for X‐ray diffraction analysis in substantially less time than is required with air drying. Microwave drying reduced the tendency of clay suspensions to crack and peel from the glass slides.

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