The use of microwave heating to initiate combustion synthesis has been increasingly investigated in recent years because of its advantages over traditional methods. A simple mathematical model is used to model these experiments. The microwave power absorption term is modelled as the product of an Arrhenius reaction term with a function that decays exponentially with distance. The former represents the temperature-dependent absorption of the microwaves whereas the latter describes the penetration of the material by the microwaves. Combustion kinetics are modelled as a first-order Arrhenius reaction.