Ecole Nationale des Sciences Appliquées

-Al Hoceima-

Catalytic
combustion

Supervised by Prepared by
ACADEMIC YEAR: 2022/2023

Mr. NOUAYTI Nour Eddine LAHLALI Ali

BEQQALI Fadila
 Figures list

Figure1: Triangle of fire................................................ 3

Figure2: Evolution of catalytic combustion.........12

Figure 3: Catalyst..........................................................13

Figure 4: Catalyst plan...............................................14

Figure 5: Gas turbine..................................................20

Figure 6: Radiant pannels.........................................21

Figure 7: Energie exchange in fuel cell PAC.....22

 Table of contents

Introduction.........................................1

Combustion..........................................2

Catalytic combustion..........................5

Application ........................................16

Classic and catalytic combustion......26

Conclusion .........................................28
Introduction
Different industrial and home use
catalytic combustion. The homogeneous
(traditional) combustion is being
increasingly replaced by this one
because it has appealing properties
including flameless operation, reduced
pollutants emissions, and reduced
temperatures. Due to the homogeneity
of the matrix, the multichannel
monolithic reactors use a low pressure
loss, high surface/volume ratio, and little
gas channeling, making them a popular
choice for catalytic combustion
processes.

1
Combustion

2
 Definition
Combustion is an exothermic redox reaction
releasing heat and that requires the presence
of a fuel, an oxidant and activation energy.

Figure1: Triangle of fire

The complete combustion of a hydrocarbon

produces carbon dioxide (CO2) and water
(H2O) according to the following formula:
Fuel + O2 → CO2(g) + H2O(g)
Incomplete combustion (lack of oxygen)
produces carbon monoxide (CO) and water

3
 Types
Combustion is generally classified under two
main types:
Bright combustion that releases a lot of
energy in the form of high temperature
and light in a short time (Examples:
fireworks, burning of gasoline in the
engine...);
Slow combustion that takes a long time,
occurs at low temperature and does not
result light (Example: fermentation).

Interest
Combustion is a source of energy that can be
used in our daily life (heating, cooking food,
running cars ...), or on the industrial level as a
source of heat for furnaces and boilers,
internal energy or enthalpy in engines.
4
Catalytic combustion

5
 Definition
Catalytic combustion is a chemical reaction
and a subsidiary of combustion but without
flame. It produces heat like the sun (radiant
energy). The waves propagate in a rectilinear
way. They are absorbed by any obstacle
(human being, objects, furniture...)
intervening on their way and heat it and this
last one heats in its turn the surrounding air.

6
 History
The discovery of catalytic combustion dates
back to the XIXth century by Sir Humphry
Davy.
The period from the end of the XVIIth century
to the beginning of the XIXth century saw a
large number of accidents in coal mines
during the industrial revolution due to the use
of flame lamps for lighting, so it became
necessary to find a solution.
To this end, around 1815, the English chemist
Humphry Davy began a series of experiments
that gave rise to catalytic combustion. After
determining that the explosive gas was a
mixture of "coal gas" and air, he later noticed
that when the flame was trapped in a narrow
tube, the mixture did not explode; the gas

7
burned around the candle flame and the heat
released was quickly dissipated, and the flame
did not spread to the outside atmosphere. He
also found that replacing the tube with a wire
mesh placed around the flame also prevented
the explosion. This resulted in the "safety
lamp" which is now called "incandescent
lamp" and which quickly spread to the
production of coal.
This prompted Davy to begin investigating the
origin of explosions related to the
"combustibility" of explosive mixtures, shapes
and constructions of wire mesh. It was during
these experiments that unexpected
phenomena were observed by holding various
metal wires over the flame of an incandescent
lamp.

8
Sir Humphry describes his experiment by: "I
had intended to expose fine wires to oxygene
and olefiant gas, and to oxygene and
hydrogene during their slow combination
under different circumstances, when I was
accidentally led to the knowledge of the fact,
and, at the same time, to the discovery of a
new and curious series of phenomena."
A platinum wire was attached to a gas-fired
flame. When the flames died, David noticed
that combustion continued on the metal
surfaces, and no flames. He deduced: "[…] and
that the oxygene and coal gas in contact with
the hot wire combined without flame, and yet
produced heat enough to preserve the wire
ignited, and to keep up their own
combustion. "

9
The same phenomenon is observed when
other fuel mixtures are used. The
phenomenon of heterogeneous catalysis in
general and that of catalytic combustion in
particular were seeing light.
The chemist adds that among several metals,
it was only platinum and palladium that gave
the expected result: "I have tried to produce
these phenomena with various metals; but I
have succeeded only with platinum and
palladium; with copper, silver, iron, gold,
and zinc, the effect is not produced."
The experiments proceeded with time and
were completed by Faraday who developed
several experiments that can be described
today as platinum poisoning and
regeneration.

10
He thus confirmed that the activity is
inhibited when the metal comes into contact
with various foreign substances or, on the
contrary, is restored after various thermal,
mechanical and/or chemical treatments of the
metal: "Different modes of treatment applied
to the platina, after it had ceased to be the
positive pole of the pile, affected its power
very curiously […]. Though thus uncertain in
its action, and though often diminishing the
power given to the plates at the positive pole
of the pile, still it is evident that heat can
render platina active, which before was inert.
The cause of its occasional failure appears to
be due to the surface of the metal becoming
soiled, either from something previously
adhering to it, which is made to adhere more
closely by the action of the heat, or from
11
matter communicated from the flame of the
lamp, or from the air itself…; and this, and
much less than this, is sufficient to prevent it
from exhibiting the curious power now under
consideration. "
The following table shows the evolution of
catalytic combustion during the XIXth
century:

Figure2: Evolution of catalytic combustion

12
 Principle
The inlet of the device receives the oxygen
present in the air as well as the fuel (mainly
gases).
The internal part of the catalyst, called
"honeycomb", is made of porous ceramic
impregnated with noble metals (aluminium
oxide, cerium oxide, palladium, radium).
An electrical resistor provides the
temperature necessary for self-ignition
(400°C) so that flameless catalytic combustion
can begin.

Figure 3: Catalyst

13
 Figure 4: Catalyst plan

The catalyst is only a facilitator or stabilizer of

the oxidation reaction, it accelerates this
reaction by:
decreasing the activation energy
according to the reaction:
CH4 + 2O2 → CO2(g) + 2H2O(l)
multiplying the number of sites where it
can occur.

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Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:
An excellent efficiency;
Total combustion (very low CO emissions
thanks to the catalyst);
High efficiency;
Maximum autonomy.

Disadvantages:
Low thermal resistance of catalysts;
Low mechanical resistance of catalysts;
Temperature of catalytic combustion
limited to 800 °C;
Short life span at high temperatures.

15
Application

16
 Gas turbine
Also called "combustion turbine" (TAC), can
play two roles:
Produce work for the rotation of a shaft
attached to an industrial machine or a
propeller (Example: Helicopter);
To give a thrust by expansion of gases at
the exit of the turbine to push the vehicles
in the opposite direction (Example: jet
engine).
The principle is as follows:
1. Compressing air;
2. Complete combustion with fuel;
3. Rapid rotation of the turbine due to an
almost instantaneous combustion of the
air (oxidizer) and the pulverized gas or
liquid (fuel) and thus a severe increase in
pressure and volume of the mixture.
17
These turbines emit a significant amount of
nitrogen oxides and require a reduction in the
temperature of the combustion chamber. The
most efficient and economical process for this
is catalytic combustion (NOx emissions are
reduced to less than 3 ppm).
The combustion chamber works schematically
as follows:
after compression (and thus preheating) of
the air, a lean air-gas premix is sent through a
two-stage combustor, the first of which is
catalytic and consists of a metal monolith in
which only one channel out of two is coated
with catalyst.
The premix that passes through a "catalytic"
channel is burned, while the premix that
passes through a "non-catalytic" channel is
preheated by the combustion energy released
18
in the adjacent catalytic channels;
downstream of the monolith, this "trick"
makes it possible to carry out a stable
combustion in a homogeneous phase in a
second stage without flame (no NOx
production), making it possible to not exceed
the desired temperature at the turbine blades
(~ 1,200 °C).
Moreover, the use of a palladium catalyst,
self-regulating in temperature thanks to the
PdO (catalytically active)/Pd (less active)
transition, avoids premature ageing of this
catalyst. This combustion chamber is
characterized by NOx, CO and UHC levels
lower than 5 ppm (15% O2).
It should be noted that currently catalytic
combustion for turbine application is the
source of many studies and research,
including in the field of small turbines.
19
Two projects are under study to adapt this
method to TAC:
AGATA (Advance Gas Turbine for
Automotive Application) for the
development of hybrid vehicles;
ULECAT (Ultra Low CATalytic combustor
for dual fuel gas turbine) for stationary
combustion of biogas and diesel fuel.
This work consists on the evolution of a
cogeneration unit integrating a catalytic
combustion micro turbine with catalysts
suitable for the combustion chambers of these
turbines.

Figure 5: Gas turbine

20
 Natural gas catalytic
radiant panels
They are systems emitting IR rays for the
purpose of preheating and drying materials in
the industrial field (paint, fabric, wood
food...). They work at low temperature (500-
700°C) for a medium-slow IR radiation that
can adapt to the absorption range of the
various types of paints. The convection heat
makes the temperature of the treated parts
homogeneous.

Figure 6: Radiant pannels

21
 Fuel cell PAC
Consists in generating an electric voltage
thanks to the oxidation on one electrode of a
reducing fuel coupled to the reduction on the
other electrode of an oxidizing agent
(Example: the oxygen of the air), in other
words the mechanism of the oxydoreduction.
It then converts chemical energy into
electrical energy, producing also thermal
energy which, in its turn, gives thermal and
mechanical energy to obtain electrical energy
at the end.

Figure 7: Energie exchange in fuel cell PAC

22
The fuel cell is used in various fields:
Transport for powering electric cars or
also in buses and boats;
Electronics where micro fuel cells are
used in cell phones and computers;
Cogeneration which both supplies
electricity and produces heat;
Space in satellites;
Defense in submarines.
The chemical energy that converts directly to
electrical energy follows the following
reaction:
∆G + nF Eeq = 0
where ∆G is the free enthalpy of the reaction
and Eeq is the zero-current electromotive
force of the cell.

23
However, for the two electrochemical
reactions involved at each electrode, the
reaction rates are not infinite and the
operating voltage of a battery is always less
than Eeq. To decrease the overvoltage and be
close to an optimum efficiency (E ≈ Eeq), the
rates of the electrochemical reactions must be
increased. The two reactions involved
(oxidation of fuel at the anode and reduction
of oxygen at the cathode) occur in a multistep
mechanism involving species adsorbed on the
surface of the electrodes. The reaction rates
can be increased by modifying the properties
of the electrode material, which then also acts
as a catalyst in addition to an electron
reservoir (this is called an electrocatalyst).

24
The nature of the electrocatalysts naturally
depends very much on the type of fuel used
and the type of fuel cell. In current
applications or those planned for the next few
years, hydrogen is the fuel of choice. However,
where it comes from depends on the nature of
the anode. Hydrogen is most often produced
by reforming alcohol or hydrocarbon and
residual traces of carbon monoxide are the
main catalytic problem in fuel cells. However,
the problem is very different depending on the
type of fuel cell and especially on the
operating temperature range.

25
Classic and catalytic
combustion

26
In conventional combustion, the fuel
(gas, kerosene, oil...) burns in the presence
of oxygen at high temperatures by ignition
with a flame. Once the process is started,
the combustion lasts as long as it is
supplied with sufficient quantities of fuel
and oxygen, and as long as the
temperature remains high.
In catalytic combustion, the same
chemical reaction takes place, but it is the
catalyst, mainly platinum, that maintains
the combustion process, a flameless
combustion. In addition, the presence of
the catalyst does not require as high
temperatures as in conventional
combustion to maintain combustion.

27
Conclusion

28
 Conclusion
The capacity of catalytic combustion to reduce

emissions to levels considerably below those

that can be attained by the other systems is

drawing a lot of attention.

Catalytic combustion can occur At

equivalence ratios that are significantly below

the low extinction limit found in traditional

combustion systems

29