Abstract
Catalytic combustion is generally accepted as an environmentally preferred alternative for generation of heat and power from fossil fuels, as it has stable combustion under very lean conditions with such low emissions as NOx, CO and UHC typically at temperatures lower than in the conventional flame combustion. Yet, the commercial application of catalytic combustion has been delayed due to the difficulty in handling complicated reaction processes occurring over the catalysts. In this work, numerical studies on the catalytic combustion behavior over Pd-based catalysts for the BOP (balance of plant) of MCFC power generation systems have been conducted. After introducing the governing equations, numerical investigations on the catalyst performance with the gaseous CH4 and C3H8 fuels are conducted by changing such parameters as excess air ratio, space velocity, inlet temperature, and H2 addition over the catalytic combustion systems adopted in the BOP of 5 kW MCFC power generation systems. Catalytic combustion is found to be more active in case of lower excess air ratio, lower space velocity, higher inlet temperature, and higher supply rates of additional H2 fuel. Also, it can be found that the reaction rate is faster and the outlet temperature is higher when C3H8 is used rather than CH4.
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Recommended by Associate Editor Oh Chae Kwon
Younhwa Lee received her B.S. and M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Chonbuk National University, Korea in 2008 and 2010, respectively. She currently works at Korea Nuclear Fuel (KEPCO NF) in Daejon, Korea. She is interested in the modeling of two-phase heat and mass transfer, especially in nuclear power plant systems.
Man Young Kim received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Pusan National University, Korea in 1992. He then took his M.S. and Ph.D in Aerospace Engineering from KAIST, Korea in 1994 and 1999, respectively. He worked for Powertrain R&D Center in Hyundai Motor Company as a senior researcher up to 2004. He is currently a faculty member in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Chonbuk National University in Jeonju, Korea. He spent 1.5 years at Georgia Institute of Technology, USA as a visiting professor from 2009 to 2011. His research interests include propulsion and combustion, radiative heat transfer, radiation related combustion and heat transfer phenomena, and diesel aftertreatment systems.
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Lee, Y., Kim, M.Y. Catalytic combustion behaviors of methane and propane over the PD-based catalyst in the BOP for MCFC power generation systems. J Mech Sci Technol 26, 2259–2265 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-012-0607-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-012-0607-0