Catalytic Combustion of CH4/Air Mixtures Over Metal Foam Monoliths

Utilizing a catalyst in micro burners is an only possible solution to help stabilize fuel combustion. The present work focuses on investigating the catalytic combustion of methane over metal foam monolithic catalysts. The 4.8 wt.% and 3.2 wt.% Pd/Al2O3/Fe-Ni metal foams (Foam I and II) were prepared through a series of treatment of coating and impregnation. The catalytic performance of both the metal forms for methane catalytic combustion was tested in a catalytic reaction system. The results showed that Form I exhibited higher catalytic activity at low reaction temperature. The reaction temperature and flow rate of reactant mixture play an important role on the reactivity of the catalysts. The results also disclosed that the methane concentration has a weak impact on the catalytic activity, which means that the metal foams developed are effective in a wide range of fuel-air ratios.