Mass transport and kinetics in structured steel foam reactor with Cu-ZSM-5 catalyst for SCR of NOx with ammonia

•Metal foams of enhanced mass and heat transfer properties.•Metal foams generates low pressure drop and offer considerable reduction of a reactor size.•Cu-ZSM-5 directly synthesized on metal foams active in NH3-SCR reaction.•Short channel structures as an alternative for honeycomb monoliths and packed bed of spheres.

Continued research on improving heat and mass transfer properties of structured catalysts is essential for the development of an effective catalytic system. In this paper, the transfer parameters (mass and heat) and pressure drop across reactors prepared with metal foams of different materials (FeCrAl and Al) and PPI (pores per inch) are presented. The mass transfer parameter was determined by correlation using the Chilton–Colburn analogy, and the heat transfer and pressure drop parameters were determined experimentally.Additionally the kinetic properties of a short channel reactor structure based on metallic foams and template-less synthesized ZSM-5 were determined for the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO with ammonia and compared to commonly used commercial solutions – i.e. packed bed and honeycomb monolith reactor structures.

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