Thermally Stable Catalysts for Methane Combustion--TDA Research, Inc., 12345 West 52nd Avenue, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033-1917; 303-940-2301
Dr. David T. Wickham, Principal Investigator
Mr. Michael E. Karpuk, Business Official
DOE Grant No. DE-FG03-99ER82902
Amount: $590,211

Catalytic combustion is a very promising technology for reducing NO_x emissions from gas turbine power generators. Its primary difficulty is that the catalysts must be able to withstand extremely high temperatures, up to 1500° C. Hexaaluminates are compounds that have potential to be suitable catalysts, but their activities are still too low and they are difficult to synthesize. A fundamentally different route has been developed for the production of high surface area hexaaluminate catalysts. This method would allow for the preparation of many compounds with well-controlled stoichiometries for testing. In Phase I, many combinations of bimetallic hexaaluminate catalysts were syn-thesized. Several catalyst formulations that have adequate activity and thermal stability for use in a gas turbine application were identified. One of the catalysts was tested in a wall-mounted configuration and found to be as active as it was in the powder form. Phase II will scale up the production of the combustion catalysts for demonstration on an operating gas turbine. Additional tests to optimize the catalyst formulation will be performed, and then pilot and full-scale testing of the optimized catalyst in monolithic form will be carried out. A full sized reactor will be fabricated, installed on a gas turbine generator, and tested under normal operating conditions.

Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The use of a combustion catalyst to control NO_x will allow power generators to meet NO_x emission standards without installing costly post-combustion treatment. This should result in significant capital and operational cost savings.