CATALYTIC COMBUSTION OF METHANE OVER Pt/γ-Al2O3 IN MICRO-COMBUSTOR WITH DETAILED CHEMICAL KINETIC MECHANISMS
JUNJIE CHEN *, XUHUI GAO Henan Polytechnic University, School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, 454000, Jiaozuo, China
*Corresponding author: comcjj@163.com
Micro-scale catalytic combustion characteristics and heat transfer processes of preheated methane-air mixtures (φ = 0.4) in the plane channel were investigated numerically with detailed chemical kinetic mechanisms. The plane channel of length L = 10.0 mm, height H =1.0 mm and wall thickness δ = 0.1 mm, which inner horizontal surfaces contained Pt/γ-Al2O3 catalyst washcoat. The computational results indicate that the presence of the gas phase reactions extends mildly the micro-combustion stability limits at low and moderate inlet velocities due to the strong flames establishment, and have a more profound effect on extending the high-velocity blowout limits by allowing for additional heat release originating mainly from the incomplete CH4 gas phase oxidation in the plane channel. When the same mass flow rate (ρin × Vin) is considered, the micro-combustion stability limits at p: 0.1 MPa are much narrower than at p: 0.6 MPa due to both gas phase and catalytic reaction activities decline with decreasing pressure. Catalytic micro-combustor can achieve stable combustion at low solid thermal conductivity ks < 0.1 W∙m-1•K-1, while the micro-combustion extinction limits reach their larger extent for the higher thermal conductivity ks = 20.0-100.0 W∙m-1•K-1. The existence of surface radiation heat transfers significantly effects on the micro-combustion stability limits and micro-combustors energy balance. Finally, gas phase combustion in catalytic micro-combustors can be sustained at the sub-millimeter scale (plane channel height of 0.25 mm).
