A CATALYTIC COMBUSTOR FOR HIGH-TEMPERATURE GAS-TURBINES

Catalytic combustion has been the subject of thorough research work fo r over two decades, mainly in the U.S. and Japan. However; severe mate rial problems in the ceramic or metallic monolith prevented regular op eration in most cases. Still, during these two decades, turbine inlet temperatures were raised remarkably, and lean premix combustors have b ecome standard in stationary gas turbines. In view of these facts, a s imple ''monolith-in-tube'' concept of a catalytic combustor was adapte d for the use in high-temperature gas turbines. Its essential feature is the fact that a considerable portion of the homogeneous gas phase r eaction is shifted to the thermal reactor, thus lowering the catalyst temperature. This is achieved by the employment of very short catalyst segments. The viability of this concept has been demonstrated for a v ariety of pure hydrocarbons, alcohols as well as common liquid fuels. Extensive experimental investigations of the atmospheric combustor led to the assessment of parameters such as reference velocity, fuel-to-a ir ratio, and fuel properties. The maximum combustor exit temperature was 1673 K with a corresponding catalyst temperature of less than 1300 K for diesel fuel. Boundary conditions were in all cases combustion e fficiency (over 99.9 percent) and pressure loss (less than 6 percent). Additionally a model has been developed to predict the characteristic values of the catalytic combustor such as necessary catalyst length, combustor volume, and emission characteristics The homogeneous reactio n in the thermal reactor can be calculated by a one-dimensional reacti ng flow model.