Numerical investigation of premixed hydrogen/air combustion at lean to ultra-lean conditions and catalytic approach to enhance stability

Premixed combustion of hydrogen/air over a platinum (Pt) catalyst is numerically investigated in a planar channel burner with the aim of stabilising the flame at lean to ultra-lean conditions. A steady laminar species transport model is examined in conjunction with elementary heterogeneous and homogeneous chemical reaction schemes and validated against experimental results. A stability map is obtained in a non-catalytic burner for the equivalence ratios (φ) of 0.15–0.20, which serves as the basis for the catalytic flame analysis. Over the Reynolds numbers (Re) investigated in the non-catalytic burner, no flame is observed for φ ≤ 0.16, and flame extinction occurs at Re < 571 and Re < 381 for φ = 0.18 and 0.20, respectively. Moreover, a significant amount of unburned H2 exits the burner in all cases. With the Pt catalyst coated on the walls, complete H2 combustion is attained for 0.10 ≤ φ ≤ 0.20 where the contribution of gas phase (homogeneous) reaction increases with Re. Furthermore, radiation on the wall and at the inlet affects the combustion kinetics and flame temperature. Finally, NOx emission is investigated under the same conditions and found to increase with equivalence ratio but has a negligible effect with the inflow Reynolds number