Lean premixed combustion stabilized by radiation feedback and heterogeneous catalysis

Gas-turbine based systems are becoming the preferred approach to electric power generation from gaseous and liquid fossil-fuels and from biomass. As coal gasification becomes more prevalent, gas turbines will also become important in the generation of electricity from coal. In smaller, distributed installations, gas turbines offer the prospect of cogeneration of electricity and heat, with increased efficiency and reduced pollutant emissions. One of the most important problems facing combustion-based power generation is the control of air pollutants, primarily nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide. Catalytic combustion over noble-metal catalysts offers a method for controlling NO{sub x} emissions. This report describes tests on a gas-fired catalytic combustor and the development of a mathematical model to describe the process. The authors anticipate that the models they develop under this research program will be useful by industry and researchers alike in the design of both experiments and practical gas turbine catalytic combustors. The model--which includes transport codes, mechanisms, and postprocessing routines--is portable and can be run on UNIX workstations. Intelligent design of experiments, guided by this model, can reduce unnecessary expenditures of time and money spent in the laboratory. Likewise, the development of low-NO{sub x} gas turbine systems can be accelerated by using these models to test the effectiveness of combustor designs prior to engaging in time-consuming prototyping