Progress and key challenges in catalytic combustion of lean methane

As a primary type of clean energy,methane is also the second most important greenhouse gas after CO_(2)due to the high global warming potential.Large quantities of lean methane(0.1–1.0 vol%)are emitted into the atmosphere without any treatment during coal mine,oil,and natural gas production,thus leading to energy loss and greenhouse effect.In general,it is challenging to utilize lean methane due to its low concentration and flow instability,while catalytic combustion is a vital pathway to realize an efficient utilization of lean methane owing to the reduced emissions of polluting gases(e.g.,NOxand CO)during the reaction.In particular,to efficiently convert lean methane,it necessitates both the designs of highly active and stable heterogeneous catalysts that accelerate lean methane combustion at low temperatures and smart reactors that enable autothermal operation by optimizing heat management.In this review,we discuss the in-depth development,challenges,and prospects of catalytic lean methane combustion technology in various configurations,with particular emphasis on heat management from the point of view of material design combined with reactor configuration.The target is to describe a framework that can correlate the guiding principles among catalyst design,device innovation and system optimization,inspiring the development of groundbreaking combustion technology for the efficient utilization of lean methane.

LaMnO_(3)(La_(0.8)Sr_(0.2)MnO_(3))Perovskites for Lean Methane Combustion:Effect of Synthesis Method

The effect of the preparation method on the properties of LaMnO3 and La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 perovskite was studied. Materials were prepared by four methods: sol-gel, chemical combustion, solvothermal and spray pyrolysis and characterized. The effect of the synthesis method on the texture, acid-base character of the surface, reducibility with hydrogen, oxygen desorption, surface composition and catalytic activity for combustion of lean methane was studied. It was found that synthesis method affects physicochemical properties of obtained materials-solvothermally produced materials exhibit well-developed surface area, presence of reactive oxygen species on surface and high catalytic activity for CH4 combustion. Generally, LaMnO3 and La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 perovskites show catalytic activity for lean CH4 combustion comparable or higher than the activity of 0.5 wt.% Pt/Al2O3 but lower than 1 wt.% Pd/Al2O3.

Influence of the ZSM-5 Support Acidity on the Catalytic Performance of Pd/ZSM-5 in Lean Methane Oxidation

Although zeolites are characterized by their special acidic properties, there is still no clear consensus on the effect of zeolite support acidity on the catalytic activity of supported Pd catalyst in methane oxidation. Herein, a series of Pd/H-ZSM-5 and Pd/Silicalite-1 catalysts was prepared by the deposition-precipitation method and used in lean methane oxidation. The effect of ZSM-5 support acidity on the catalytic performance of Pd/ZSM-5 was investigated. The results indicate that with the decrease of Si/Al ratio(x), viz., the increase of acid sites in H-ZSM-5(x), the catalytic activity of Pd/H-ZSM-5(x) increases substantially;the activity of various catalysts in the lean methane oxidation decreases in the order of Pd/H-ZSM-5(28)>Pd/H-ZSM-5(48)>Pd/H-ZSM-5(88)>Pd/H-ZSM-5(204)>Pd/Silicalite-1. Furthermore, various characterization measures reveal that the catalytic activity of Pd/H-ZSM-5(x) in lean methane oxidation is mainly related to the Lewis acid sites in the H-ZSM-5 support, whereas less relevant to the Brønsted acid sites. The abundant Lewis acid sites in H-ZSM-5 are capable to enhance the interaction between the Pd species and H-ZSM-5 support, which can inhibit the agglomeration of Pd particles and improve the dispersion of Pd species, and thus boost the catalytic activity of Pd/H-ZSM-5 in methane oxidation.