Catalytic combustion: Current status and implications for energy efficiency in the process industries

✍ Scribed by David A. Reay

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1993
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 586 KB
• Volume: 13
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0890-4332
• DOI: 10.1016/0890-4332(93)90039-x

✦ Synopsis

A catalyst may be simply defined as a material which promotes a chemical reaction without taking part in it, and, in theory, without being affected by it. One complex reaction which can be promoted by a variety of catalysts is combustion. Recently, with the growing interest in process intensification and the coincidental developments in compact heat exchanger technology and enhancement, new potential opportunities have arisen for the exploitation of catalyst technology in combustion systems across a range of applications, extending from power generation to compact reactors and energy recovery. This paper discusses some of the activities in catalytic combustion currently being pursued in Europe and the U.S.A., and comments on the implications for energy efficiency. It may be concluded at this time that while a number of major areas of development related to catalytic combustion have yet to be successfully concluded, catalytic combustion has considerable potential for low emission, energy efficient plant. This is particularly true in cases where environmental protection has to be given high priority.