Comparison of perovskite and hexaaluminate-type catalysts for CO/H 2-fueled gas turbine combustors

In this work the results of catalytic activity tests in CH 4, CO and H 2 combustion over perovskite (LaCoO 3, LaMnO 3 and LaFeO 3) and hexaaluminate-type (BaMnAl 11O 19, Sr 0.8La 0.2MnAl 11O 19, and BaFeAl 11O 19) systems are compared in order to investigate the potential of such materials as catalysts for syngas fueled combustors for gas turbines. Perovskites-type catalysts are shown to be the most active systems in the combustion of all the investigated fuels but to suffer from thermal stability problems that constrain their use in high temperature applications. Mn-substituted hexaaluminates have been shown to be more active by orders of magnitude in CO-H 2 combustion than in CH 4 combustion. Scale up of the activity data by mathematical modelling has demonstrated the potential of such catalysts in meeting the operating requirements of syngas fueled catalytic combustors. © 1996 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.