Catalytic combustion of gasified waste

Abstract: This thesis concerns catalytic combustion for gas turbineapplication using a low heating-value (LHV) gas, derived fromgasified waste. The main research in catalytic combustionfocuses on methane as fuel, but an increasing interest isdirected towards catalytic combustion of LHV fuels. This thesisshows that it is possible to catalytically combust a LHV gasand to oxidize fuel-bound nitrogen (NH3) directly into N2without forming NOX. The first part of the thesis gives abackground to the system. It defines waste, shortly describesgasification and more thoroughly catalytic combustion.The second part of the present thesis, paper I, concerns thedevelopment and testing of potential catalysts for catalyticcombustion of LHV gases. The objective of this work was toinvestigate the possibility to use a stable metal oxide insteadof noble metals as ignition catalyst and at the same timereduce the formation of NOX. In paper II pilot-scale tests werecarried out to prove the potential of catalytic combustionusing real gasified waste and to compare with the resultsobtained in laboratory scale using a synthetic gas simulatinggasified waste. In paper III, selective catalytic oxidation fordecreasing the NOX formation from fuel-bound nitrogen wasexamined using two different approaches: fuel-lean andfuel-rich conditions.Finally, the last part of the thesis deals with deactivationof catalysts. The various deactivation processes which mayaffect high-temperature catalytic combustion are reviewed inpaper IV. In paper V the poisoning effect of low amounts ofsulfur was studied; various metal oxides as well as supportedpalladium and platinum catalysts were used as catalysts forcombustion of a synthetic gas.In conclusion, with the results obtained in this thesis itwould be possible to compose a working catalytic system for gasturbine application using a LHV gas.Keywords:Catalytic combustion; Gasified waste; LHVfuel; RDF; Biomass; Selective catalytic oxidation; NH3; NOX;Palladium; Platinum; Hexaaluminate; Garnet; Spinel;Deactivation; Sulfur; Poisoning