Catalytic Hydrogen Combustion for Domestic and Safety Applications: A Critical Review of Catalyst Materials and Technologies

Alina E. Kozhukhova, Stephanus P. du Preez and Dmitri G. Bessarabov
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Alina E. Kozhukhova: Hydrogen South Africa (HySA) Infrastructure, Faculty of Engineering, North-West University (NWU), Potchefstroom Campus, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa
Stephanus P. du Preez: Hydrogen South Africa (HySA) Infrastructure, Faculty of Engineering, North-West University (NWU), Potchefstroom Campus, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa
Dmitri G. Bessarabov: Hydrogen South Africa (HySA) Infrastructure, Faculty of Engineering, North-West University (NWU), Potchefstroom Campus, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 16, 1-32

Abstract: Spatial heating and cooking account for a significant fraction of global domestic energy consumption. It is therefore likely that hydrogen combustion will form part of a hydrogen-based energy economy. Catalytic hydrogen combustion (CHC) is considered a promising technology for this purpose. CHC is an exothermic reaction, with water as the only by-product. Compared to direct flame-based hydrogen combustion, CHC is relatively safe as it foregoes CO x , CH 4 , and under certain conditions NO x formation. More so, the risk of blow-off (flame extinguished due to the high fuel flow speed required for H 2 combustion) is adverted. CHC is, however, perplexed by the occurrence of hotspots, which are defined as areas where the localized surface temperature is higher than the average surface temperature over the catalyst surface. Hotspots may result in hydrogen’s autoignition and accelerated catalyst degradation. In this review, catalyst materials along with the hydrogen technologies investigated for CHC applications were discussed. We showed that although significant research has been dedicated to CHC, relatively limited commercial applications have been identified up to date. We further showed the effect of catalyst support selection on the performance and durability of CHC catalysts, as well as a holistic summary of existing catalysts used for various CHC applications and catalytic burners. Lastly, the relevance of CHC applications for safety purposes was demonstrated.

Keywords: hydrogen; renewable energy; catalytic hydrogen combustion; catalytic burner; catalysts; passive autocatalytic recombiner (PAR) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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