Methane ignition catalyzed by in situ generated palladium nanoparticles

Catalytic ignition of methane over the surfaces of freely-suspended and in situ generated palladium nanoparticles was investigated experimentally and numerically. The experiments were conducted in a laminar flow reactor. The palladium precursor was a compound (Pd(THD)(2), THD: 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedione) dissolved in toluene and injected into the flow reactor as a fine aerosol, along with a methane-oxygen-nitrogen mixture. For experimental conditions chosen in this study, non-catalytic, homogeneous ignition was observed at a furnace temperature of similar to 1123 K, whereas ignition of the same mixture with the precursor was found to be similar to 973 K. In situ production of Pd/PdO nanoparticles was confirmed by scanning mobility, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses of particles collected at the reactor exit. The catalyst particle size distribution was log-normal. Depending on the precursor loading, the median diameter ranged from 10 to 30 nm. The mechanism behind catalytic ignition was examined using a combined gas-phase and gas-surface reaction model. Simulation results match the experiments closely and suggest that palladium nanocatalyst significantly shortens the ignition delay times of methane-air mixtures over a wide range of conditions. (C) 2009 The Combustion Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.