Environmental catalysis for stationary applications

Recent findings in the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx by ammonia and in the catalytic combustion (CC) for gas turbines are herein reviewed as major examples of environmental catalysis for stationary applications. Future opportunities for the DeNO(x) technology are represented not only by the development of SCR catalysts with optimised morphology, geometry and mechanical properties, but also by the combination of the present technology with selective and effective NH3 oxidation catalysts. Some mechanistic and kinetic aspect of the SCR reaction are still open; in this respect, dynamic investigation has proven to be a highly informative approach of research. Although important developments have been recently reported, the catalytic combustion for power application has not reached yet a commercialisation stage and additional tests at the pilot and full scale laboratory and field level have to be done to improve the reliability of the most promising system configurations and to better address the issues still open. The major research opportunities are also outlined. These include the enhancement of the Pd-catalyst activity in CH4 combustion and the improvement of the dynamic response of Pd on fast temperature rise to reduce risks of runaway as well as the development of system configurations and catalyst designs able to operate with dual fuel combustors. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.