SBIR Phase I: Catalyst for the Oxidation of Methane in Coal Mine Ventilation Air

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目旨在开发一种新型的高温催化剂，用于煤矿通风空气中存在的甲烷的氧化。被称为通风空气甲烷(VAM)的VAM排放的甲烷含有0.2%至1.2%的CH4，外加百万分之几的硫磺气体(H2S、SO2和COS)。虽然硫的水平很低，但这些水平足以迅速使用于控制甲烷排放的传统氧化催化剂失活。为了成功，催化剂必须在高温下运行，以避免形成硫酸钯，并使用能够在高温环境中在存在水蒸气和硫磺气体的情况下保持其完整性的催化剂载体材料。该项目寻求使用一种获得专利的高温(700°C)催化剂，能够破坏半导体制造排放中存在的全氟化合物(如C2F6和SF6)。这种名为Co/ZrO2-Al_2O_3的催化剂的成功源于钴-尖晶石络合物的形成，它防止了酸性气体形成相应的氟化铝和硫酸盐。这项工作的目标是使用这种材料作为高温甲烷氧化催化剂的基础，用于处理VAM排放。如果该项目成功，将产生更广泛的商业影响，将甲烷直接转化为二氧化碳和水，将使全球变暖潜势(GWP)总体降低90%以上。由于与气候变化有关，温室气体排放正受到越来越严格的审查。CH4是温室气体排放的关键贡献者，其全球变暖潜势(GWP)是二氧化碳的21倍。因此，VAM占美国人为甲烷排放量的10%。人们正在寻求低成本、可靠的技术来处理这些排放。已经提出了逆流热氧化系统来处理这些排放。这些工艺在极端温度下运行，体积较大，需要在高温下运行的活动部件(阀门和百叶窗)。因此，逆流工艺既昂贵又不可靠。催化工艺在减小尺寸、降低能量投入和大大提高可靠性方面具有显著优势。然而，由于与操作条件相关的耐用性问题，商业市场上没有能够处理VAM排放的催化剂。如果成功，催化过程将为VAM排放的处理提供一种低成本的替代方案。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to develop a novel high temperature catalyst for the oxidation of methane present in coal mine ventilation air. Referred to as ventilation air methane (VAM), VAM emissions contain between 0.2% and 1.2% CH4 plus ppm levels of sulfur gases (H2S, SO2 and COS). While the sulfur levels are low, these levels are sufficient to rapidly deactivate traditional oxidation catalysts employed in the control of CH4 emissions. In order to be successful, the catalyst must be operated at high temperatures in order to avoid the formation of palladium sulfates, plus employ a catalyst support material that is able to maintain its integrity in the high temperature environment in the presence of water vapor and sulfur gases. This project seeks to use a patented high temperature (700°C) catalyst capable of destroying perfluorocompounds (e.g. C2F6 and SF6) present in semiconductor manufacturing emissions. The success of the catalyst, a Co/ZrO2-Al2O3, stems from the formation of cobalt-spinel complexes, which prevent acid gases from forming the corresponding aluminum fluorides and sulfates. It is the objective of this effort to employ this material as a basis for a high temperature CH4 oxidation catalyst for the treatment of VAM emissions.The broader/commercial impact of this project, if successful, will be the direct conversion of CH4 to CO2 and H2O would reduce the overall a global warming potential (GWP) by over 90%. Greenhouse gas emissions are coming under increased scrutiny due to their link to climate change. CH4 is a key contributor to greenhouse gas emissions with a global warming potential (GWP) of 21 times that of CO2. Thus, VAM accounts for 10% of the anthropogenic methane emissions in the US. Low cost, reliable technologies are sought for the treatment of these emissions. Reverse-flow thermal oxidation systems have been proposed to treat these emissions. These processes operate at extreme temperatures, are large and require moving parts (valves and louvers) that operate at high temperatures. As a result, the reverse-flow process is expensive and unreliable. Catalytic processes offer significant advantages in terms of reduced size, lower energy input and greatly enhanced reliability. However, catalysts capable of treating VAM emissions are not available on the commercial market, due to durability issues associated with the operating conditions. If successful, a catalytic process would offer a low-cost alternative to the treatment of VAM emissions.