OP-II-3

PP-III-1MICRO-REACTORS FOR SPACE PROPULSION APPLICATIONS:MONOLITHIC FOAM CATALYSTSAmrousse R.*, Batonneau Y., Farhat K., Kappenstein C.LACCO (Laboratoire de Catalyse en chimie Organique), Poitiers 86022, France*Corresponding author: rachid.amrousse@univ-poitiers.frOpen-cell ceramic foams on cordierite (2MgO·2Al 2 O 3·5SiO 2 ) and silice carbide(SiC) with pore counts between 20 and 30 PPI (Pores Per Inch) (Figure 1) werestudied in connection with their morphology have gained interest in the last decadedue to their potential applications as carriers in various processes. Their propertiessuch as low pressure drop, high surface area enhancing mass transport, as well asthe radial mixing in the tortuous structure, improving heat transfer in highlyendothermic and exothermic reactions, make them attractive in many research fields.They have already been used in several applications such as waste and exhaust gaspurification [1, 2, 3], methane and propane combustion, carbon dioxide reforming,partial oxidation of hydrocarbons at short contact times, preferential oxidation ofcarbon monoxide in hydrogen and Fischer–Tropsch-synthesis [4]. Most of theseapplications involve high flow rates and/or high reaction rates, typically controlled byexternal mass and heat transfer. The knowledge of mass (and heat) transfer andpressure drop properties of these reticulated structures is therefore of extremeimportance for reactor design and industrial implementation.Figure 1: The received monolith foams (9 mm in diameter and 20 mm in lenght),cordierite 20 ppi (a), 30 ppi (b) and silice carbide 30 ppi (c).The focus of this work is therefore to prepare the monolithic faom catalysts basedon noble metals (Ir, Pt, Rh and Ir) for ignition of cold H 2 /O 2 mixtures. The preparedmonolith faom catalysts are characterized by physico-chemical techniques (X-raydiffraction, Scanning electron microscopy, nitrogen physisorption, …etc).442