Properties and mechanisms of low concentration methane catalytic combustion in porous media supported with transition metal oxides

Low concentration methane (LCM) from coal mining is hardly utilized by combustion or oxidation due to its low concentration and fluctuation. Herein, a porous media catalytic combustion technology was presented to investigate the catalytic combustion properties of LCM in porous media by developing three porous media catalysts (Fe2O3/Al2O3, CuO/Al2O3 and Co3O4/Al2O3) supported with transition metal oxides (Fe2O3, CuO and Co3O4) as active components. While the catalytic combustion mechanism was proposed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The results indicated that Fe2O3/Al2O3 exhibited superior high-temperature catalytic activity and thermal stability, which was capable of broadening the limit equivalence ratio of CH4 stationary combustion to 0.46 with the CH4 conversion rate over 98 %. DFT calculations revealed that the Fe atoms on the (001) surface of Fe2O3 crystals were the active center during the catalytic process, causing the adsorption and dissociation of CH4 and O2 molecules. The lattice oxygen of Fe2O3 was engaged in the formation of CO and CO2 and the adsorbed oxygen from O2 molecules dissociation facilitated H2O generation, which heightened the conversion of CH4. This study provides a promising avenue for the high-efficiency and clean utilization of LCM.