Membrane-based reactive separations for power generation applications: oxygen lancing

O2 lancing is one of the industrial techniques for implementing oxygen-enhanced combustion (OEC), and can potentially result in stable combustion with reduced NOx emissions. The key technical challenge facing lancing (and OEC in general) is the significant cost of O2 enrichment. The present work reports early results from a study of CH4 OEC, in which the O2 enrichment of air is implemented in situ using dense, high-temperature mixed-conducting solid-oxide membranes. We report on the preparation and characterization of these membranes, and on the fundamental combustion studies of the relevant reactive mixtures, including the effect of O2 lancing on the NOx and CO emissions of fuel-lean and fuel-rich CH4/air premixed flames.