Kinetics of propane combustion over La0.66Sr0.34Ni0.3Co0.7O3 perovskite Original Research Article

La0.66Sr0.34Ni0.3Co0.7O3 (LSNC) perovskite is an excellent catalyst in several oxygen involving reactions, including methane combustion. Catalytic combustion of propane based on efficient technologies using low cost catalysts could serve as a non-polluting source of energy in remote regions. To optimize reactors for catalytic combustion (combusters), reliable kinetic data are needed. In this paper are presented kinetics of a complete propane oxidation over LSNC studied at a steady state in a plug-flow reactor. The experimental data were obtained for 0.5 g catalyst at temperatures between 473 and 613 K, with propane concentration varied from 0.58 to 4.76 vol.% oxygen between 7.5 and 98 vol.%, and flowrate between 100 and 400 ml/min. The LSNC catalyst, prepared with high specific surface area of 15 m2/g, shows again an excellent stable activity which competes favorably with that of noble metals. Several kinetic models have been tested. Best fit was obtained with the Mars–van Krevelen kinetic model. Nevertheless, the complete set of obtained data can also be fitted adequately by a simple power law model with 0.5 order in propane and 0.3 order in oxygen and apparent activation energy of 71 kJ/mol. Both water and carbon dioxide added to the feed have slight inhibiting effect, which was taken into account in a final extended Mars–van Krevelen kinetic model.