Determination of Reaction Kinetics of Heterogeneous Decomposition of Hydrazine with Nickel Catalyst Based on Gamma-Alumina

In this research, an adiabatic fixed bed reactor is used to determine the reaction kinetics of the heterogeneous decomposition of hydrazine and ammonia with a 15% nickel catalyst based on gamma alumina. This reactor is used in a monopropellant space propulsion system to create a thrust force of up to 10 newtons. The system performs two reactions of heterogeneous decomposition and conversion to light gases of hydrogen and nitrogen at high temperatures. Then, the thrust force is obtained by exiting gases from the nozzle. In this research, the aim is to use nickel catalyst coating instead of iridium (a costly and rare catalyst) based on gamma alumina (with a new combination) and determine the kinetics of heterogeneous decomposition reactions (new research), which is very important in terms of industry and research projects. Also, this research deals with theoretical concepts, kinetic details of heterogeneous decomposition reactions of hydrazine, and ammonia tests necessary to check the catalyst’s performance. To determine the correctness and accuracy of the catalyst performance the kinetic model of heterogeneous decomposition reactions, the kinetic model, and experimental results are checked under the same operating conditions in indicators such as the minimum decomposition amount of hydrazine, ammonia, and thrust force. According to the appropriate matching, the results are confirmed.