Micro catalytic combustor with tailored porous alumina

Micro-scale catalytic combustion of butane is investigated. Porous alumina fabricated through anodic oxidation of thermally-evaporated aluminum is employed for the support of Pt catalyst. A ceramic combustor with an embedded ignition heater is also designed and its prototype is fabricated using a high-precision tape-casting technology. Three-dimensional manifold, which is designed based on a series of CFD analysis, allows us to obtain an uniform velocity distribution in the combustion channel with a minimal pressure drop. The Pt/alumina catalyst layer is successfully integrated onto a ceramic microchannel. It is found in a preliminary experiment that heat release rate up to 830 MW/m/sup 3/ is achieved, whereas the reaction rate is somewhat smaller than expected from our experimental data in 0.6 mm ID tube.