Issue 7, 2022

Endothermic catalytic cracking of liquid hydrocarbons for thermal management of high-speed flight vehicles

Abstract

Regenerative cooling paired with catalytic cracking of hydrocarbons can address thermal management and efficient fuel combustion in supersonic air streams, as a sustainable approach in developing high-speed flight vehicles. Solid acid catalyst promoted cracking of supercritical hydrocarbon fuels can combine physical and chemical heat sink capacities which can provide the required endothermicity to utilize the excess heat as a viable solution for thermal management. Furthermore, resulting cracked hydrocarbon products exhibit shorter ignition delay times than the parent fuels leading to more efficient combustion, even at supersonic speeds. The supercritical state of the fuel also reduces the carbon deposition arising from the process by fluidising any coking products. This process would therefore address the problem of excessive vehicle body heat, while providing better combusting fuels. This review aims to provide insights from a catalysis perspective that summarise the current state of research regarding identifying suitable energy dense hydrocarbon fuels, most promising catalysts, and strategies to reduce carbon formation. The scientific understanding gained to date regarding optimal fuel conversion, selectivity to desired products, methods to minimize coking and achieve high heat sink capacity are reviewed. The use of additive manufacturing as an emerging efficient approach to intensify this process using small scale reactor geometries is also discussed.

Graphical abstract: Endothermic catalytic cracking of liquid hydrocarbons for thermal management of high-speed flight vehicles

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
11 جمادى الأولى 1443
Accepted
05 جمادى الثانية 1443
First published
04 شعبان 1443

Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2022,6, 1664-1686

Endothermic catalytic cracking of liquid hydrocarbons for thermal management of high-speed flight vehicles

R. Hubesch, M. Mazur, P. R. Selvakannan, K. Föger, A. F. Lee, K. Wilson and S. Bhargava, Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2022, 6, 1664 DOI: 10.1039/D1SE01999F

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements