Catalytic Coatings for Removal of Soot from Gas Turbine Exhausts
DOD-Navy Phase I Contract N00178-06-C-3013
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I addresses the development of catalytic coatings and a process for applying them to the internal surfaces of gas turbine engines for the purpose of reducing soot and other emissions from turbine exhausts without compromising engine performance (via induced pressure drop). Such coatings will be based on materials discovered at Eltron that possess soot and VOC oxidation activity at moderate temperatures. The materials will be applied to surfaces using plasma and spray deposition techniques. The resulting coatings will add only a few grams of weight to a full scale propulsion platform and produce no additional pressure drop. Phase I consists of the identification of preferred catalytic coating compositions, including both activity and thermal resistance and the preferred method and conditions for depositing these coatings on appropriate aircraft engine materials. Phase II will optimize both catalyst compositions and deposition process and would lead to the testing of the technology in a commercial off-the-shelf system.
Successful development of the proposed technology will lead to a commercially available approach for soot emissions reduction from gas turbine and other engines without loss of engine performance. Since emissions from aircraft and other platforms remain an issue in both commercial and DoD sectors, the proposed technology, if successful, would be attractive to a number of potential customers.