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Green Propulsion: Catalysts for the European FP7 Project GRASP

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Abstract

The Green Advanced Space Propulsion (GRASP) project investigated the issue of green propulsion and the possibility of replacing presently used toxic hydrazine propellant by green propellants. This project was financed by the European Commission in the 7th Framework Program (FP7). A large data base of about 100 green propellants was compiled including physical and material properties, toxicity and performance data. A preliminary selection was conducted to identify the most promising green propellant candidates for experimental work. Catalytic ignition, a very simple and robust subsystem with restart possibility, was thoroughly investigated focusing on the catalyst–propellant couple. For the whole project, more than 50 catalyst variations have been prepared comprising ceramic pellets, ceramic monoliths, metallic foams or gauzes. Very promising green propellant candidates, e.g. ammonium dinitramide-based monopropellants, have been methodically investigated leading to the development and manufacturing of advanced pellet-based catalysts for ionic liquid decomposition. The decomposition of concentrated hydrogen peroxide (87.5 wt%) for bipropellant applications led to a thorough investigation of monolithic catalysts. Examination of monolith parameters (channel shape, channel density, material) and preparation parameters (washcoating procedure, active phase precursor) led to the development of very efficient catalysts showing high activity and stability: 17.9 kg of H2O2 could be decomposed for the first time by a single monolithic catalyst.

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Acknowledgments

The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community’s 7th Framework Program (FP7/2007–2013) under Grant Agreement No. 218819. The GRASP team is in particular indebted to the REA project officer Paula Mota-Alves for the competent and helpful support of this effort. The present paper was made possible only through the efforts of, amongst others, the following people from the GRASP team members: Fachhochschule Wiener Neustadt: Carsten Scharlemann; Swedish Defence Research Agency: Niklas Wingborg; University of Southampton: Graham Roberts, Matt Palmer, Robert-Jan Koopmans; DELTACAT Limited: Antony Musker; University of Naples “Federico II”: Annamaria Russo, Salvatore Bonifacio, F. Scelzo, D. Maiello, G. Festa; German Aerospace Center: Oskar Haidn, Jörg Riccius; Evonik Degussa: Stefan Leininger; SNECMA-SAFRAN: Michel Muszynski, Serge Fouché; Ceramiques Techniques et Industrielles (CTI): Nadine Delbianco, Bruno Cartoixa, Jean-Pierre Joulin; Instytut Lotnictwa-Institute of Aviation: Zbigniew Wolejsza, Wojciech Florczuk, Kamil Sobczak, Michał Folusiak and Karol Świderski; FOTEC: Alexander Woschnak, David Krejci, Markus Schiebl.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CNRS UMR 7285, IC2MP, University of Poitiers, 4 rue Michel Brunet, 86022, Poitiers, France

    Y. Batonneau, R. Brahmi, K. Farhat, C. Kappenstein, S. Keav, G. Kharchafi-Farhat, L. Pirault-Roy & M. Saouabé

  2. Faculty of Sciences, University Chouaïb Doukkali, 24000, El Jadida, Morocco

    R. Brahmi

  3. Céramiques Techniques et Industrielles (CTI), 382 Avenue du Moulinas, 30340, Salindres, France

    B. Cartoixa

  4. University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt, Johannes Gutenberg-Straße 3, 2700, Wiener Neustadt, Austria

    C. Scharlemann

Authors
  1. Y. Batonneau
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  2. R. Brahmi
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  3. B. Cartoixa
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  4. K. Farhat
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  5. C. Kappenstein
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  6. S. Keav
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  7. G. Kharchafi-Farhat
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  8. L. Pirault-Roy
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  9. M. Saouabé
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  10. C. Scharlemann
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to C. Kappenstein.

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Batonneau, Y., Brahmi, R., Cartoixa, B. et al. Green Propulsion: Catalysts for the European FP7 Project GRASP. Top Catal 57, 656–667 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11244-013-0223-y

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