Studying Catalysts for the Catalytic Purification of a Helium Concentrate to Remove Hydrogen and the Laws Governing the Process

Results of studying Pt and Pd γ-alumina supported catalysts in the hydrogen oxidation reaction for use in helium concentrate (HC) purification processes were described. The properties of the synthesized catalysts were compared with the properties of a foreign reference catalyst. The “ignition” and deactivation of the catalysts at room temperature in a laboratory reactor using a mixture simulating an HC were studied while simulating conditions at the inlet of an industrial adiabatic reactor; the properties of the catalysts were studied at temperatures of 200, 250, and 300°C under conditions simulating the occurrence of the reaction in the middle zone and at the outlet from an industrial reactor. The secondary hydrogen formation process at temperatures of 250–300°C was studied and attributed to the steam reforming of methane and ethane present in the model mixture simulating HC. The results of the study can be used to develop domestic catalysts for the purification of helium extracted from natural gas.