Applications of porous materials in combustion systems: A comprehensive and state-of-the-art review

• Potentials of porous materials in the combustion systems are reviewed in this paper. • Theoretical and applied aspects in both numerical & experimental works are explained. • PMC in gas turbines reduces combustion instability & needs practical approaches. • PMC in ICEs makes fuel-air mixture homogeneous and reduces CO and NOx emissions. • PMC could be one of the promising techniques for green hydrogen production. Porous materials have been extensively used in various engineering applications, due to their promising thermal characteristics. Extensions of lean-burn limits as well as the low levels of pollutant emissions are the main advantages of using porous materials in combustion systems. Also, an enhancement in burning rate, flame stability and power density are the other considerable effects of porous media combustion (PMC). In the last two decades, many investigations were conducted to evaluate the practicability and performance of PMC. So, in the current study, a comprehensive review of previous researches in the literature is provided to have a better outlook of porous media capabilities in combustion applications. For this purpose, different applications of porous media in combustion systems, including porous burners, micro-combustors, internal combustion engines, hydrogen production reactors and more, are reviewed, and the recent utilization and developments in PCM systems are explained. Experimental, analytical and numerical published studies are surveyed in detail and categorized according to their objectives to provide better accessibility to a certain subject for the reader.