The technology of methane combustion in small gas turbine catalytic combustors on alternative granulated catalysts with a low content of noble metals has been developed and studied. The operations of catalyst packages for environmentally clean combustion consisting of one-, two-or three catalysts with different chemical composition, shape and size of granules have been analyzed. The optimized design of a three-stage catalyst package with total height of 340 mm includes 40 mm of highly active Pd-Ce-Al(2)O(3) at the entrance of the combustion chamber in the form of 7.5 mm x 7.5 mm x 2.5 mm rings; 240 mm of a basic catalyst based on Mn-hexaaluminate with the granules of the same form and size; and 60 mm of Pd-Mn-La-Al(2)O(3) catalyst as 4-5 mm spherical granules at the exit of the combustion chamber. Such optimal design yielded methane combustion over 99.97% at T(inlet) = 470-580 degrees C and oxygen excess coefficient 5.2-7.0. The emission levels were NO(x) < 1 ppm, CO < 10 ppm, HC < 10 ppm. The pressure drop across the catalyst package was less than 4% of the total pressure (1 bar). (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.