Dense ceramic membranes conducting membrane

B.C.H. Steele. Dense Ceramic ion conducting membranes in Oxygen ion and mixed conductors and their technological applications, (1997) Erice, Italy Kluwer. 

Dense ceramic ion-conducting membranes (CICMs) are emerging as an important class of inorganic membranes based on fluorite- or perovskite-derived crystalline structures [18]. Most of the ion-conducting ceramics discovered to date exhibit a selective ionic oxygen transport at high temperatures >700°C. Ionic transport in these membranes is based on the following successive mechanisms [25] ... 

Lin, J.Y.S., Proton conducting dense ceramic membranes for hydrogen separation, Annual Progress Report, U.S. DOE Contract DE-FG26-00NT40818, December 2002. 

The quantity of ambipolar conductivity is widely used for the analysis of -> electrolytic permeability of -> solid electrolytes, caused by the presence of electronic conductivity. Other important cases include transient behavior of electrochemical cells and ion-conducting solids, dense ceramic membranes for gas separation, reduction/ oxidation of metals, and kinetic demixing phenomena [iv]. In most practical cases, however, the ambipo-... 

The mixed-conducting perovskite oxides have attracted particular interest for use as dense ceramic membrane to control partial oxidation of methane to C2 products or syngas. Such a process bypasses the use of costly oxygen since air can be used as oxidant on the oxygen-rich of the membrane. 

The considerations in this chapter were mainly prompted by the potential application of mixed-conducting perovskite-type oxides to be used as dense ceramic membranes for oxygen delivery applications, and lead to the following general criteria for the selection of materials... 

The complex phase diagrams and rich crystal chemistry of the transition metal-containing oxide systems, and great diversity in the defect chemistry and transport properties of mixed-conducting materials known in these systems, make it impossible to systematize all promising compositions in a brief survey. The primary attention here is therefore centered on the comparison of major families of the oxide mixed conductors used for dense ceramic membranes and porous electrodes of SOFCs and other high-temperature electrochemical devices. 

Ceramic electrochemical reactors are currently undergoing intense investigation, the aim being not only to generate electricity but also to produce chemicals. Typically, ceramic dense membranes are either pure ionic (solid electrolyte SE) conductors or mixed ionic-electronic conductors (MIECs). In this chapter we review the developments of cells that involve a dense solid electrolyte (oxide-ion or proton conductor), where the electrical transfer of matter requires an external circuitry. When a dense ceramic membrane exhibits a mixed ionic-electronic conduction, the driving force for mass transport is a differential partial pressure applied across the membrane (this point is not considered in this chapter, although relevant information is available in specific reviews). 

Balachandran U,LeeT H and Dorris S E (2007), Hydrogen production by water dissociation using mixed conducting dense ceramic membranes , Int J Hydrogen Energy, 32,451-456. 

ABO3 perovskite-type oxides with transition-metal ions at the B-site have high ionic and electronic transport in the form of p or n semi-conductivity (mixed ionic and electronic conductivity), caused by different oxidation states of the transition-metal cation. For dense ceramic membranes, perovskite-type oxides with the following cations are preferred A = Ln (lanthanide ion), Ca, Sr, Ba B = Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu. 

Figure 5.5 Principles of dense ceramic membrane reactors (a) electrochemical pump membrane reactor (EP-MR) (b) solid oxide fuel cell membrane reactor (SOEC-MR) (c) mixed ionic-electronic conducting membrane reactor (MIEC-MR).

Due to its high ionic conductivity and good chemical stability, acceptor-doped ceria can potentially be used in dense ceramic membranes for the separation of oxygen from air. 

Abstract Dense ceramic membrane reactors are made from composite oxides, usually having perovskite or fluorite structure with appreciable mixed ionic (oxygen ion and/or proton) and electronic conductivity. They combine the oxygen or hydrogen separation process with the catalytic reactions into a single step at elevated temperatures (>700°C), leading to significantly improved yields, simplified production processes and reduced capital costs. This chapter mainly describes the principles of various types of dense ceramic membrane reactors, and the fabrication of the membranes and membrane reactors. 

Oxygen permeation modes in the dense ceramic membranes (a) electrochemical oxygen pump (b) oxygen permeation together with production of electricity and (c) oxygen permeation in mixed conducting membrane. 

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