Dense ceramic membranes membrane reactor

It is well known that dense ceramic membranes made of the mixture of ionic and electron conductors are permeable to oxygen at elevated temperatures. For example, perovskite-type oxides (e.g., La-Sr-Fe-Co, Sr-Fe-Co, and Ba-Sr-Co-Fe-based mixed oxide systems) are good oxygen-permeable ceramics. Figure 2.11 depicts a conceptual design of an oxygen membrane reactor equipped with an OPM. A detail of the ceramic membrane wall... 

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). 

Y. Zeng and Y.S. Lin "Experimental Study of Oxidative Coupling of Methane in Dense Ceramic Membrane Reactor", Proc. 5th International Congress on Inorganic Membranes, Nagoya, June 22-26, 1998, 354. 

Dong, X., Jin, W., Xu, N. and Li, K. (2011) Dense ceramic catalytic membranes and membrane reactors for energy and environmental applications. Chemical Communications, 47, 10886. 

Applications of dense ceramic membrane reactors in selected oxidation and dehydrogenation processes for chemical... 

Compared to traditional processes, the dense ceramic membrane reactor possesses the following potential advantages (1) it is possible to provide oxygen for the reaction system in a more controllable manner and to... 

Schematic diagram for possible reaction pathways of the POM in a dense ceramic membrane reactor. 

Table 8.3 Oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane/propane in the dense ceramic membrane reactors... 

Table 8.4 Dense ceramic membrane reactors for the decomposition reactions... 

Akin F T and Lin Y S (2002a), Oxidative conpUng of methane in dense ceramic membrane reactor with high yields , AfC/jf /, 48(10), 2298-2306. 

Tan, X. and Li, K. (2013) Dense ceramic membranes for membrane reactors, in Handbook of Membrane Reactors, Volume I - Fundamental Materials Science, Design and Optimisation (ed A. Basile), Woodhead Publishing Limited, Cambridge, pp. 271-297. 

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).

There are three main types of dense ceramic membranes disk/flat sheet, tubular, and hollow fibers. The disk/flat sheet membranes are applied mostly in research work because they can be fabricated easily in laboratories with a small amount of membrane material. Comparatively, the hollow fiber membranes can provide the largest membrane area per volume but low mechanical strength, while the tubular membranes possess a satisfactory specific membrane area, high mechanical strength, and are easy to assemble in membrane reactors. Dense ceramic MRs can be constructed and operated in either packed bed MR or catalytic MR configurations. 

Dense ceramic membranes allow oxygen separation with extremely high selectivity and can be incorporated into membrane reactors for a variety of oxygen-related reactions. The applications of dense ceramic MRs will bring many economic and environmental benefits, with improved selectivity and yields. However, in order to realize the potential benefits of MRs and commercialize them successfully, there are still many challenges that have to be faced not only from membrane materials but also from engineering aspects. 

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