Homogeneous Catalysts Applied in Membrane Reactors

Homogeneous Catalysts Applied in Membrane Reactors N.J. RONDE AND D. VOGT 

Laboratory of Catalysis and Inorganic Chemistry, Schuit Institute of Catalysis, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands 

A number of potential methods for homogeneous catalyst separation and recovery have been discussed in the preceding chapters. This chapter addresses the separation of homogeneous catalysts by means of advanced filtration techniques. Separation of homogeneous catalysts by size exclusion (ultra- or nanofiltration, defined in detail in Section 4.3.1) offers several advantages  

J Cole-Hamilton and R. P. Tooze (eds.), Catalyst Separation, Recovery and Recycling, 73-104. 2006 Springer. Printed in the Netherlands. 

A prerequisite for the application of filtration methods is a significant difference in molecular size of the catalyst and the reactants / products. Molecular enlargement, i.e. binding the homogeneous catalyst to soluble supports, is often the method of choice. These supports can be dendrimers, hyper-branched polymers or even simple polymers, giving the opportunity to tailor the support according to the given process. 

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Ronde, N.J. and Vogt, D. (2006) Separation by size-exclusion filtration - homogeneous catalysts applied in membrane reactors, in Catalyst Separation, Recovery and Recycling -Chemistry and Process Design (eds D.-J. Cole-Hamilton and R.P. Tooze), Springer, Dordrecht, pp. 73-104. 

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