Hydrogen-selective membrane reactor methane steam reforming

The third choice to be made is the mode of heat supply to sustain the endo-thermal DH reaction. ODH is one choice that at present yields unsatisfactory yields and selectivities. Other approaches are coupling the catalytic bed with another, in which an exothermic reaction is conducted. The authors have demonstrated such a solution, for hydrogen production in methane steam reforming, in a reactor composed of three concentric mbes (for methane combustion, for methane steam reforming, and for the Pd membrane) [49, 50]. Another approach is partial combustion of hydrogen on the membrane side. Very little work has been conducted on thermal solutions of membrane reactors. 

Erika Lollobattista is a Chemist, actually working in the R D group of Processi Innovativi Sri, a company owned by Tecnimont KT SpA, Rome, Italy. She received his Master degree in Chemistry in 2003, from the University of Rome La Sapienza . Most recent work includes the study and development of hydrogen selective membranes applied in methane steam reforming and water-gas shift reactors. She managed/attended a number of European research projects in the field of membranes application. 

Marin, P., Patino, Y., Diez, F. V., Ordonez, S. (2012). Modelling of hydrogen perm-selective membrane reactors for catalytic methane steam reforming. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 37, 18433—18445. 

In recent years, new concepts to produce hydrogen by methane SR have been proposed to improve the performance in terms of capital costs reducing with respect to the conventional process. In particular, different forms of in situ hydrogen separation, coupled to reaction system, have been studied to improve reactant conversion and/or product selectivity by shifting of thermodynamic positions of reversible reactions towards a more favourable equilibrium of the overall reaction under conventional conditions, even at lower temperatures. Several membrane reactors have been investigated for methane SR in particular based on thin palladium membranes [14]. More recently, the sorption-enhanced steam methane reforming (Se-SMR) has been proposed as innovative method able to separate CO2 in situ by addition of selective sorbents and simultaneously enhance the reforming reaction [15]. 

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