Hydrogen separation continued Membrane Reactor

The aim of the project was to assess the industrial feasibility of the integration of a steam reformer reactor with a membrane for hydrogen separation. The plant was successfully running continuously for up to 1000 h, with no catalyst or membrane deterioration (De Falco et ai, 2011). 

Membrane reactors offer an inherent ability to combine reaction, product concentration, and separation in a single unit operation and are especially suited for reactions such as water gas shift reaction with conversions limited by the thermodynamic equilibrium of the reaction. The use of a membrane reactor for the continuous separation of hydrogen from the reformate allows the reformer to be mn at lower temperatures and, at the same time, provides process intensification by eliminating the shift reactors, PreOx (preferential oxidation) reactor and hydrogen separator. 

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