Hydrogen separation development

GT-DeSulf A process for removing sulfur from cracked gasoline without hydrotreating the entire stream. The sulfur-containing compounds are separated by solvent extraction and hydrogenated separately. Developed by GTC Technology in 2000. 

The developmental hydrogen separation concepts are discussed in the following sections regarding their mechanisms for hydrogen separation and the current status of development. 

The cost of Pd-alloy membranes used for hydrogen separation may be reduced by depositing a thin Pd-alloy film on a suitable porous substrate to form a composite membrane. Almost all of the Pd-alloy membrane development efforts are, thus, focused on preparing thin yet defect-free Pd-alloy composite membranes (e.g., Hopkins, 2007 Coulter, 2007 Delft et al., 2005 Damle et al., 2005 Mardilovich et al., 2002). A detailed review of the Pd-alloy membrane research has been prepared by Paglieri and Way (2002) with an extensive bibliography of the palladium membrane research to date. An updated review has been recently prepared by Collot (2003) and Paglieri (2006). 

An integrated proof-of-concept (POC) size fluidized-bed methane reformer with embedded palladium membrane modules for simultaneous hydrogen separation is being developed for demonstration (Tamhankar et al., 2007). The membrane modules will use two 6 in. X 11 in. Pd-alloy membrane foils, 25-pm thick, supported on a porous support. The developmental fluidized-bed reactor will house a total of five (5) membrane modules with a total membrane area of about 0.43 m2 and is scheduled for demonstration by September 2007. 

Balachandran, U., Development of Dense Ceramic Membranes for Hydrogen Separation, Proceedings of2005 U.S. DOE Hydrogen Annual Merit Review Meeting, Arlington, VA, May 2005. 

The development of high temperature membranes for hydrogen separation. 

Gas separation processes with membranes have undergone a major evolution since the introduchon of the first membrane-based industrial hydrogen separation process about two decades ago. The development of high selectivity mixed-matrix membranes will further advance the technology of membrane gas separation processes within the next decade. 

Franz et al. [93] developed a palladium membrane micro reactor for hydrogen separation based on MEMS technology, which incorporated integrated devices for heating and temperature measurement. The reactor consisted of two channels separated by the membrane, which was composed of three layers. Two of them, which were made of silicon nitride introduced by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (0.3 pm thick) and silicon oxide by temperature treatment (0.2 pm thick), served as perforated supports for the palladium membrane. Both layers were deposited on a silicon wafer and subsequently removed from one side completely... 

This two-stage process for the hydrogenation of tar proved useful also for the hydrogenation of coal and petroleum oils in subsequent operations these two phases of the coal-hydrogenation process developed separately, requiring different catalysts and equipment. 

Metallic membranes for hydrogen separation can be of many types, such as pure metals Pd, V, Ta, Nb, and Ti binary alloys of Pd, with Cu, Ag, and Y Pd alloyed with Ni, Au, Ce, and Fe and complex alloys of Pd alloyed with more than one metal [3], Body-centered cubic metals, for example, Nb and V, have higher permeability than face-centered cubic metals, for instance, Pd and Ni [26-29], Even though Nb, V, and Ta possess a permeability greater than that of Pd, these metals develop oxide layers and are complicated to be used as hydrogen separation membranes [29], Especially, the Pd and Pd-based membranes have in recent times obtained renovated consideration on account of the prospects of a generalized use of hydrogen as a fuel in the future [26], We emphasize on these types of membranes in this chapter. 

Because Pd-based metal membranes, commonly used for hydrogen separation [11] are not resistant towards sulphur, not much research has been performed on the use of such membranes in H2S dehydrogenation reactors. Some success has, however, been reported by Edlund and Pledger [12], They developed a platinum-based layered metal membrane that could resist irreversible attack by H2S at 700°C. At this temperature a conversion of 99.4% was achieved in the membrane reactor. Without hydrogen removal the conversion was only 13%. No permeance data is provided, but platinum-based metal membranes are known for their low hydrogen permeance [14], Johnson-Matthey developed palladium composite membranes with a hydrogen permeance of about 1 10 mol/m sPa [14], but these are most probably not resis-... 

Yoshino, Y., Suzuki, T., Nair, B.N., Taguchi, H., and Itoh, N., Development of tubular substrates, silica based membranes and membrane modules for hydrogen separation at high temperature, Journal of Membrane Science, 267, 8-17, 2005. 

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