Membrane separation combined with catalytic reaction, advantages

Future Trends in Reactor Technology The technical reactors introduced here so far are those used today in common industrial processes. Of course, research and development activities in past decades have led to new reactor concepts that may have advantages with respect to process intensification, higher selectivities, and safety and environmental aspects. Such novel developments in catalytic reactor technology are, for example, monolithic reactors for multiphase reactions, microreactors to improve mass and heat transfer, membrane reactors to overcome thermodynamic and kinetic constraints, or multifunctional reactors combining a chemical reaction with heat transfer or with the separation in one instead of two units. It is beyond the scope of this textbook to cover all the details of these new fascinating reactor concepts, but for those who are interested in a brief outline we summarize important aspects in Section 4.10.8. 

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