Advantages in the Use of Membrane Contactors for the Study of Gas−Liquid and Gas−Liquid−Solid Reactions

Abstract

Laboratory membrane reactors have been studied with the main aim of using such types of devices in kinetic studies of gas−liquid and gas−liquid−solid reactions. As a matter of fact, these reactors allow a better control of the gas−liquid mass transfer phenomena thanks to the absence of emulsions and foams, the interfacial area being constant and stable with different flow rates, and the modular design and ease of scale-up.Four different reactors have been tested to determine what impacts gas absorption from the internal part of the membrane-tube toward the liquid, both in the absence and in the presence of a chemical reaction. In particular, two different agitated reactors have been used: one well-stirred without membranes and the other moderately stirred and containing a coiled bundle of membranes. These two reactors had exactly the same size and stirrer, with the presence of the membrane being the unique difference. The performances of these reactors have been compared for both the physical absorption ...