Abstract
The integration of membranes inside a catalytic reactor is an intensification strategy to combine separation and reaction steps in one single physical unit. In this case, a selective removal or addition of a reactant or product will occur, which can circumvent thermodynamic equilibrium and drive the system performance towards a higher product selectivity. In the case of an inorganic membrane reactor, a membrane separation is coupled with a reaction system (e.g., steam reforming, autothermal reforming, etc.), while in a membrane bioreactor a biological treatment is combined with a separation through the membranes. The objective of this article is to review the latest developments in membrane reactors in both inorganic and membrane bioreactors, followed by a report on new trends, applications, and future perspectives.
Highlights
Catalytic membrane reactors can integrate reaction and separation steps in one single unit, providing a high degree of process intensification
Several theoretical as well as experimental works demonstrated that membrane reactors have a superior performance when compared with traditional systems
In systems where equilibrium constrains limit the conversion (e.g., Water gas shift (WGS) reaction), or when the there is a problem of selectivities (e.g., OCM or FTS reactions), membrane reactors will give improvements
Summary
Catalytic membrane reactors can integrate reaction and separation steps in one single unit, providing a high degree of process intensification. Numerous experimental and modelling works have established the superior performance of membrane reactors for a wide range of applications and for various operating conditions. The importance of membrane reactors lies in the fact that reactions can generally be performed at milder operating conditions and at higher product selectivities. Most research studies in recent years have been focused on the investigation of different aspects of membrane reactors for various reaction systems, ranging from the production of chemicals and pharmaceuticals to wastewater treatment and CO2 abatement [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]. The latest developments of both inorganic membrane reactors and membrane bioreactors for various applications are compiled and analyzed and necessary future research directions are discussed
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