Optimal Catalyst Distribution for Inorganic Membrane Reactors

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Heterogeneous catalysis is used in the chemical and petroleum industries for the manufacture of a variety of valuable products. Inorganic membrane reactors combine the catalytic reaction and separation functions into one unit. The attractiveness of these reactors arises from their substantially improved performance for reversible reaction systems; as the products are continuously removed the reactions can shift to higher conversions, not limited by equilibrium considerations. For a fixed total amount of catalyst, the question arises as to how it should be distributed within the membrane so that the membrane reactor performance (for example reaction rate, product purity, etc.) is optimized. This is the motivation for this research project. The PI plans to conduct a combined theoretical-experimental study, to investigate the performance of catalytic membrane reactors with controlled catalyst distribution. Theoretical work will identify the optimal catalyst distribution required to maximize specific performance indices (for example, reactant conversion, product purity, etc.). This will include analysis of membrane reactors where the catalyst is distributed in a controlled manner along the membrane thickness as well as along the reactor length. Experimental work will be directed towards preparing and testing such membranes, and will permit a quantitative comparison with theoretical predictions.***//