A CATALYTIC MEMBRANE REACTOR - ITS PERFORMANCE IN COMPARISON WITH OTHER TYPES OF REACTORS

This paper analyzes the performance of a catalytic membrane reactor (CMR) in comparison with three different reactor types: the inert membrane reactor with catalyst pellets placed on the feed side of the membrane (IMRCF), the plug flow reactor packed with catalyst pellets (PFR), and the mixed flow reactor in which catalysts are well-mixed with reactants (MFR). Three general categories of reactions are considered: (1) the volume is increased after reaction (gas-phase reaction with Δn > 0), (2) the volume remains constant after reaction (liquid-phase reaction, or gas-phase reaction with Δn = 0), and (3) the volume is decreased after reaction (gas-phase reaction with Δn < 0). For category 1, the performances of PFR and MFR operated at the feed-side pressure (Ppare better than those of CMR or IMRCF. Between two membrane reactors, the performance of CMR is slightly better than that of IMRCF at a longer diffusional space time (low pressure drop across the membrane). For category 2, both types of membrane reactors (CMR and IMRCF) perform better than the traditional PFR and MFR because of the equilibrium shift induced by a selective product separation. For category 3, the performance of IMRCF at a longer diffusional space time is better than any other reactors in the studied case. The catalytic membrane reactor is not suitable for this category due to the undesirable equilibrium effect induced by the pressure variation. © 1990, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.