MEMBRANE REACTORS

SEMINAR BYAMOL KADAM

UNDER GUIDANCE OF
Mr. AMIT AGARWAAL SIR

Types

CSTR(ContinuousStirred-Tank
Reactor)
PFR(PlugFlowReactor)
Semi-batchreactor
Catalyticreactor

What is a membrane reactor?

A membrane reactor is really just a plug-flow
reactor that contains an additional cylinder of
some porous material within it, kind of like the
tube within the shell of a shell-and-tube heat
exchanger. This porous inner cylinder is the
membrane that gives the membrane reactor its
name.

Themembraneisabarrierthatonlyallows
certain components to pass through it. The
selectivityofthemembraneiscontrolledby
itsporediameter,whichcanbeontheorder
of Angstroms, for micro porous layers, or
on the order of microns for macro porous
layers.

Why use a membrane reactor?

Membranereactors
combinereactionwithseparationtoincrease
conversion.Oneoftheproductsofagiven
reactionisremovedfromthereactorthrough
themembrane,forcingtheequilibriumofthe
reaction"totheright"(accordingtoLe
Chatelier'sPrinciple),sothatmoreofthat
productisproduced.

Membranereactorsarecommonlyusedin
dehydrogenationreactions(e.g.,dehydrogenation
ofethane),whereonlyoneoftheproducts
(molecularhydrogen)issmallenoughtopass
throughthemembrane.Thisraisesthe
conversionforthereaction,makingtheprocess
moreeconomical.

What kinds of membrane reactors are available?

Membrane reactors are most commonly used when a
reaction involves some form of catalyst, and there are
two main types of these membrane reactors: the inert
membranereactorandthecatalyticmembranereactor.
The inert membrane reactor allows catalyst pellets to
flow with the reactants on the feed side (usually the
inside of the membrane). It is known as anIMRCF,
whichstandsforInertMembraneReactorwithCatalyst
ontheFeedside.Inthiskindofmembranereactor,the
membrane does not participate in the reaction directly;
it simply acts as a barrier to the reactants and some
products.

Acatalyticmembranereactor(CMR)hasamembrane
thathaseitherbeencoatedwithorismadeofamaterial
thatcontainscatalyst,whichmeansthatthemembrane
itselfparticipatesinthereaction.Someofthereaction
products(thosethataresmallenough)passthroughthe
membraneandexitthereactoronthepermeateside.

Summary
Catalytic Membrane Reactors (CMRs), able to carry
out reactions and separations together, are potentially
capable of revolutionising the world of chemical
production. All catalytic syntheses and conversions in
the chemical industry are potentially within the
provinceofCMRs:mostareasyetunexplored.Intense
research activities have started worldwide for the
development of catalytic membranes (CMs)a and
CMRs for novel, extremely interesting fields of
application, such as gas phase reactions and
petrochemistry

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