An experimental and theoretical investigation of a catalytic membrane reactor for the oxidative dehydrogenation of methanol

T Brinkmann, S P Perera, W J Thomas

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

29 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

The catalytic oxidn. of methanol was investigated employing a tubular wall reactor to elucidate reaction kinetics and a membrane reactor to record performance. The membrane reactor consisted of a composite multilayered ceramic tube impregnated with platinum catalyst and housed within a shell of stainless steel construction. Thermodn. calcns. and catalyst activity expts. revealed that hydrogen is a main product of reaction for mixts. rich in methanol and lean in oxygen for temps. up to 300 Deg and 1 bar pressure. Kinetic expts. indicated that two sep. pathways yielding hydrogen were prevalent: a catalytic dehydrogenative oxidn. giving H2 and CO2 as products and complete catalytic combustion giving CO2 and H2O. Further exptl. measurements using the catalytic membrane reactor showed that hydrogen as product could be partially sepd. from the reaction products by the action of the ceramic membrane. A comprehensive theor. model of the membrane reactor was constructed using Maxwell-Stefan equations, the dusty gas model and differential energy balances. Results of the theor. investigation utilizing the kinetic parameters found by expt. indicated reasonably good agreement between theory and expt. However, it was also clear that using a ceramic membrane impregnated with catalyst is not an efficient way to achieve H2 sepn. during reaction on account of the ability of H2 under the prevailing reaction conditions to diffuse in opposite directions simultaneously. [on SciFinder (R)]
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2047-2061
Number of pages15
JournalChemical Engineering Science
Volume56
Issue number6
Publication statusPublished - 2001

Keywords

  • Dehydrogenation catalysts (oxidative
  • Simulation and Modeling (exptl. and theor. investigation of catalytic membrane reactor for oxidative dehydrogenation of methanol)
  • exptl. and theor. investigation of catalytic membrane reactor for oxidative dehydrogenation of methanol)
  • Dehydrogenation
  • Ceramic membranes
  • Dehydrogenation kinetics
  • oxidative dehydrogenation methanol catalytic membrane reactor
  • Mass transfer
  • Reactors (membrane
  • Permeation
  • fuel cell oxidative dehydrogenation methanol catalytic membrane reactor
  • Heat transfer

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'An experimental and theoretical investigation of a catalytic membrane reactor for the oxidative dehydrogenation of methanol'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this