Catalysis in Membrane Reactors

A special issue of Catalysts (ISSN 2073-4344). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Catalysis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2017) | Viewed by 49009

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Chemical Process Intensification, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Interests: chemical reaction engineering; process intensification; integrated reactors, multifunctional reactors; electrification; modeling; reactor design; experimental demonstration

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Membrane reactors exploit the synergetic effects of combining reaction and separation in a single multifunctional reactor. Examples include distributive feeding of (one of) the reactants to improve the selectivity towards the desired products or selective extraction of (one of) the products to integrate product separation/purification and enhance the reactant conversion in case of equilibrium reactions. The potential of membrane reactors has been demonstrated for a large variety of important applications. In almost all the applications of membrane reactors, catalysis plays a very important role. The catalyst can be integrated as catalytic particles in for example packed-bed or fluidized-bed membrane reactors, but can also be directly integrated into the membrane in catalytic membrane reactors. The integration of catalysts in membrane reactors requires careful tuning of the catalyst and catalytic properties to the membrane characteristics, for example to achieve chemical compatibility and to match the required operating conditions for the integration of reaction and separation. On the other hand, membrane reactors may offer the possibility to operate at more favorable operating conditions. For example, the integration of membranes into the reactor may require lower operating temperatures in view of the membrane’s stability/life-time, but it may also offer economic advantages related to the heat management of the membrane reactor, provided that sufficiently active and stable catalysts can be developed.

For this Special Issue we solicit novel contributions in this exciting field of catalysis in or for membrane reactors from the broadest perspective for all possible applications.

Prof. Dr. Martin van Sint Annaland
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • catalysts for membrane reactors
  • catalytic membrane reactors
  • catalysis in membrane reactors

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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2128 KiB  
Article
Renewable Hydrogen from Ethanol Reforming over CeO2-SiO2 Based Catalysts
by Vincenzo Palma, Concetta Ruocco, Eugenio Meloni and Antonio Ricca
Catalysts 2017, 7(8), 226; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal7080226 - 27 Jul 2017
Cited by 32 | Viewed by 5992
Abstract
In this research, a bimetallic Pt-Ni/CeO2-SiO2 catalyst, synthetized via wet impregnation, was successfully employed for the oxidative steam reforming of ethanol between 300 and 600 °C. The reaction performance of the Pt-Ni catalyst was investigated and compared with the Ni/CeO [...] Read more.
In this research, a bimetallic Pt-Ni/CeO2-SiO2 catalyst, synthetized via wet impregnation, was successfully employed for the oxidative steam reforming of ethanol between 300 and 600 °C. The reaction performance of the Pt-Ni catalyst was investigated and compared with the Ni/CeO2-SiO2, Pt/CeO2-SiO2 as well as CeO2-SiO2 sample. The bimetallic catalyst displayed the best results in terms of hydrogen yield and by-products selectivity, thus highlighting the crucial role of active species (Pt and Ni) in promoting ethanol conversion and reaching the products distribution predicted by thermodynamics. The most promising sample, tested at 500 °C for more than 120 h, assured total conversion and no apparent deactivation, demonstrating the stability of the selected formulation. By changing contact time, the dependence of carbon formation rate on space velocity was also investigated. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalysis in Membrane Reactors)
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1806 KiB  
Article
Low-Temperature Synthesis of Anatase/Rutile/Brookite TiO2 Nanoparticles on a Polymer Membrane for Photocatalysis
by Kristina Fischer, Alina Gawel, David Rosen, Maria Krause, Amira Abdul Latif, Jan Griebel, Andrea Prager and Agnes Schulze
Catalysts 2017, 7(7), 209; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal7070209 - 10 Jul 2017
Cited by 116 | Viewed by 10772
Abstract
Removing pollutants from water by using the photocatalyst TiO2 is a highly-promising method. A large amount of work has been done to increase the activity of TiO2, whereas the main two findings are increasing the surface area and applying mixed [...] Read more.
Removing pollutants from water by using the photocatalyst TiO2 is a highly-promising method. A large amount of work has been done to increase the activity of TiO2, whereas the main two findings are increasing the surface area and applying mixed phase modifications (anatase, brookite, and rutile). Here, we present a method to directly synthesize non-agglomerated TiO2 nanoparticles with different crystal phase ratios via low temperature dissolution-precipitation (LTDRP) on a porous microfiltration membrane (polyethersulfone). The amount of hydrochloric acid and the temperature was varied between 0.1–1 M and 25–130 °C, respectively, while the concentration of titanium precursor (titanium(IV) isopropoxide) was kept unchanged. The TiO2 nanoparticles and the membrane were thoroughly characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), measuring the water contact angle and permeation flux, and examining the degradation of methylene blue. The mixed phase anatase/brookite with a main component being anatase exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity in removing methylene blue. Higher synthesis temperature induces enhanced crystallinity and, subsequently, the degradation rate of methylene blue was improved. Additionally, the photocatalytic activity remains high and unchanged for up to nine repeated cycles, i.e., full recovery of the photocatalytic properties is sustained. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalysis in Membrane Reactors)
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Review

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6294 KiB  
Review
Photocatalytic Membrane Reactors (PMRs) in Water Treatment: Configurations and Influencing Factors
by Xiang Zheng, Zhi-Peng Shen, Lei Shi, Rong Cheng and Dong-Hai Yuan
Catalysts 2017, 7(8), 224; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal7080224 - 25 Jul 2017
Cited by 144 | Viewed by 13458
Abstract
The lack of access to clean water remains a severe issue all over the world. Coupling photocatalysis with the membrane separation process, which is known as a photocatalytic membrane reactor (PMR), is promising for water treatment. PMR has developed rapidly during the last [...] Read more.
The lack of access to clean water remains a severe issue all over the world. Coupling photocatalysis with the membrane separation process, which is known as a photocatalytic membrane reactor (PMR), is promising for water treatment. PMR has developed rapidly during the last few years, and this paper presents an overview of the progress in the configuration and operational parameters of PMRs. Two main configurations of PMRs (PMRs with immobilized photocatalyst; PMRs with suspended photocatalyst) are comprehensively described and characterized. Various influencing factors on the performance of PMRs, including photocatalyst, light source, water quality, aeration and membrane, are detailed. Moreover, a discussion on the current problems and development prospects of PMRs for practical application are presented. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalysis in Membrane Reactors)
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2001 KiB  
Review
Potential of Pervaporation and Vapor Separation with Water Selective Membranes for an Optimized Production of Biofuels—A Review
by Catia Cannilla, Giuseppe Bonura and Francesco Frusteri
Catalysts 2017, 7(6), 187; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal7060187 - 9 Jun 2017
Cited by 40 | Viewed by 10359
Abstract
The development of processes based on the integration of new technologies is of growing interest to industrial catalysis. Recently, significant efforts have been focused on the design of catalytic membrane reactors to improve process performance. In particular, the use of membranes, that allow [...] Read more.
The development of processes based on the integration of new technologies is of growing interest to industrial catalysis. Recently, significant efforts have been focused on the design of catalytic membrane reactors to improve process performance. In particular, the use of membranes, that allow a selective permeation of water from the reaction mixture, positively affects the reaction evolution by improving conversion for all reactions thermodynamically or kinetically limited by the presence of water. In this paper, how pervaporation (PV) and vapor permeation (VP) technologies can improve the catalytic performance of reactions of industrial interest is considered. Specifically, technological approaches proposed in the literature are discussed with the aim of highlighting advantages and problems encountered in order to address research towards the optimization of membrane reactor configurations for liquid biofuel production in large scale. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalysis in Membrane Reactors)
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1383 KiB  
Review
Catalyst, Membrane, Free Electrolyte Challenges, and Pathways to Resolutions in High Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells
by Timothy Myles, Leonard Bonville and Radenka Maric
Catalysts 2017, 7(1), 16; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal7010016 - 6 Jan 2017
Cited by 39 | Viewed by 7781
Abstract
High temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs) are being studied due to a number of benefits offered versus their low temperature counterparts, including co-generation of heat and power, high tolerance to fuel impurities, and simpler system design. Approximately 90% of the literature [...] Read more.
High temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs) are being studied due to a number of benefits offered versus their low temperature counterparts, including co-generation of heat and power, high tolerance to fuel impurities, and simpler system design. Approximately 90% of the literature on HT-PEM is related to the electrolyte and, for the most part, these electrolytes all use free phosphoric acid, or similar free acid, as the ion conductor. A major issue with using phosphoric acid based electrolytes is the free acid in the electrodes. The presence of the acid on the catalyst sites leads to poor oxygen activity, low solubility/diffusion, and can block electrochemical sites through phosphate adsorption. This review will focus on these issues and the steps that have been taken to alleviate these obstacles. The intention is this review may then serve as a tool for finding a solution path in the community. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalysis in Membrane Reactors)
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