Use of a membrane reactor to improve selectivity to intermediate products in consecutive catalytic reactions

Through modeling it has been shown that a concentric-tube catalytic membrane reactor can be used to increase the selectivity for the intermediate products of a consecutive reaction scheme. The reactants are fed to the tube-side of the reactor where the catalyst is also located. The wall of the tube is permeable, allowing the intermediate products to pass through to the annular space instead of undergoing further reaction. The annular space is swept by an inert gas flow and contains no catalyst. Both permselective and non-permselective membranes have been considered in both co-current and counter-current flow regimes. In contrast to most catalytic membrane reactor applications where reactions are reversible and thermodynamically limited, in the present study the reactions considered are irreversible and are under kinetic control.