Membrane-based reactive separations for process intensification during power generation

• Published in: Catalysis today Vol. 331; no. C; pp. 18 - 29
• Main Authors: Garshasbi, Ashkan, Chen, Huanhao, Cao, Mingyuan, Karagöz, Seçgin, Ciora, Richard J., Liu, Paul K.T., Manousiouthakis, Vasilios I., Tsotsis, Theodore T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier B.V 01.07.2019; Elsevier
• Subjects: Carbon molecular sieve (CMS) membrane; Chemistry; Co/Mo/Al2O3 sour-shift catalyst; Engineering; Hydrogen production; Water-gas shift reaction; Carbon molecular sieve (CMS) membrane; Hydrogen production; Water-gas shift reaction; Co/Mo/Al2O3 sour-shift catalyst
• ISSN: 0920-5861; 1873-4308
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cattod.2017.10.039

[Display omitted] •Studies of CMS membranes and sour-shift catalysts at high pressures/temperatures.•Membrane reactor attains higher conversion than a packed-bed reactor.•Membranes/catalysts robust to pressure/temperature conditions, tar/organic vapors.•Isothermal 1-D model describes well the behavior of the lab-scale membrane reactor. We present here a study of the water gas shift membrane reactor (WGS-MR) in the context of its potential application in the IGCC process for power generation from coal. In our research, we use in the WGS-MR a sour-shift WGS catalyst and carbon molecular sieve (CMS) membranes, and show that the reactor displays higher conversions than a conventional packed-bed reactor (PBR) under the IGCC-relevant conditions, i.e., for temperatures up to 300°C and pressures up to 25bar. Our experimental results manifest the ability of the WGS-MR to operate under the desired conditions and to improve the efficiency of the WGS reaction. They demonstrate, in addition, the potential of the MR to carry out the in-situ separation of hydrogen using the CMS membranes. We conclude from our study, that the CMS-membrane-based WGS-MR is a good candidate technology for incorporation into IGCC power plants for environmentally-benign power generation.