This investigation analyzes the simultaneous production
of hydrogen
and ammonia as carbon-free energy carriers and methyl formate (MF)
as a widely used chemical intermediate in a multifunctional membrane
reactor (MFMR). The MFMR, based on Le Chatelier’s principle,
has the advantage of changing the thermodynamic equilibrium by direct
thermal coupling between ammonia synthesis and MF production and shifting
the chemical equilibrium with the use of the Pd–Ag membrane.
In the innovative configuration, the nitrogen conversion rate has
been increased from 38.2 to 41.2% and the methanol conversion from
16.3 to 99.1%. Other benefits of the MFMR include providing the required
energy for an endothermic reaction and eliminating a furnace and cooler
in methanol dehydrogenation and ammonia synthesis reactors. Furthermore,
it has been demonstrated that if the ammonia synthesis reaction is
positioned at the center side of the MFMR, the nitrogen and methanol
conversion are, respectively, 1.32 and 7.34% higher than when the
reaction is located at the outer side of the MFMR. Likewise, the effect
of operational process parameters such as inlet flow rates, inlet
temperatures, and membrane thickness on the performance of each reaction
has been studied. Utilizing multiobjective optimization (MOO), it
has been observed that ammonia and MF production yields can reach
20.3 and 24.1%, respectively.
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