Progress in Modeling of Silica-Based Membranes and Membrane Reactors for Hydrogen Production and Purification

Abstract

Hydrogen is seen as the new energy carrier for sustainable energy systems of the future. Meanwhile, proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stacks are considered the most promising alternative to the internal combustion engines for a number of transportation applications. Nevertheless, PEMFCs need high-grade hydrogen, which is difficultly stored and transported. To solve these issues, generating hydrogen using membrane reactor (MR) systems has gained great attention. In recent years, the role of silica membranes and MRs for hydrogen production and separation attracted particular interest, and a consistent literature is addressed in this field. Although most of the scientific publications focus on silica MRs from an experimental point of view, this review describes the progress done in the last two decades in terms of the theoretical approach to simulate silica MR performances in the field of hydrogen generation. Furthermore, future trends and current challenges about silica membrane and MR applications are also discussed.

An initial study of biogas upgrading to bio-methane with carbon dioxide capture using ceramic membranes

“…Porous membranes are characterized by pore size, porosity and tortuosity. Generally, pore sizes range from microporous (dp<2nm), mesoporous (2nm<dp<50nm) and macroporous (dp>50nm) (5). For this study, ceramic membranes are chosen due to their versatility (for use in separation and reaction processes), high stability, long life-span, compact size, low energy demand, high efficiency and high resistance to aggressive chemical environment or harsh environmental conditions of temperature and pressure which prevail in industry.…”

“…Figure 1 Experimental set-up showing all equipment including pressure gauge (1), membrane module covered with heating tape (2), gas regulator (3), gas cylinder (4), heat regulator(5), volumetric meter(6) and temperature indicator(7) …”

A review on mathematical modeling of packed bed membrane reactors for hydrogen production from methane

“…Table 1 shows the summary of the key review studies published in journals in the last 5 years. 5,7,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] These review studies give general information on the MRs and their applications, Pd-based membranes and their permeability, different MR configurations, recent progress in MR technology, effects of operating parameters on the MR performance, and alternative fuel production using MR. The literature survey on the review papers on the MRs published in the last 5 years showed that, according to the author's best knowledge, there is no comprehensive review study on the mathematical modeling of the hydrogen production from steam methane reforming through MRs.…”

High‐temperature CO2 removal from CH4 using silica membrane: experimental and neural network modeling

“…Although mixed matrix membranes have shown promising performance under laboratory tests, their commercialization requires stable performance under harsh conditions . Compared to inorganic membranes, they have much greater chemical and thermal chemical permanency, good corrosion resistance, and high‐pressure constancy . Alumina membranes have been used as mesoporous membranes where separation takes place by the Knudsen diffusion mechanism .…”

“…15 Compared to inorganic membranes, they have much greater chemical and thermal chemical permanency, good corrosion resistance, and high-pressure constancy. 16,17 Alumina membranes have been used as mesoporous membranes where separation takes place by the Knudsen diffusion mechanism. 18,19 However, the use of alumina membranes has become limited because its selectiveness in terms of region makes it inadequate, and the rate of diffusion is restrained by its molecular weight.…”