A new concept of a continuously working membrane reactor was developed and successfully used for hydrogenation screening reactions. Thus, an innovative concept intends the separation of the hydrogen source from the reaction medium. This method guarantees a constant pressure over the reaction time, but allows at the same time a rapid variation of the reaction conditions (reaction time, temperature, pressure of hydrogen), what can be carried out easily. Investigations concerning the choice of membrane material, retention times of each run and phase separation of the sequences were conducted. Using toluene as reaction solvent and propylene carbonate and water as a wash solution, 1-octene, carvone and (-)-beta-pinene were hydrogenated and the results compared to those yielded with a batch reactor. (C) 2017 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.