BASIC EXPERIMENTAL-STUDY ON PALLADIUM MEMBRANE REACTORS

Basic experiments on palladium membrane reactors were carried out to clarify: (1) the mechanism of hydrogen permeation through the membrane; (2) the effect of the membrane surface on the dehydrogenation using cyclohexane dehydrogenation as a model reaction; (3) the long-term stability of such a reactor; and (4) the validity of the reactor models postulated. The results showed that the hydrogen permeation mechanism obeys Sieverts' law and that the amount of dehydrogenation occurring on the membrane surface can be negligibly small. The membrane reactor operated stably for more than 120 hours. Mathematical cocurrent and countercurrent reactor models presented in the previous study could explain the experimental results reasonably well.