Real-time tomographic diffraction imaging of catalytic membrane reactors for the oxidative coupling of methane

Catalytic membrane reactors have the potential to render the process of oxidative coupling of methane economically viable. Here, the results from operando XRD-CT studies of three different catalytic membrane reactors, employing BaCo0.4Fe0.4Zr0.2O3-delta (BCFZ) and La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-delta (LSCF) perovskite membranes with Mn-Na-W/SiO2 and La-promoted Mn-Na-W/SiO2 catalysts, are presented. It is shown that synchrotron X-ray tomographic diffraction imaging allows the extraction of spatially-resolved diffraction information from the interior of these working catalytic membrane reactors and makes it possible to capture the evolving solid-state chemistry of their components under various operating conditions (i.e. temperature and chemical environment).

Automated summary

Catalytic membrane reactors have the potential to make the process of oxidative coupling of methane economically viable. The study demonstrates the use of operando XRD-CT to extract spatially-resolved diffraction information from the interior of these reactors, capturing the evolving solid-state chemistry of their components under various operating conditions.