Catalytic Membrane Reactors - Lab Curiosity or Key Enabling Technology?

Two industrially interesting partial oxidations have been performed in catalytic membrane reactors with oxygen-transporting membrane: aromatization of natural gas and oxidation of ammonia to nitric oxide. In both reactions, the oxygen used has been separated from air through a perovskite membrane, which also is the catalyst for the ammonia oxidation. When conducting the methane aromatization in an oxygen-transporting membrane reactor, coke deposition is reduced and the aromatics yield is higher than that of a reference non-oxidative fixed-bed reactor.