Fluidized Bed Membrane Reactors for Ultra Pure H2 Production - A Step forward towards Commercialization
Author/s
Helmi, Arash; Fernandez, Ekain; Melendez, Jon; Pacheco Tanaka, David A.; Gallucci, Fausto; [et al.]Date
2016-03-19Keywords
fluidized bed membrane reactor
water gas shift
ultra-pure H2
PEM fuel cell
Abstract
In this research the performance of a fluidized bed membrane reactor for high temperature
water gas shift and its long term stability was investigated to provide a proof-of-concept of the new
system at lab scale. A demonstration unit with a capacity of 1 Nm3/h of ultra-pure H2 was designed,
built and operated over 900 h of continuous work. Firstly, the performance of the membranes were
investigated at different inlet gas compositions and at different temperatures and H2 partial pressure
differences. The membranes showed very high H2 fluxes (3.89E 6 mol m 2 Pa 1 s 1 at 400 C
and 1 atm pressure difference) with a H2/N2 ideal perm-selectivity (up to 21,000 when integrating
five membranes in the module) beyond the DOE 2015 targets. Monitoring the performance of the
membranes and the reactor confirmed a very stable performance of the unit for continuous high
temperature water gas shift under bubbling fluidization conditions. Several experiments were carried
out at different ...
Type
article