(737e) Composite Intensified Catalytic Membrane for High Temperature Hydrogen Separation

Gasification technology is an important process for the generation of sustainable energy and chemicals technologies from biomass. Separation of hydrogen from syngas generated through gasification is often required in order to circumvent the need to clean syngas which contains tars and heavy metals. Biomass-to-energy/chemicals conversion is more efficient if these processes can be carried out at high temperatures, such as the gasifier exit temperature, i.e., ca. 400 C. Palladium alloys are often used for hydrogen separation. However, due to the nature of syngas, membrane poisoning is unavoidable and the membrane itself should be protected against mechanical and thermal stresses.

In this study, we developed Palladium/Silver membrane modules which are mechanically, thermally and chemically stable. The thickness of the membrane layer is ca. 20-100 µm. Using a model syngas of N2 + CO2 + CO + H2 in the presence of steam and model tar (C30H62), the performance of the porous nickel supported hydrogen selective membranes are evaluated as a function of temperature, pressure and time. Membrane structure was evaluated by Scanning Electron Microscope and XRD.