(300c) Dual-Phase Ceramic Membrane in a Membrane Reactor for Ethane Dehydrogenation

Ethylene is used as a raw material for producing various polymers. Currently, thermal steam cracking is the conventional process technology for ethylene production. However, the dehydrogenation of ethane dehydrogenation through thermal steam cracking is an expensive and energy intensive process, because the dehydrogenation of ethane is endothermic and is limited by the thermodynamic equilibrium. According to the characteristic of the reaction, the membrane reactor combines the reaction and separation process in a single step. Consequently, the limited-equilibrium reaction is able to shift to the product side. In this study, the performance of a dense ceramic hydrogen permeable membrane reactor for the ethane dehydrogenation, according to the equilibrium reaction C₂H6 â?? C₂H₄ + H₂ with a Pt-Sn/Al₂O₃ catalyst was investigated. A dual-phase ceramic membrane with extremely high hydrogen permeation flux flow has been used for the in situ removal of H2 to overcome thermodynamic constraints. The conversion of ethane in membrane reactor could be increased by ~15% at 775â??, in comparion with the fixed-bed reactor. Meanwhile, about 75% ethylene selectivity was obtained.