title: Fluidized Bed Membrane Reactors for Ultra Pure H₂ Production--A Step forward towards Commercialization.
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 (3.89 × 10(-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 temperatures, pressures and various inlet compositions to determine the optimum operating window for the reactor. The obtained results showed high hydrogen recovery factors, and very low CO concentrations at the permeate side (in average <10 ppm), so that the produced hydrogen can be directly fed to a low temperature PEM fuel cell.
authors.affiliation: Chemical Process Intensification, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, P. O. Box 513, 5612 AZ Eindhoven, The Netherlands. A.Helmi@tue.nl.
authors.forename: Arash
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Helmi
authors.affiliation: Chemical Process Intensification, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, P. O. Box 513, 5612 AZ Eindhoven, The Netherlands. ekain.fernandez@tecnalia.com.|Energy and Environment Division, TECNALIA, Mikeletegi Pasealekua 2, 20009 San Sebastián-Donostia, Spain. ekain.fernandez@tecnalia.com.
authors.forename: Ekain
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fernandez
authors.affiliation: Energy and Environment Division, TECNALIA, Mikeletegi Pasealekua 2, 20009 San Sebastián-Donostia, Spain. jon.melendez@tecnalia.com.|Chemical Engineering and Environmental Department, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, C/Alameda Urquijo s/n, 48013 Bilbao, Spain. jon.melendez@tecnalia.com.
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Melendez
authors.affiliation: Energy and Environment Division, TECNALIA, Mikeletegi Pasealekua 2, 20009 San Sebastián-Donostia, Spain. alfredo.pacheco@tecnalia.com.
authors.forename: David Alfredo
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Pacheco Tanaka
authors.affiliation: Chemical Process Intensification, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, P. O. Box 513, 5612 AZ Eindhoven, The Netherlands. f.gallucci@tue.nl.
authors.forename: Fausto
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gallucci
authors.affiliation: Chemical Process Intensification, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, P. O. Box 513, 5612 AZ Eindhoven, The Netherlands. M.v.SintAnnaland@tue.nl.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van Sint Annaland
mesh_terms: D019149:Bioreactors; D005740:Gases / Q000737:chemistry; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000737:chemistry*; D008560:Membrane Fluidity; D008566:Membranes / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D005740:Gases; D006859:Hydrogen
keywords: PEM fuel cell; fluidized bed membrane reactor; ultra-pure H2; water gas shift