Innovative Catalytic Membrane Reactors – Material innovations for catalyst and membrane
To sustainably meet the demand of industry and consumers in society for already established products, further development of conventional manufacturing processes is necessary. In order to form products from renewable raw materials and with the help of renewable energies in the future, the development of new materials in the form of highly efficient catalytic and membrane-based technologies is essential. These technologies are synergistically combined in catalytic membrane reactors.
For the development of membrane reactors, the coupling between transmembrane mass transport and reaction kinetics is particularly crucial. With optimal adjustment, as many molecules are transported through the membrane into the reaction zone as are consumed by the reaction. Consequently, the development of catalyst and membrane material, as well as their adjusted combination, is of decisive importance for the development of catalytic membrane reactors.
Therefore, this project investigates all three aspects – catalyst development, membrane development, and their integration into catalytic membrane reactors – both separately and in combination. The membrane development is carried out by Rauschert Kloster Veilsdorf GmbH in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems. The Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg is responsible for catalyst development, kinetic description and modelling as well as the integration of the developed membranes and catalysts into membrane reactors. The project is accompanied by associated partners AECI Schirm GmbH, Chemiewerke Bad Köstritz GmbH and OHplus GmbH.
In the individual development stages, both experimental and simulation-based research approaches are applied to transfer and test the results obtained on a laboratory scale to the demonstrator scale.
The project aims to develop an optimally adjusted system of catalyst and membrane material, which will be used in catalytic membrane reactors for the selective oxidation of green methanol to green oxygenates (methyl formate and dimethoxymethane).
