A study of ethanol dehydrogenation reaction in a palladium membrane reactor

Palladium alloy membranes were prepared by sequential electroless plating steps on porous stainless steel. In this communication ethanol dehydrogenation to produce acetaldehyde and hydrogen was investigated in a palladium-based membrane reactor. Generally, the ethanol conversion increased with increasing flow rates of sweep gas and decreasing transmembrane pressures. The effect of sweep-gas flow rates on enhancing H2 fluxes was remarkable at higher temperatures. The recovery of H2 increased with increasing the flow rate of sweep gas, the transmembrane pressure and the temperature. The Pd-based dense membrane reactors gave a conversion higher than the thermodynamic equilibrium value for the dehydrogenation of ethanol.