PD COMPOSITE MEMBRANES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF HYDROGEN

With the steady depletion of fossil fuel reserves and the greenhouse effect of these fuels, the demand for hydrogen is expected to accelerate since hydrogen is an alternative clean energy source to replace fossil fuels. These factors are creating a continued interest in developing economical and viable methods for hydrogen production and separation. In recent years, the application of high-temperature membrane reactors (e.g. for the catalytic dehydrogenation of hydrocarbons) has received growing attention. It is well known that membranes have the potential to surpass the equilibrium conversion by selective removal of one of the reaction products, usually hydrogen. Palladium (Pd) and Pd membranes have consequently received growing attention for separation and purification of hydrogen, due largely to the unique permselectivity of Pd to hydrogen and good mechanical stability.
In this study, Pd/TiO₂ and Pd/Al₂O₃ composite membranes were prepared by electroless plating method. Membranes were characterized by SEM and SEM Analytic Mapping Methods. Permeation experiments were performed between 573−648 K. The prepared membranes could be used in the membrane reactor in order to perform dehydrogenation of methylcyclohexane reaction which was investigated in a fixed bed catalytic reactor previously. Then the performances of the reactors could also be compared.