MEMBRANE-ASSISTED DEHYDROGENATION OF NORMAL-BUTANE

Increases of up to 1.5 times the traditional equilibrium limit are rep orted for a membrane-assisted reactor system with the dehydrogenation of butane as a model system. The use of thermally stable polymer-ceram ic composite membranes to remove product hydrogen from the dehydrogena tion reaction system has been evaluated as a function of the reaction temperature from 480 to 540 degrees C. At low temperatures, the system was stable for run times over 550 h with normal butane conversions in creasing from 22 to 33% through the use of the membrane. Under these c onditions, the selectivity of the catalyst for the production of buten es was greater than 90% and was not markedly affected by the presence of the membrane. At equivalent conversion levels, the catalytic select ivity was equivalent with or without the membrane in the system.