Simulations of the effect of hydrodynamic conditions and properties of membranes on the catalytic performance of a fluidized-bed membrane reactor forpartial oxidation of methane

In a fluidized-bed membrane reactor the selectivity of separation can be co ntrolled by influencing the hydrodynamics of the fluidized bed. In this rea ctor type, with the mass transport limitation between bubbles and the emuls ion phase, even with the non-selective membranes, high selectivity of separ ation can be achieved. This opens the possibility for applications of membr ane reactors for reaction systems for which selective membranes do not exis t, e.g. when Knudsen-type membranes or form-selective separation can not be applied. This paper is aimed at explaining the interaction between the sel ectivity of separation and the hydrodynamics of the fluidized bed by means of simulations that were performed for a fluidized-bed membrane reactor for catalytic partial oxidation of methane.