Oxidative dehydrogenation of propane in an inert membrane reactor

A study of the application of an inert membrane reactor (IMR) to the oxidat ive dehydrogenation of propane is presented. The performance of the IMR has been compared to that of a conventional fixed bed reactor using the same c atalyst and operating conditions, Also, the effect of the membrane permeati on properties on reactor performance has been investigated. Finally, a fact orial design of experiments has been carried out in order to find the opera ting conditions that lead to a maximum propene yield. (C) 1000 Elsevier Sci ence B.V. All rights reserved.