Fixed Bed Catalytic Reactor

The fixed bed (or packed bed) membrane reactor configuration is the first and most studied configuration for membrane reactors. This is because the first studies on membrane reactors focused on the effect of the gas permeation through membranes on the reaction system (which is often a conventional packed bed reactor).

In a packed bed membrane reactor, the catalyst is confined in fixed bed configuration, and it is in contact with a permselective membrane. The most used packed bed configuration is the tubular one where the catalyst may be packed either in the membrane tube or in the shell side, while the permeation stream is collected in the other side of the membrane (in the case of hydrogen-selective membranes) or one reactant is feed on the other side of the membrane (in the case of oxygen-selective membrane).

For multitubular membrane reactor configurations, the catalyst in tube configuration can be preferred especially for construction reason and for the extent of bed-to-wall mass...