Analysis of Membrane Reactors for Integrated Coupling of Oxidative and Thermal Dehydrogenation of Propane

Process Intensification of the Propane Dehydrogenation Considering Coke Formation, Catalyst Deactivation and Regeneration—Transient Modelling and Analysis of a Heat-Integrated Membrane Reactor

A heat-integrated packed-bed membrane reactor is studied based on detailed, transient 2D models for coupling oxidative and thermal propane dehydrogenation in one apparatus. The reactor is structured in two telescoped reaction zones to figure out the potential of mass and heat integration between the exothermic oxidative propane dehydrogenation (ODH) in the shell side, including membrane-assisted oxygen dosing and the endothermic, high selective thermal propane dehydrogenation (TDH) in the inner core. The developing complex concentration, temperature and velocity fields are studied, taking into account simultaneous coke growth corresponding with a loss of catalyst activity. Furthermore, the catalyst regeneration was included in the simulation in order to perform an analysis of a periodic operating system of deactivation and regeneration periods. The coupling of the two reaction chambers in a new type of membrane reactor offers potential at oxygen shortage and significantly improves the achievable propene yield in comparison with fixed bed and well-established membrane reactors in the distributor configuration without inner mass and heat integration. The methods developed allow an overall process optimization with respect to maximum spacetime yield as a function of production and regeneration times.

Synthesizing High-Volume Chemicals from CO2 without Direct H2 Input

Decarbonizing the chemical industry will eventually entail using CO₂ as a feedstock for chemical synthesis. However, many chemical syntheses involve CO₂ reduction using inputs such as renewable hydrogen. In this review, chemical processes are discussed that use CO₂ as an oxidant for upgrading hydrocarbon feedstocks. The captured CO₂ is inherently reduced by the hydrocarbon co-reactants without consuming molecular hydrogen or renewable electricity. This CO₂ utilization approach can be potentially applied to synthesize eight emission-intensive molecules, including olefins and epoxides. Catalytic systems and reactor concepts are discussed that can overcome practical challenges, such as thermodynamic limitations, over-oxidation, coking, and heat management. Under the best-case scenario, these hydrogen-free CO₂ reduction processes have a combined CO₂ abatement potential of approximately 1 gigatons per year and avoid the consumption of 1.24 PWh renewable electricity, based on current market demand and supply.

Analysis and Model-Based Description of the Total Process of Periodic Deactivation and Regeneration of a VOx Catalyst for Selective Dehydrogenation of Propane

This study intends to provide insights into various aspects related to the reaction kinetics of the VOx catalyzed propane dehydrogenation including main and side reactions and, in particular, catalyst deactivation and regeneration, which can be hardly found in combination in current literature. To kinetically describe the complex reaction network, a reduced model was fitted to lab scale experiments performed in a fixed bed reactor. Additionally, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was applied to investigate the coking behavior of the catalyst under defined conditions considering propane and propene as precursors for coke formation. Propene was identified to be the main coke precursor, which agrees with results of experiments using a segmented fixed bed reactor (FBR). A mechanistic multilayer-monolayer coke growth model was developed to mathematically describe the catalyst coking. Samples from long-term deactivation experiments in an FBR were used for regeneration experiments with oxygen to gasify the coke deposits in a TGA. A power law approach was able to describe the regeneration behavior well. Finally, the results of periodic experiments consisting of several deactivation and regeneration cycles verified the long-term stability of the catalyst and confirmed the validity of the derived and parametrized kinetic models for deactivation and regeneration, which will allow model-based process development and optimization.