抄録
A membrane reactor is a system that integrates “reaction” with catalysts and “separation” with membranes. As reaction and separation occur simultaneously in a membrane reactor, the endothermic equilibrium reactions, such as hydrogen production reactions, can be shifted forward beyond the thermodynamic equilibrium by extracting one of the generated components, hydrogen in this case, from the reaction system using a membrane. Actually, there are many reports and ideas concerning the development of membrane reactors for hydrogen production from dehydrogenating organic chemical hydrides such as cyclohexane or methylcyclohexane, decomposing hydrogen sulfide, or steam reforming of hydrocarbons. However, most membrane reactors have been developed using palladium or its alloyed membranes due to their unique separation mechanism and excellent hydrogen-selective performance. Recently, there are some reports on the hydrogen-selective silica membranes that match palladium-based membranes in hydrogen permeance and in hydrogen selectivity. In addition, some fundamental studies on the membrane reactors using the hydrogen-selective silica membranes with such excellent hydrogen-selective performances have also been reported. In this review, recent progresses on the membrane reactors for hydrogen production equipped with hydrogen-selective membranes, especially amorphous silica membranes, are described.
