The development of high-temperature processes and tighter environmental regulations requires utilization of efficient gas-separation processes that will provide high fluxes, high selectivity of separation, and the ability to operate at elevated temperatures. Dense inorganic membranes and membrane reactors are especially well suited for high-temperature reactions and separations, due in part to their thermal stability and high separation selectivity (in theory, infinite). Furthermore, membrane reactors offer an inherent advantage of combining reaction, product concentration, and separation in a single-unit operation for the improvement of process economics and waste minimization.The classification of membrane reactors can either be by membrane material and geometry or by the configuration of the reactor. Porous and dense membranes in both tubular and disk forms have been used for membrane reactors. The membrane can either be catalytically active (catalytic membrane reactor [CMR]) or simply act as a separation medium. In the latter case, the catalyst is packed in the reactor, whose walls are formed by the membrane (packed-bed membrane reactor [PBMR]). In addition, if the membrane is also catalytically active, the reactor is called a packed-bed catalytic membrane reactor (PBCMR).The principal materials from which porous inorganic (ceramic) membranes are made are alumina, zirconia, and glass. Alumina and zirconia membranes are usually asymmetric and composite, with a porous support (0.5–2.0 mm thick) for mechanical strength and one or more thin layers for carrying out separations.On the other hand, glass membranes, such as Vycor and microporous glass, have symmetric pores. Materials commonly used as the porous support are alumina, granular carbon, sintered metal, and silicon carbide.
