This paper discusses the development and application of a predictive model to represent Methane Dehydroaromatization (MDA) in a catalytic membrane reactor. MDA, which is a non-oxidative route to produce benzene from methane, is typically practiced in catalytic fixed-bed reactors. The hydrogen-permeable membrane serves to relax the equilibrium limitations associated with the large H<sub>2</sub> production, thus increasing methane conversion. The model incorporates a 50-step reaction mechanism to represent the heterogeneous chemical kinetics on bi-functional Mo/ZSM-5 catalysts, a Dusty-Gas representation of the porous-media transport within the catalyst bed, and a Sieverts-Fick representation of hydrogen flux through the membrane. Although the membrane serves to increase methane conversion, the selectivity to the desired benzene can be adversely affected. The model enables the quantitative evaluation of reactor design and operational tradeoffs.

Modeling methane dehydroaromatization (MDA) in catalytic packed-bed membrane reactors

249th National Meeting (2015)

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