ABSTRACT
Membrane technologies have been established as very effective and commercially attractive options for separation and purification processes. Not only have many different membrane separation processes been developed during the past half-century but the existing processes are also being constantly improved in order to enhance their economic competitiveness. Significant improvements are currently being made in the development of new membrane materials with higher selectivity and/or permeability, in the fabrication methods for high-flux asymmetric or composite membranes, in membrane module construction, and in process design. Membrane reactors (MRs) find their applications, both in commercial as well as laboratory scale, in a variety of chemical, biochemical,
23.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 419 23.2 Major Functions of Membranes in Membrane Reactor ........................................................ 420
23.2.1Separation of Products .............................................................................................. 421 23.2.2Separation of Reactants ............................................................................................ 423 23.2.3Controlled Addition of Reactants ............................................................................. 423 23.2.4 The Membrane as an Active Contactor ....................................................................424 23.2.5 The Membrane as a Catalyst Itself ...........................................................................424 23.2.6The Membrane as a Reactor Itself ............................................................................424
