This paper reports the results of a study of a water–gas shift reaction over nickel–ceria catalysts with different metal loading. Within this study, the overall CO conversion and observed kinetic behavior were investigated over the temperature range of 250–550 °C in different reactor configurations (fixed-bed and microchannel reactors). The quasi-steady state kinetics of the CO water–gas shift reaction was studied for fractions of Ni-containing cerium oxide catalysts in fixed-bed experiments at lab-scale level using a very dilute gas (1% CO + 1.8% H₂O in Не). A set of experiments with a microchannel reactor was performed using the feed composition (CO:H₂O:H₂:N₂ = 1:2:2:2), representing a product gas from methane partial oxidation. The results were interpreted using computational models. The kinetic parameters were determined by regression analysis, while mechanistic aspects were considered only briefly. Simulation of the WGS reaction in the microreactor was also carried out by using the COMSOL Multiphysics program.

The present study deals with the combination of ethanol steam reforming over a monolithic catalyst and hydrogen separation by membrane in a lab-scale catalytic membrane reactor (CMR). The catalyst was comprised of honeycomb thin-walled Fechralloy substrate loaded with Ni + Ru/Pr_0.35Ce_0.35Zr_0.35O₂ active component. The asymmetric supported membrane consisted of a thin Ni-Cu alloy–Nd tungstate nanocomposite dense permselective layer deposited on a hierarchically structured asymmetric support. It has been shown that the monolithic catalyst-assisted CMR is capable of increasing the driving potential for hydrogen permeation through the same membrane as compared with that of the packed bed catalyst by increasing the retentate hydrogen concentration. Important operating parameters responsible for the low carbon deposition rate as well as the amount of hydrogen produced from 1 mol of ethanol, such as the temperature range of 700–900 °C, the water/ethanol molar ratio of 4 in the feed, have been determined. Regarding the choice of the reagent concentration (ethanol and steam in Ar), its magnitude may directly interfere with the effectiveness of the reaction-separation process in the CMR.

The performance of catalytic membrane reactors (CMRs) depends on the specific details of interactions at different levels between catalytic and separation parts. A clear understanding of decisive factors affecting their operational parameters can be provided via mathematical simulations. In the present paper, main results of numerical studies of ethanol steam reforming, followed by downstream hydrogen permeation through an asymmetric supported membrane, are reported. The membrane module consists of a thin selective layer supported on a substrate with graded porous structure. One-dimensional isothermal reaction–transport model for the CMR has been developed, and its validation has been carried out by using performance data from a lab-scale reactor with a disk-shaped membrane. Simulations demonstrate the model’s capabilities to analyze local concentrations gradients, as required to provide accurate estimates of the relationship between structure–property–performance. It was shown that transport properties of multilayer asymmetric membranes are highly related to the structural properties of each single layer.

Membrane reactors (MR) with an appropriate catalyst are considered to be an innovative and intensified technology for converting a fuel into the hydrogen-rich gas with the simultaneous recovery of high-quality hydrogen. Characteristics of an asymmetric membrane disk module consisting of a gas-tight nanocomposite functional coating (Ni + Cu/Nd_5.5WO_11.25-δ mixed proton-electron conducting nanocomposite) deposited on a gas-permeable functionally graded substrate has previously been extensively studied at lab-scale using MRs, containing the catalyst in a packed bed and in the form of a monolith. The catalytic monolith consisted of a FeCrAl substrate with a washcoat and an Ni + Ru/Pr_0.35Ce_0.35Zr_0.35O₂ active component. It has been shown that the driving potential for hydrogen permeation across the same membrane in a monolithic catalyst –assisted MR is greater compared to the packed bed catalyst. This paper presents results of the study where a one-dimensional isothermal model was used to interrelate catalytic and permeation phenomena in a MR with ethanol steam reforming over the monolith, operating at atmospheric pressure and in the temperature range of 700–900 °C. The developed mathematical reaction–transport model for the constituent layers of the catalyst-asymmetric membrane assembly together with a Sieverts’ equation for the functional dense layer, taking also into account the effect of boundary layers, was implemented in a COMSOL Multiphysics environment. Good agreement with the experimental data of the lab-scale MR with reasonable parameters values is provided. In numerical experiments, concentration profiles along the reactor axis were obtained, showing the effect of the emerging concentration gradient in the boundary layer adjacent to the membrane. Studies have shown that a MR with a catalytic monolith along with appropriate organization of a stagnant feed flow between the monolith and the membrane surface may enhance production and flux of hydrogen, as well as the efficiency characteristics of the reactor compared to a reactor with packed beds.