Highly selective propylene production in a membrane assisted catalytic propane dehydrogenation

Selective propane dehydrogenation is one of the commercialised technology for the production of propylene. The main drawback of such process is closely linked to the high temperature required to reach a sustainable propane conversion that affects catalyst stability owing to coke formation on the catalyst surface. Accordingly, a periodic regeneration of catalytic bed is required. The aim of this paper is to investigate the option to perform the reaction in the presence of Pd-based membrane, that selectively removing hydrogen from reaction environment, could lead to a substantial reduction in the operating reaction temperature, decreasing the extent of reactions responsible for coke formation. The effect of operating conditions, in terms of feed composition and temperature are investigated, in order to determine the optimal operating parameters window to operate the system, and assess the overall concept performance.