Toward Minimal Complexity Models of Membrane Reactors for Hydrogen Production.

Membrane reactors are inherently two-dimensional systems that require complex models for an accurate description of the different transport phenomena involved. However, when their performance is limited by mass transport within the reactor rather than by the selective product permeation across the membrane, the 2D model may be significantly simplified. Here we extend results previously found for methane steam reforming membrane reactors to show that such simplified two-dimensional model admits either a straightforward analytical solution for the cross-section averaged concentration profile, or can be reduced to a 1D model with an enhanced Sherwood number, depending on the stoichiometry of the reaction considered.

Insights into the Anaerobic Hydrolysis Process for Extracting Embedded EPS and Metals from Activated Sludge.

The amount of sewage sludge generated from wastewater treatment plants globally is unavoidably increasing. In recent years, significant attention has been paid to the biorefinery concept based on the conversion of waste streams to high-value products, material, and energy by microorganisms. However, one of the most significant challenges in the field is the possibility of controlling the microorganisms' pathways in the anaerobic environment.

An Enhanced Sherwood Number to Model the Hydrogen Transport in Membrane Steam Reformers.

It is well known that membrane reactors are inherently two-dimensional systems in which species concentrations vary as a consequence of both the reaction and permeation across the membrane, which occurs in the direction perpendicular to that of the main gas flow. Recently, an expression for an enhanced Sherwood number was developed to describe the hydrogen concentration gradients arising in methane steam-reforming membrane reactors as a consequence of the combined effect of hydrogen production, dispersion, and permeation. Here, the analysis is developed in further detail with the aim of (i) assessing the validity of the simplifying assumptions made when developing the 1D model and (ii) identifying the operating conditions under which it is possible to employ the 1D model with the enhanced Sherwood number.

Polymer extraction and ex situ biodegradation of xenobiotic contaminated soil: Modelling of the process concept.

An integrated model of a two-step process for the ex situ bioremediation of xenobiotic contaminated soil has been formulated. The process is characterized by an initial extraction step of the organic contaminants from the polluted soil by contact with inexpensive and commercially-available polymer beads, followed by release and biodegradation of the xenobiotics, with parallel polymer bioregeneration, in a Two-Phase Partitioning Bioreactor (TPPB). The regenerated polymer is cyclically reused in the extraction step, so reflecting the robust and otherwise-inert properties of such polymers.

Modeling Fixed Bed Membrane Reactors for Hydrogen Production through Steam Reforming Reactions: A Critical Analysis.

Membrane reactors for hydrogen production have been extensively studied in the past years due to the interest in developing systems that are adequate for the decentralized production of high-purity hydrogen. Research in this field has been both experimental and theoretical. The aim of this work is two-fold.