For equilibrium-limited reactions, selective removal of a by-product can create an environment in which significantly higher conversions of the reactants are possible. Many syntheses involve condensation or dehydration reactions that generate water as a by-product. This water must be removed since (1) water is often an undesirable component of the finished product, (2) water limits conversion to final product, (3) water generated can slow the reaction rate, and (4) presence of by-product water enhances undesired side reactions. Many syntheses reactions have thermal limitations and therefore removing the water by boiling it off is simply not attractive due to product and/or catalyst degradation. Membrane reactors have been proposed for a number of chemical syntheses. To be competitive with conventional technologies, membrane reactors must be shown to have better selectivity, permeability, stability and ability to perform over a wide temperature range. Compact Membrane Systems (CMS) has identified a novel product concept that represents a broad platform for utilization of membrane reactors in chemical synthesis. Basic data in combination with preliminary economic and engineering analysis show that removal of water will significantly increase yield and therefore lower reagent consumption. Further, the desired product downstream separation and purification can be dramatically simplified. Therefore, enhanced water removal reduces production costs up to three ways: higher yield, faster reaction and purer product. CMS will present membrane reactor performance and separation data over a broad temperature and chemical composition range.

Highly permeable, chemically and thermally resistant perfluorinated membranes were used to selectively remove water from reaction mixtures. The process operated by contacting the reaction mixture with a perfluoropolymer membrane. A vacuum was applied on the other side of the membrane to provide a driving force for the water transport. Product conversion beyond the conventional equilibrium limitation was achieved. Significant enhancement in reaction rate was also observed. The impact of applying this novel membrane-based technology on the reaction product will be discussed.