Optimal conditions of isobutane dehydrogenation in radial flow moving bed hydrogen-permselective membrane reactors to enhance isobutene and hydrogen production

In the isobutane dehydrogenation process, coupling reaction and separation and optimization of the intensified process can improve the isobutane conversion and selectivity, reduce operational costs and lets to produce pure hydrogen. In this research, the radial flow moving bed reactors in the Olefex technology have been supported by Pd-Ag membrane plate to remove hydrogen from the reaction zone. The reactions occur in the tube side and the hydrogen is permeated from the reaction zone to the sweep gas stream. The proposed configuration has been modeled heterogeneously based on the mass and energy conservation laws considering reaction networks. To prove the accuracy of the considered model, the simulation results of the conventional process have been compared against available plant data. The Genetic algorithm as an effective method in the global optimization has been considered to optimize the operating condition of membrane reactors to enhance isobutene productivity. In this optimal configuration, the isobutene production has been enhanced about 3.7%. Crown Copyright (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.