Supported Pd-Au Membrane Reactor for Hydrogen Production: Membrane Preparation, Characterization and Testing

A supported Pd-Au (Au 7wt%) membrane was produced by electroless plating deposition. Permeation tests were performed with pure gas (H₂, H₂, N₂, CO₂, CH₄) for long time operation. After around 400 h under testing, the composite Pd-Au membrane achieved steady state condition, with an H₂/N₂ ideal selectivity of around 500 at 420 °C and 50 kPa as transmembrane pressure, remaining stable up to 1100 h under operation. Afterwards, the membrane was allocated in a membrane reactor module for methane steam reforming reaction tests. As a preliminary application, at 420 °C, 300 kPa of reaction pressure, space velocity of 4100 h(-1), 40% methane conversion and 35% hydrogen recovery were reached using a commercial Ni/Al₂O₃ catalyst. Unfortunately, a severe coke deposition affected irreversibly the composite membrane, determining the loss of the hydrogen permeation characteristics of the supported Pd-Au membrane.