Greener fuel production in membrane reactor via gas-to-liquid process intensification

In this study, the modeling and simulation of a catalytic MR's performance were conducted and compared to a packed-bed catalytic reactor (PBR) for two processes: steam methane reforming (SMR) for the production of synthesis gas and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) for the production of liquid fuel, both under varying operating conditions. Various selective membranes, including palladium, silica, and sodalite, were employed to separate hydrogen and water from the reaction environment, enhancing reaction efficiency. Additionally, a dual-functional FTS MR model was developed as a novel concept to integrate both chemical processes of GTL technology within an MR framework. The models were developed in MATLAB, and the results showed good agreement with literature data for MRs in SMR and FTS. The findings indicated that during SMR, the silica MR achieved higher CH4 conversion across all investigated pressures compared to the Pd-MR. For the FTS process, the sodalite MR demonstrated a 10 % improvement in conversion compared to the PBR. Furthermore, at higher driving forces, the dual-functional MR achieved nearly 100 % CH4 conversion at 550 °C and approximately 70 % CO conversion at 500 °C under all examined conditions. A complementary LCA analysis showed that the dual-functional MR could lower the overall CO2 footprint by about 22–28 % compared with the conventional two-reactor system, confirming its clear environmental advantage. These findings suggest that the dual-functional MR concept significantly enhances efficiency in GTL processes, providing a promising pathway for sustainable fuel production.