Hydrogen production in a Pore-Plated Pd-membrane reactor: Experimental analysis and model validation for the Water Gas Shift reaction R. Sanz a,* , J.A. Calles a , D. Alique a , L. Furones a , S. Ord  o ~ nez b , P. Marı´n a a Department of Chemical and Energy Technology, Chemical and Environmental Technology, Mechanical Technology and Analytical Chemistry, Rey Juan Carlos University, C/ Tulip an s/n, 28933 M ostoles, Madrid, Spain b Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Oviedo, Faculty of Chemistry, Juli an Claverı´a 8, 33006 Oviedo, Asturias, Spain article info Article history: Received 30 June 2014 Received in revised form 10 November 2014 Accepted 23 November 2014 Available online 3 January 2015 Keywords: Pd composite membrane Electroless pore-plating Membrane reactor simulation Computational fluid dynamics Scale-up abstract A laboratory reactor equipped with a Pd-composite membrane prepared by ELP “pore- plating” method (Pd thickness of 10.2 mm) has been used for performing the water gas shift reaction (WGSR). Reaction experiments were carried out with and without the membrane at different operating conditions: H 2 O/CO ratio (1e3), temperature (350e400  C) and GHSV (4000e5500 h 1 ). In all cases, CO conversion was found to be higher when using the membrane to separate hydrogen. The membrane maintained the integrity with complete selectivity to H 2 . The membrane reactor has been modelled using a 2D mathematical model, capable of modelling the non-ideal flow pattern formed in this type of reactors. The model predicts the experimental CO conversion with an accuracy of ±10%. The proposed model was used as a tool in the scale-up of a membrane reactor for the wateregas-shift reaction (feed: 100 m 3 /h synthesis gas), designed to achieve high CO conversion (>99%) and hydrogen recovery (>99.5%). The permeation of hydrogen through the membrane was found to be ruled by mass transfer in the membrane support and palladium layer. Copyright © 2014, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Introduction The growing energy demand in the last decades has led to an unprecedented increase of CO 2 emissions, affecting global climate change [1]. Many efforts are being developed to miti- gate this problem, trying to transform the traditional indus- trial growth and energy system into a sustainable growth. In this context, two main alternatives have been considered: i) the transition from current economy based on the fossil fuels to a green economy based on renewable energies, i.e. hy- draulic, solar, wind or geothermal energies [2], and ii) the process intensification strategy to reduce energy consump- tion, use new raw materials, minimize the wastes and in- crease the global efficiency of industrial processes [3]. Hydrogen economy will provide a boost to both interrelated alternatives. Since hydrogen is not naturally occurring, it must be produced from other hydrogen-containing resources. In general, production methods can be divided into produc- tion from renewable sources and fossil fuels [4]. The first one * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ34 914888093; fax: þ34 914887068. E-mail address: raul.sanz@urjc.es (R. Sanz). Available online at www.sciencedirect.com ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/he international journal of hydrogen energy 40 (2015) 3472 e3484 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2014.11.120 0360-3199/Copyright © 2014, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.