Coupling of reaction and separation at the microscopic level: esterification processes in a H-ZSM-5 membrane reactor

A catalytically active zeolite membrane has been used to displace equilibrium by selective water permeation during ethanol esterification. Unlike previous works in which water separation was carried out by zeolitic membranes that did not take part in the reaction, the H-ZSM-5 membrane used in this work had sufficient catalytic activity to carry out the esterification of ethanol with acetic acid, and at the same time was selective for water permeation. As a consequence, the reaction and separation functions could be coupled very efficiently, and the conversion obtained at the same feed rate and catalyst loading was greater than in conventional fixed bed reactors, or in reactors where the zeolite membrane was kept separated from the catalyst.