Alkene production by the catalytic dehydrogenation of light alkanes is an alternative to conventional heavy hydrocarbon cracking. Dehydrogenation is an endothermic equilibrium-limited reaction and is typically performed at elevated temperatures at close to atmospheric pressure. Even at 500°C, the thermodynamic equilibrium conversion for propane dehydrogenation is less than 20%. Further, the high operating temperature results in large amounts of carbon deposition on the catalyst, which implies the need for a periodic regeneration of the catalytic bed, leading to a complex plant design. Due to the removal of hydrogen from the reaction, membrane reactors have the potential to provide the same conversion and yield of a conventional process while operating at milder conditions.
