Current Trends and Future Developments on (Bio-) Membranes

In the last decade, the attention paid to the environmental protection has generated a considerable interest towards the development of new energy carriers and green energy production methods. Hydrogen as an energy carrier becomes a potential important source of energy due to its neutral environmental impact. However, its production, transformation and purification, presents a challenge in the so called hydrogen economy. Current Trends and Future Developments on (Bio-) Membranes gives a comprehensive review on the present state of the art of the hydrogen production and purification using new and alternative technologies stressing green processes and environment protection. The book covers green processes, renewable feedstocks utilization and membrane reactor technology for hydrogen production in line with new process intensification strategy.

The book is divided in four sections, ie fundamentals of hydrogen generation, its impact on environmental issue, new applications involving hydrogen and its storage and distribution. The main scope of this book is to offer a new horizon on hydrogen generation and utilization. It stresses the role of new technologies for hydrogen generation, including the “micro-reactors technology for portable applications”, their combination with high temperature fuel cells, the role of gas-separation for both hydrogen purification and CO2 sequestration, the exploitation of renewable sources (biogas, bioethanol and other renewables feedstocks) in reforming processes useful to generate hydrogen, membrane and membrane reactor technology as well as membrane bio-reactors etc.

• Presents process intensification and commercialization of new and alternative hydrogen generation technologies
• Relates new hydrogen production methods to their environmental impact
• Outlines the fundamentals of hydrogen generation
• Includes new developed technologies for hydrogen transport and storage

Chemistry/chemical engineering research students and corporate researcher in alternative energy sources and production processes. Industrial Area: Energy producers, utilities, distribution; Bio-Engineering and Bio-Process Engineering Companies, Bio-Chemical Plants

Renewable feedstocks and green processes for hydrogen generation
1. Hydrogen Economy: is it the new frontier for green processes and environment protection?
2. Bio-hydrogen from fermentative conversion using bacteria
3. Hydrogen production from wastewater and wood
4. Hydrogen from sun
5. Bioelectrochemical generation of hydrogen in micriobal electrolysis

Alternative technologies for H2 production
6. Membrane Reactor Technology for hydrogen generation from bio-compounds
7. New catalysts for intensified hydrogen production processes
8. Integration of HT-PEMFCs and membrane reactors
9. Hydrogen production in microreactors and micro-membrane reactors
10. Hydrogen generation in membrane bioreactors
11. Co-production of hydrogen and power from NG in Internally reforming fuel cell (IR FC)

H2 purification and CO2 sequestration
12. May hydrogen substitute the petroleum economy in green processes and under environment protection?
13. Hybrid systems for hydrogen up-grading with low environmental impact
14. Methodologies for combined hydrogen purification and CO2 sequestration
15. Conventional processes for hydrogen separation
16. Hydrogen separation and purification by membrane technology

Hydrogen utilization
17. Hydrogen, green chemistry and process intensification
18. Miniaturized membrane systems with PEMFC for energy production in transportation and portable devices
19. H2 in chemical and petrochemical industry
20. New perspectives for hydrogen utilization