Update: PDH case demonstrator at TUPRAS (TRL 6)
- 13/01/2025
PDH demonstration phase started at TUPRAS X2L PDH reactor system after the revamp of the unit. After integration of higher capacity MFCs and coriolis, new furnace, electronic rotameter and other required items to the unit, TUPRAS PDH reactor system was ready for demonstration. Within the scope of demo operation, two reactors configuration with one membrane separator in between will be used. With the 7 membranes installed into the membrane separator, H2 will be effectively separated from the first reactor outlet stream and separated gas will be fed to the second reactor while separated H2 will be sent to the vacuum line. Up to 100 mbar vacuum will be applied to the inner sides of the membrane to provide pressure difference between permeate and retentate sides to drive the separation. PDH demonstration will be conducted at 550 ◦C, atmospheric pressure and WHSV:4 with two reactors loaded 413 g catalyst per reactor. Before starting up the demo operation, TUPRAS has completed the preparation phase of the demonstration. Rather than starting the demonstration with 1500g/h propane flow and integration and 7 membranes, TUPRAS installed only one membrane and conducted some start up studies. After finalizing preparation phase, TUPRAS will start PDH demonstration for 500 h.
Furthermore, both commercial and homemade extruded supports were Pt-Sn impregnated according to the formulation developed by Unisa and scaled up to approximately 1 kg for use in the 500 h demo operation. The upcoming demo operation is designed to investigate the impact of membrane-integrated reactor technology on increasing propylene yield and to provide significant insights for the widespread adoption of this innovative technology in the industry.
Membrane separator for hydrogen removal
Propane dehydrogenation unit
Scaled-up commercial supports Scaled-up homemade extruded supports
