A hydrogen permeable membrane device is provided that includes a porous ceramic layer having a material that includes zirconia, Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), /Al.sub.2O.sub.3, and/or YSZ /Al.sub.2O.sub.3, and a porous Pd film or porous Pd-alloy film deposited on the a mesoporous ceramic layer.

A process for recycling and reusing supported Pd membranes includes the separation of the Pd (or Pd alloy) layer from the support by contacting the Pd membrane with hydrogen under pressure and at low temperature and then with a second gas that is different from hydrogen. The Pd layer separated from the support can then be treated to solubilize the Pd and, where appropriate, the alloy metal(s) to obtain salts that can be reused, for example in the preparation of new Pd membranes. The recovered supports are also reusable.

A catalytic membrane reactor and methods of operating and producing the same are provided that efficiently produces highly pure hydrogen (H.sub.2) from ammonia (NH.sub.3) as well as operates according to other chemical conversion processes. In one embodiment, a tubular ceramic support made from porous yttria-stabilized zirconia has an outer surface that is impregnated with a metal catalyst such as ruthenium and then plated with a hydrogen permeable membrane such as palladium. An inner surface of the ceramic support is impregnated with cesium to promote conversion of ammonia to hydrogen and nitrogen (N.sub.2). The resulting catalytic membrane reactor produces highly pure hydrogen at low temperatures and with less catalytic loading. Therefore, ammonia can be used to effectively transport hydrogen for use in, for example, fuel cells in a vehicle.

A membrane assembly for the permeative separation of a fluid from fluid mixtures includes a porous, fluid-permeable, metallic support substrate, a membrane that is disposed on the support substrate and is selectively permeable to the fluid to be separated off, and a connecting part which is formed, at least on the surface, of a fluid-tight, metallic material. The support substrate is cohesively bonded along a peripheral section thereof to the connecting part. A ceramic, fluid-permeable, porous, first intermediate layer is disposed between the support substrate and the membrane. At least one ceramic bonding layer is disposed directly on the connecting part and the material bond and extends at least over the cohesive material bond and an adjoining section of the connecting part. The first intermediate layer ends on the bonding layer and has a greater average pore size than the bonding layer.

A membrane based separation method is for the separation or enrichment of one or more unsaturated compounds from mixtures of chemically similar organic compounds having a different degree of unsaturation, using a membrane, such as an inorganic membrane, functionalized with a metal, such as silver. An inorganic membrane, preferably modified or grafted with an organic functional group, is further functionalized with a metal, such as silver, for use in the membrane based separation methods.

The present specification discloses a membrane reactor comprising a reaction region; a permeate region; and a composite membrane disposed at a boundary of the reaction region and the permeate region, wherein the reaction region comprises a bed filled with a catalyst for dehydrogenation reaction, wherein the composite membrane comprises a support layer including a metal with a body-centered-cubic (BCC) crystal structure, and a catalyst layer including a palladium (Pd) or a palladium alloy formed onto the support layer, wherein ammonia (NH.sub.3) is supplied to the reaction region, the ammonia is converted into hydrogen (H.sub.2) by the dehydrogenation reaction in the presence of the catalyst for dehydrogenation reaction, and the hydrogen permeates the composite membrane and is emitted from the membrane reactor through the permeate region.

Techniques for hydrogen sensing and mitigation are provided. As one example, a device includes a chamber and a membrane that is permeable to a first gas and is impermeable to a second gas. The membrane separates the chamber from a gas mixture that contains the first gas, such that the first gas in the gas mixture can only enter the chamber via the membrane. The device also includes a pressure sensor configured to measure a pressure within the chamber.

A concentration apparatus that includes a liquid tank storing a liquid containing a filtration object, a tubular member having first and second end portions disposed in the liquid tank and forming a first circulation flow path therebetween, a circulation pump for supplying the liquid stored in the liquid tank to flow from the first end portion to the second end portion, a filtration filter disposed in a sidewall of the tubular member, a bypass pipe having first and second ends thereof connected to sidewalls of the tubular member so as to form a second circulation flow path between the first and second end portions of the tubular member, a switching valve constructed to cause the liquid to flow in one of the first or second circulation flow paths, and a control unit controlling driving of the circulation pump and a switching operation of the switching valve.

An on-board vehicle reservoir containing an ammonia/organic solvent solution may be associated with a phase separator configured to isolate ammonia from the solution. The ammonia may be introduced into an exhaust gas stream of an internal combustion engine to function as a catalytic reductant. Ammonia may be employed to generate hydrogen via catalytic decomposition of ammonia, and the hydrogen may be introduced into an exhaust gas stream to aid catalytic reactions such as catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide (CO) and/or hydrocarbon (HC) and/or reduction of nitrogen oxides (NO); for instance during a cold-start period.

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a diaphragm support member with a diaphragm support made of a sintered metal having a diaphragm layer, comprising at least the following steps: a. providing a laminar or tubular diaphragm support made of a porous sintered metal with a surface that is provided for the purpose of being coated with the diaphragm layer; b. providing a metallic connecting element for connecting the diaphragm support to a gas-carrying line; c. connecting the diaphragm support and connecting element with a weld seam to the diaphragm support member and forming a first connection zone between the weld seam and diaphragm support and a second connection zone between the weld seam and the connecting element; d. arranging a metal layer on the surface and the weld seam so that the metal layer covers at least the first connection zone; d. cohesively joining the metal layer at least with the surface and the weld seam; and e. coating at least portions of the surface and at least portions of the foil with the diaphragm layer. The invention further relates to a diaphragm support member comprising at least one diaphragm support made of a porous sintered metal and a metallic connecting element for connecting the diaphragm support to a gas-carrying line.