Catalytic membrane reactors afford an alternative and potentially more efficient method for performing three-phase heterogeneous chemical reactions. Traditional three-phase reactors often present mass transfer limitations, namely gas solubility in the liquid phase. Membrane reactors can alleviate the inherent mass transfer limitations by directly and abundantly supplying gas to the catalytic sites on the membrane surface, which acts as a gas/liquid contactor. The focus of this study is the application of a polymeric catalytic membrane reactor to the hydrogenation of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), which is a biomass-based platform chemical derived from fructose. The various partially hydrogenated HMF intermediates have a variety of manufacturing uses, and a notable product of hydrogenated HMF, 2,5- dimethylfuran (DMF), has many attractive characteristics as a liquid fuel.
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