Ionic Transport Membrane technology for oxygen separation and Syngas production

Ion Transport Membranes (ITMs) are made from ceramic materials that conduct oxygen ions at elevated temperatures. Successful application of ITM technology will allow significant improvement in the performance of several large scale industrial processes. The ITM Oxygen process, in which ITMs are used to separate high purity oxygen from air, has the potential for significant advantages when integrated with advanced power generation cycles such as Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC). The ITM Syngas process, by combining air separation acid high-temperature syngas generation processes into a single compact ceramic membrane reactor, has the potential for substantially reducing the capital investment for GTL (gas to liquid) plants and for distributed hydrogen, The development efforts are major, long-term and high risk, and place severe demands on the performance and property requirements of the ITM materials. In addition, Air Products is developing SEOS an electrically-driven, small scale, oxygen generation and removal technology using ITMs, which could have a significant impact in the global market for distributed oxygen and inert gases.