Bi1.5Y0.3Sm0.2O3-δ-based ceramic hollow fibre membranes for oxygenseparation and chemicalreactions

In this study, Bi1.5Y0.3Sm0.2O3-δ (BYS), an oxide of great ionic conductivity, has been used to develop BYS-La0.8Sr0.2MnO3-δ (LSM) dual-phase ceramic hollow fibre membranes in an objective of promoting oxygen permeation that has been considered as the controlling step of our recent dual-layer ceramic hollow fibre membrane reactor (DL-CHFMR) for methane conversion, and subsequently lowering the temperature needed for both oxygen separation and catalytic reaction. Oxygen permeation of approximately 1.21 ml min−1 cm−2 (900 °C, Ar as sweep gas) was achieved by a single-layer BYS–LSM hollow fibre membrane, which is substantially higher than the previous counterpart of (ZrO2)0.90(Sc2O3)0.10(ScSZ)–LSM, proving the advantage of using BYS in promoting oxygen permeation. Although the stability of BYS in strong reducing atmosphere hampers the use of BYS–LSM/BYS–Ni DL-CHFMR for partial oxidation of methane (POM), its great ionic conductivity and catalytic activity to oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) would lead to the further development of more efficient DL-CHFMR design that can be operated at possibly lower temperatures and under less reducing atmospheres.