Ongoing tests are helping finding better operating conditions for the SEDMES process, involving optimal functioning of both the catalyst and the adsorbent. More recently, cooperation between CISC-ICP and ECN has intensified with the starting of advanced SEDMES testing with CSIC synthesised catalyst materials at ECN laboratories. The picture shows CSIC-ICP researcher Dalia Liuzzi (right) and ECN researcher Özlem Pirgon (left) in ECN’s chemical lab, preparing samples for parallel testing of sorption-enhanced reactions.
Different regeneration conditions has been tested in sorption-enhanced DME synthesis (SEDMES), to assess the effect on the catalyst and the sorbent performance. It was shown that regeneration by temperature swing up to 400 °C improves the DME yield both pre- and post-water breakthrough. The adsorbent capacity clearly increases with temperature swing to 400 °C and indications are that the temperature swing also improves the catalyst activity or the adsorbent slip level.