Current Trends and Future Developments on (Bio-) Membranes: New Perspectives on Hydrogen Production, Separation, and Utilization

In the last decade, the attention paid to the environmental protection has generated a considerable interest towards the development of new energy carriers and green energy production methods. Hydrogen as an energy carrier becomes a potential important source of energy due to its neutral environmental impact. However, its production, transformation and purification, presents a challenge in the so called hydrogen economy. Current Trends and Future Developments on (Bio-) Membranes gives a comprehensive review on the present state of the art of the hydrogen production and purification using new and alternative technologies stressing green processes and environment protection. The book covers green processes, renewable feedstocks utilization and membrane reactor technology for hydrogen production in line with new process intensification strategy.

The book is divided in four sections, ie fundamentals of hydrogen generation, its impact on environmental issue, new applications involving hydrogen and its storage and distribution. The main scope of this book is to offer a new horizon on hydrogen generation and utilization. It stresses the role of new technologies for hydrogen generation, including the “micro-reactors technology for portable applications”, their combination with high temperature fuel cells, the role of gas-separation for both hydrogen purification and CO2 sequestration, the exploitation of renewable sources (biogas, bioethanol and other renewables feedstocks) in reforming processes useful to generate hydrogen, membrane and membrane reactor technology as well as membrane bio-reactors etc.

• Presents process intensification and commercialization of new and alternative hydrogen generation technologies
• Relates new hydrogen production methods to their environmental impact
• Outlines the fundamentals of hydrogen generation
• Includes new developed technologies for hydrogen transport and storage

Adolfo Iulianelli, Degree in Chemical Engineering in 2002 at University of Calabria (Italy), obtained his PhD Degree in Chemical and Materials Engineering in 2006 at University of Calabria (Italy). Nowadays, he is working at the Institute on Membrane Technology of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ITM). He is author or co-author of more than 50 international articles (ISI), 1 patent, more than 50 contributes as oral and poster presentations in national and international conferences, more than 20 book chapters. Furthermore, he is Reviewer of more than 20 international ICI journals, Invited Speaker in more than 5 international conferences, training school, etc. Subject Editor of the Scientific World Journal, Guest Editor for the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy (ICI) and Journal of Membrane Science and Technology and Associate Editor of International Journal of Membrane Science and Technology. His research interests are membrane reactors, fuel cells, gas separation, hydrogen production from reforming reactions of renewable sources through inorganic membrane reactors and membrane operations. His h-index is 22 (source: www.scoupus.com).

Angelo Basile, a Chemical Engineer, is a senior Researcher at the ITM-CNR where is responsible of the research related to both the ultra-pure hydrogen production and CO2 capture using Pd-based Membrane Reactors. Basile is also Editor associate of the Int. J. Hydrogen Energy and Editor-in-chief of the Int. J. Membrane Science & Technol. and Editor-in-chief of Membrane Processes (Applications), a section of the international journal Membranes: Basile also prepared 42 special issues on membrane science and technology for many international journals (IJHE, Chem Eng. J., Cat. Today, etc.). He participated to and was/is responsible of many national and international projects on membrane reactors and membrane science. Basile served as Director of the ITM-CNR during the period Dec. 2008 – May 2009. In the last years, he was tutor of 30 Thesis for master and Ph.D. students at the Chemical Engineering Department of the University of Calabria (Italy). From 2014, Basile is Full Professor of Chemical Engineering Processes.