Microporous carbon membrane reactors

Carbon membranes are emerging in recent years as very promising for applications in gas separation and membrane reactors due to their molecular sieving effects. Carbon membranes are produced via pyrolysis of a polymer precursor and they may be subdivided into supported and unsupported ones. This chapter explores several aspects of carbon membranes, particularly focusing on the role of the polymer precursors used for their fabrication, the main advantages and drawbacks between supported and unsupported typology, the transport mechanisms, and last but not least on the various applications in membrane reactors for carrying out several reaction processes.