Pervaporation membrane reactors: Biomass conversion into alcohols

The use and production of bioalcohols, butanol and ethanol, are described in this chapter. In the first part, the state of art of their production is explained, as well as the reaction pathways, the different reaction geometries, and the importance of the sources as raw material. The possibility of using pervaporation (PV) coupled with a conversion reactor is shown. The use of two membranes in series (hydrophobic-hydrophilic) allows a high-quality product to be produced. A brief revision of the current performance of the membrane used is described, which allows us to understand the direction in which research has to go to improve this technology. A comparison of PV with current technologies used to purify these alcohols is reported as well. The current state of production for these two alcohols is illustrated, along with future perspectives.