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Processes
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Process Intensification, Multiscale Simulation, and Optimization in Membrane Reactor Engineering
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Process Intensification, Multiscale Simulation, and Optimization in Membrane Reactor Engineering

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Process Control, Modeling and Optimization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 640

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Kamran Ghasemzadeh

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Guest Editor
School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JW, UK
Interests: membrane/membrane reactor technology; process intensification; digital twins; computational fluid dynamics; techno-economic and life cycle analysis
Dr. Rashid Jamshidi

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Guest Editor
School of Engineering, Metropolitan Manchester University, Manchester, UK
Interests: reactor/membrane reactor engineering; computational fluid dynamic
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Giuseppe Bagnato

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Guest Editor
KORE Group, School of Engineering, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4BY, UK
Interests: reactor/membrane reactor engineering; renewable energy; techno-economic studies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recent advances in membrane reactor systems have opened new avenues for integrating reaction and separation processes, significantly enhancing efficiency, selectivity, and energy savings. This Special Issue on “Process Intensification, Multiscale Simulation, and Optimization in Membrane Reactor Engineering” aims to collect high-quality contributions focused on the design, modelling, and performance optimization of membrane reactors for chemical, environmental, and energy applications. We welcome original research and review articles in the following areas (including, but not limited to):

  • Process intensification strategies via catalytic and non-catalytic membrane reactors;
  • Multiscale simulation (molecular to process scale) of transport and reaction phenomena;
  • Advanced materials for membrane reactors: dense, porous, dual-phase, or mixed matrix membranes;
  • Integration of reaction engineering with membrane separation for hydrogen, syngas, CO2, or ammonia-related processes;
  • Dynamic modelling, control, and optimization in hybrid systems and reactive separations;
  • Techno-economic analysis and lifecycle assessments of intensified membrane processes.

We look forward to your valuable contributions to this Special Issue.

Dr. Kamran Ghasemzadeh
Dr. Rashid Jamshidi
Dr. Giuseppe Bagnato
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • membrane reactors
  • process intensification
  • multiscale modelling
  • membrane process simulation
  • optimization and control
  • sustainable reactive separation
  • cost-effective process integration

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

51 pages, 20413 KB  
Review
Membrane Reactors for Plastic and Biomass Waste Valorization: A Critical Review
by M. Jafari, A. Andarz, G. Bagnato and K. Ghasemzadeh
Processes 2026, 14(9), 1485; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr14091485 - 4 May 2026
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Abstract
The rapid accumulation of plastic and biomass waste has emerged as a major environmental and resource management challenge, driven by increasing global consumption, low recycling efficiency, and the long-term persistence of waste in natural ecosystems. Conventional valorization routes such as pyrolysis, gasification, reforming, [...] Read more.
The rapid accumulation of plastic and biomass waste has emerged as a major environmental and resource management challenge, driven by increasing global consumption, low recycling efficiency, and the long-term persistence of waste in natural ecosystems. Conventional valorization routes such as pyrolysis, gasification, reforming, and fermentation provide promising pathways for converting waste into fuels and chemicals, yet their industrial deployment remains constrained by thermodynamic limitations, tar formation, catalyst deactivation, high energy demand, and complex downstream separation requirements. Despite increasing research activity, a comprehensive review that systematically addresses membrane reactor (MR) mechanisms, configurations, and their specific applications in the valorization of both plastic and biomass waste remains lacking in the current literature. In recent years, MR technology has attracted increasing attention as a platform for process intensification, integrating reaction and selective separation within a single unit. By enabling in situ product removal, MRs shift reaction equilibria toward higher conversion, selectivity improvement, and a reduction in separation severity and overall energy consumption. This critical review provides a unified and systematic assessment of MR technologies for the valorization of plastic and biomass waste. Reactor configurations, membrane materials, transport mechanisms, and catalytic systems are comprehensively examined, with particular emphasis on hydrogen-selective, oxygen-permeable, and water-selective membranes and their roles in reforming, tar mitigation, and syngas upgrading. The techno-economic and environmental implications of MR integration are critically discussed, together with current technology readiness levels (TRLs) and scale-up challenges. Overall, this review highlights MRs as a versatile and enabling platform for next-generation waste-to-value technologies and outlines their potential role in supporting the transition toward circular, low-carbon fuel and chemical production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Process Intensification, Multiscale Simulation, and Optimization in Membrane Reactor Engineering)
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