Membrane reactors are an inherently multidisciplinary concept combining chemical reaction engineering separation technology materials science and mathematical modelling aspects they couple chemical reactions with membrane separation and provide a more compact and less capital intensive system design but also often improved performance in terms of enhanced selectivity and or yield. Ons of membrane reactors chapter 2 is dedicated to catalytic and electrochemical mem brane reactors though notable exceptions exist most of the catalytic membrane reac tor processes are high temperature applications membrane reactors have been applied to many common classes of catalytic reactions including dehydrogenation hydroge. Catalytic membranes and membrane reactors an integrated approach to catalytic process with a high efficiency and a low environmental impact enrico drioli 12 enrica fontananova 12 marcella bonchio 3 mauro carraro 3 martino gardan 3 gianfranco scorrano 3 1 institute on membrane technology of the national research council itm cnr university of calabriavia p bucci17 c87030 rende cs italy 2 department of chemical engineering and materials university of calabria via p . 8 a catalytic membrane reactor cmr is the combination of a catalytic reaction with a membrane process in which membrane and catalysis are integrally coupled creating synergies 9 10 for a