There is general consensus on the contribution that process intensification can give to the chemical industry in terms of improved energy efficiency. In general, Process Intensification (PI), is defined as “any chemical engineering development that leads to a substantially smaller, cleaner, safer and more energy efficient technology” (Reay et al., 2013), and is always referred to as the next revolution of the chemical industry.

One interesting strategy is achieved in the synergy domains, where functions are integrated in single units. Generally, the functions integrated are reaction and separation or reaction and heat management. The integration of functions promises to decrease the capital costs and operating costs compared to typical systems where these functions are separated. One of these “novel” concepts is the membrane reactor concept, in which membrane separation is integrated with reaction. This talk summarizes the work on membrane reactors for a variety of applications and integration of membrane reactors with different concepts.