Thursday, October 31, 2019

Strategic Management & Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Strategic Management & Marketing - Essay Example as the process of dividing consumers or potential buyers, in market into different segments or groups in which customer share same level of interest in the comparable set of needs fulfilled by different marketing plans. Customers always segment themselves and they take no notice how companies segments them. When they choose to buy any competing product or service, they select proposition that suits them better than any other. To capture maximum market share, companies must make sure that their offerings meet the requirement of customers and should offer price that customers perceive as value for money (McDonald and Dunbar 2004). The input of winning proposition provides the detail understanding of customers include who they are and where they are found to be, as this understanding plays a vital role in segmentation process. The purpose of this report is to analyze the market segmentation and target customers of desktops, launched by Dell and it will analyze positioning of the desktop s that Dell is offering to the customers around the world. Micheal Dell founded Dell in 1984 in Texas. He has a different and unique vision of designing, manufacturing, and selling the technology. More than 109,000 employees are working for Dell around world and they are committed to make technology working hard for the customers. Dell have made many efforts to make technology more reachable to the customers and organizations around the globe and more than 120,000 computer systems shipped everyday to more than 180 countries, that is more than one computer in every second. The business of Dell designed in such a way that it caters different needs of organization, small and medium businesses, educational institutes, government bodies, health-care providers and for home users of computer. Dell is number one PC provider to big enterprises of the world and number one public sector customer’s provider in USA. The company does business with more than 95% companies of Fortune 500

School councils Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

School councils - Essay Example "The youngsters involved also learn about society and citizenship as well as developing their personal skills. " (BBC News 2005) In a separate survey by BT and the charity Childline, only 47% of the children questioned said adults listened to what they said and acted on it. (Anderson 2004) Most adults agreed it was important to listen to children, but only 57% said this happened. The effectiveness of these School Councils is not as positive as some of the media would like for us to think. There has been recent research on the School Counsils and the results are similar to the ones revealed by Anderson (2000) The research suggested a school council could make a significant contribution to the life of a school and to young people's experience of democratic processes and practices. (BBC News 21005) Setting one up did not guarantee a positive outcome, though. "As with any other learning strategy, the context in which the council operates and its processes and practices need to be supported and kept under review in order to generate positive outcomes for students and for it to have an impact on the school," said the co-author of the study, Monica Taylor. (Daniels and Ivatts) there needed to be a school-wide culture of consultation, respect for the views of students and staff, participation - and the possibility of change.

Buying Behavior & Market Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Buying Behavior & Market Analysis - Essay Example It also took a substantial amount of risk because some of the files could be corrupted and it wouldn’t function. Again, the game could refuse to work with my computer. On the other hand, a low involvement purchase needs simple process of evaluation. Buying underwear was simple and it is something I do every now and then. I knew the brand and the size I was going for. In purchasing the computer game, I felt that I needed a better and a recent version of the game I had. I had seen this new version in my friend’s computer and felt that I, too, should have one like that. The next thing I did was to enquire about the game. The price was the first thing to enquire so that I could know if I could afford it or at least needed some assistance. Another thing that I had to know was whether the game could play on my computer, that is the processor and RAM requirement of the game. Lastly I had to enquire if there was a warranty in case the game was not in good condition. After getti ng all the information about the game, I had to evaluate in what terms it was better than the one I had. Another friend of mine had told me about another similar computer game and I had to go and enquire from him and compare the two. Finally I decided to purchase the game. It worked well with my computer and I was completely satisfied with that purchase. In purchasing the underwear, the task was rather simple. ... I purchased the underpants and they were just as good as I had expected. The process of purchasing a computer game is quite different from the process involved in purchasing the underwear. First, it is the time taken in each stage of the process. In a low involvement purchase, the process is quite simple because it involves purchases we do regularly. Most of the time, in a low involvement purchasing, we skip some steps or even rearrange these steps. When a need arises, the next step automatically is searching information about what one needs, however, this step is mostly skipped in low involvement purchasing. This is because one already knows what they want. From there, the decision is made and one goes straight to purchasing. In a high involvement purchasing, all the steps have to be followed and this makes the process longer. One has to take a lot of time in searching for information about the product to be purchased. Also, a lot of time is needed in evaluation of alternatives so t hat one purchases the best product. The other difference between the two purchases is that in the purchase of computer game there was a high risk involved compared to purchasing underwear. The risks in a high involvement purchase are due to the amount of money involved. This is because it is not the kind of a purchase one does every now and then. This is the reason why it is important to take enough time in the process When marketing any product, the essence is to attract and persuade customers to purchase your products. This process is not as easy as it sounds. One has to have the skills needed in order to affect the decision of the buyer. Understanding the customer behavior model is the first step in marketing of any product, be it a low or a high involvement purchase. However,

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Childcare and Education Essay Example for Free

Childcare and Education Essay E1.Identify 5 pieces of current legislation and E2. Describe how each legislation will influence working practices in the setting. The Human Rights Act 1998 is broken down into 5 key principles which are; Fairness, Respect, autonomy, dignity and equality. Equality would influence working principles because the children would be treated fairly by having their individual needs met to ensure the same outcome is achieved as the other children. Settings can maintain fairness and respect by having the practitioners in the setting following the same policies and procedures. This would also avoid conflict between staff and would not confuse the children with knowing their expectations. Another way settings can have respect in the setting could be by following parent’s preferences such as their food preferences for their child. My current placement follows parent’s preferences by having meals that are suitable for children without specific food preferences and set meals to meet cultural and health needs. Settings can promote autonomy by encouraging children to build on their life and social skills. This can be done by the setting providing games such as a simple board game where the children have to choose their game piece and where they have to turn take. This would also build on autonomy because it would teach children how to share and how to treat other children or people with a positive attitude. For an example if a child is an only child, they may not know how to share with other children, so playing a game that engages their interest would gradually teach the child how to build on his turn taking skills and how to interact positively with other children. In the setting, dignity can be maintained by removing situations where a child may feel embarrassed or ashamed. If a child wets their selves, the practitioner in the setting should take the child into the bathroom and change them. The practitioners shouldnt draw the other children’s attention to the child who has had an accident. The child would need some comfort and reassurance as this situation is almost always v ery embarrassing and distressing. The Childcare Act 2006 focuses on adult to child ratios, qualification levels of staff and types of drinks and snacks available for the children and follows the early year’s foundation stage framework. This would influence working practices because it helps to keep the children healthy. This would influence working practices because it helps to keep the children healthy. Settings can follow the Childcare Act 2006 focuses by  providing fruit, milk and water at snack time. This can also be done by having playtime outside so that the children would get vitamin D and fresh air. Also the settings would provide meals with nutrition and are aware of dietary and cultural needs. The children act 1989 and 2004 aims to protect children by working in partnership with parents and by the every child matters which have five main principles: Be healthy, Stay Safe, Enjoy and achieve through learning, achieve economic well-being and make a positive contribution to society. The Enjoy and achieve through learning will influence practice because it allows practitioners to cater for each child’s needs whilst ensuring that the children are enjoying what they are doing or learning. The Equality act 2010 has been simplified from 9 separate acts into 1 act. The main is to end all forms of discrimination. The protected characteristic of disability will help to influence practice as this will help practitioners be able to differentiate activities and to re-create the same experience using other methods or activities. The health and safety at work legislation is about keeping yourself and others safe. This will influence practice because it will ensure the utmost safety for both the children and staff of the setting. This can be done by having regular risk assessments and by finding a solution to any hazards. For an example, if there is spilt water, a staff member should mop it up as soon as possible to avoid staff or children slipping and being injured. E3. Describe how policies and procedures will help safeguard children. One policy could be the safeguarding policy. The safeguarding procedure helps to protect children because the setting would have a safe recruitment method to ensure that all staff are suitable to work with children or are qualified to work with children legally. For an example, before I could start my placement and working with the children, I had to show my CRB check to my nurserys placement officer. CRB checks helps to safeguard children because it would prevent anyone with a serious criminal offence or someone who could be a danger to children from working with them there for protecting the children from being mistreated or harmed. Another part of the safeguarding procedure that would safeguard children would be to have a designated person who has a clear and defined role and responsibility in regards to child protection. Having a designated person would help safeguard children  because they would be the person the practitioners should go to if there are concerns about a childs safety or welfare concerns about the actions of a staff member. This would safeguard children as the designated person would be able to decide what actions need to be done in order to resume the childs welfare or to decide what the disciplinary action is for the staff that has had the allegation made towards them. To avoid this, all staff should have regular child protection training. A separate policy could be the behaviour management policy. This policy would help safeguard children as it helps children to think about their actions and the consequences they may cause. When a child has behaved in an unwanted behaviour, the disciplinary guidelines should be taken. The disciplinary guidelines are Give verbal warning, Move the child away from the area and time out if the first two stages don’t work. The above verbal behaviour management methods should always only be used instead of physical contact. However, physical contact should only be used if you need to restrain a child if they are causing harm to their selves, other children and people or are damaging the settings property. It would help safeguard children because it would reduce the risk of the children being physically hurt and would maintain a safe learning and play environment. It is important that the setting outlines the behaviour because management procedures because it will give consistency to the children as the practitioner within the setting will follow the same set of rules enabling children to know the rules and expectations clearly. E4. Describe how the policies and procedures promote fair, Just and inclusive strategies. A procedure that promotes fair, just an inclusive strategy is adapting resources to meet children’s needs. This can be done by having a range of equipment that helps children and their individual needs. This can be done by providing a range of different sized paint brushes and sponges for an example. This would allow children to develop their creative skills and interests whilst being able to develop their fine motor skills. A policy that promotes fair, just and inclusive strategy is the equal opportunities policy. This policy helps to include children because everyone in the setting has the right to be included in everything the setting does and every child has the right to education and developing their skills. Equal opportunities policy will also help children to feel valued and have their  progress and achievements celebrated. This can be done by displaying children’s artwork, creations and other outstanding work on a display board for all parents and staff to see. Another procedure that promotes fair, just and inclusive strategy is by showing awareness of different cultures and life styles. This can be done by having related activities or circle time celebrating different cultures, religions, life styles and things that challenge normal expectations. For an example; ‘all nurses are female’. This is inclusive practice because it involves every child’s cultural preferences and builds on children’s knowledge and understanding about the world we live in. Another policy that promotes fair, just and inclusive strategy is the Special Education Needs (SEN) policy. This policy allows every child to have the same care, attention and consideration as any other child in the setting, regardless of their disability or background. The policy states that every setting should have a SENCO worker and responsibility in adapting and adjusting the settings environment to help children have the same experience in the setting whilst having their individual needs met. This can be done by having braille books for children with a sight impairment or provide easy access in the building for wheel chair users. E5.Describe two strategies which can be used to empower children to develop independence and self-reliance One strategy that could empower children to become independent and self-reliant could be by having circle time regularly. Circle time should allow children to express their thoughts and feelings with the security of being listened to. Another strategy that would enable children to be independent and self-reliant would be to take part in food preparations such as choosing what fruit they’d like for snack time and cutting the fruit themselves. E6. Give examples of how settings may prepare children for transfer or transitions â€Å"transitions into reception classes was at best abrupt and worst traumatic† (Scott,(2005),P21) One way settings can prepare children for transfer or transitions could be by the child’s key worker taking the child to open days or visits. This would allow the child to familiarize their selves with the new teachers or key people who would be working with them as this would also make the child feel comfortable with going to the setting as they know somebody who they can talk to. Another way setting can prepare children for transitions could be by having learning partners or mentors who are older children from the setting where some of the children may be moving up to. This would help children to build relationships so that they feel confident in moving up to the setting because they’d know another child there. Final ways setting can help prepare children for transitions could be by having individual transition plans for each child. The setting would need to â€Å"make time to share previous information† (Scott,(2005),P21) to the setting that the child is transferring to because this would allow the teachers to cater and plan for the child’s needs and interests. D1. Explain the key issues relating to the practice which supports children to prepare for transitions One key issue relating to supporting children through transitions when starting nursery could be to follow a settling in procedure. The Settling in procedure often involves havin g the parent and child having a visit before the child’s official starting date. Having a visit before the child’s starting date will help the child to become more familiar with the setting. In time the child should feel more comfortable with going to the setting. The settling procedure also involves working in partnership with the parents. If the child sees the parent interacting with the staff members, it is more likely that the child will feel secure in the setting. Another key issue relating to supporting children through transitions when starting primary school would be to create a time where the children are involved. For an example, an activity could be to have a show and tell circle time, where the child brings in something from the weekend or something to do with the set topic and talks about it. This would help a child to settle in a primary school because it would give the child a chance to be involved with the class and have their discussions listened to. A third key issue relating to supporting children through transitions when starting nursery would be to find out what the child’s favourite toys are and put them out for the child to play with when they come into nursery. Also, to make the child feel welcomed, the practitio ner should also provide a range of appropriate activities for the children and always give the child an opportunity for them to participate in the activities as much or as little as they like. An alternative key issue relating to supporting children through transitions  when starting primary school would be to work in partnership with parents. This can be done by having notice boards around the school which has features such as â€Å"most improved child†, â€Å"Little stars† (Where children are placed here for good work or for doing something kind etc) and put the child who is starting in the primary school on the notice board. This would make the child and parent feel proud and would give the child a sense of achievement which hopefully would make the child want to enjoy and participate in the school more. An alternative key issue relating to supporting children through transitions when starting nursery could be by providing opportunities for the child to express their feelings. This can be done by having regular one to ones with the child and their key worker, Having areas for the children to independently draw and write in addition to having â€Å"End of the day† circle time where the children have the freedom to say what they liked about the day or what they didn’t like. This will help the practitioners in the setting know what the children really engage in and which activities they don’t like to participate in. Also It would help the practitioners learn more about the child who is starting in the nursery as it will help the practitioners provide more activities that the child is interested in. Hopefully in time, this will help the child to enjoy nursery more. A final key issue relating to supporting children through transitions when starting primary school would be to help the child develop self-help skills. This can be done by encouraging the child to take responsibility for their selves, such as putting on their coats or helping to tidy up the classroom. This would help the child settle in nursery because this give the child a sense of accomplishment and would also build on their self-esteem with the thought of â€Å"I can do that† and being able to try new things. Also helping to build on the child’s self-help skills will also help to â€Å"practice their large and small motor skills† (http://www.extension.org) C1.Evaluate one theoretical perspective which supports the development of strategies for empowering children I have chosen the constructivist theory. The theoretical perspective links in with strategies that empower children because it helps children become self-reliant. This theory also influences practice because it helps the child care practitioners to assist the children build on vital life skills such as  making decisions and communicating. For an example, at my placement during snack time, the children have a choice of milk or water. The children either has to point to or say the drink theyd like to have. This encourages children to language and encourages them to start to take responsibly for their own wellbeing. This theory also influences practice because it helps the childcare practitioners to define children who has specific needs or children who needs extra support as they may not be developing in the developmental areas as they should. The good element to this theory is that children learn to build on the childs life skills such as becoming more self-reliant. The theory is also good because play is important as it lets children use imagination and responsibility of the childs learning. It also helps to build on the childs fine and gross motor skills. However, the bad points about this theory are that children develop little without an adult although staff shouldnt allow the children to be too attached to them as the children wouldn’t interact very well with children their age as well as giving children adequate help and support so that the child can learn to be self-reliant so that in the future they, they would be able to achieve more without much support from the adult. The theory can be improved by ensuring that the staff should try and make sure that the sessions within the setting are 50% adult led and 50% child led as this would help the children to form knowledge and understanding of the world because of accurate information being shared by the childcare practitioner and will allow the children to take an active role in choosing what theyd like to learn. For an example, a child may choose to play with toy animals. To a person, the child is just playing but the child could actually be learning about the different types and sub-species of animals in a basic and simple form. In addition to this, having a balanced adult and child led setting will help children to get an equal opportunity to interact with both adult and children. E7.Exaplain the cause and effects of discrimination on children B1.Discuss  how the causes and effects of discrimination may affect practice in the setting. The staff attitudes and values can affect the atmosphere because the childcare practitioners may unintentionally teach children that it is okay to discriminate people. For an example, if a member of staff said â€Å"all ginger children are violent and aggressive†, this could influence children because it may make the children tease or leave out other children who have ginger hair during play time. It also may affect the way the practitioners work and teach because the practitioners might interact with a group of children and leave out a child because of their views. This affects the children because it â€Å"children can quickly pick up the signs given out and they can sense if there is tension† in addition to making the child feel undervalued and not accepted which can make the child withdraw from activities and communicating with other adults and children or could trigger bad behaviour. Settings should show respect for the parents and families by respecting the parents or families’ choices and requests within reason as this would show inclusion. For an example, if a parent prefers their child to be vegetarian the setting should provide vegetarian food whereas if a parent asks for a child not to play with a toy/or do an activity, the staff should challenge it every child has the right to have an equal opportunity. This can affect the practice within the setting because the practitioners may have a stereotypical view about children such as girls should wear dresses and play in the home corner whereas boys should only play with construction activities. This affects the child because it would make the child feel like they are not unique as they may become fearful of doing new activities as they have been told off or been influenced to only do what the adults say. In my nursery they avoid being discriminative by providing food options suitable for a range of cultural preferences, the setting will make sure that the child will have a vegetarian meal. Discrimination can affect children because it can make them feel awkward if there aren’t many posters, books, toys or other resources that would help other children learn about diversity, different cultures and different lifestyles that may challenge the ‘norm’. For an example not all men go to work and not all women stay at home to look after the children. Note: This answer is wrong A .Reflect on the influence of legislation on working practices within early years settings. One policy could be the behavior management policy. This policy would help safeguard children as it helps children to think about their actions and the consequences they may cause. When a child has behaved in an unwanted behavior, the disciplinary guidelines should be taken. The disciplinary guidelines are Give verbal warning, Move the child away from the area and time out if the first two stages don’t work. The above verbal behavior management methods should always only be used instead of physical contact. However, physical contact should be used if you need to restrain a child if they are causing harm to their selves, other children and people or are damaging the settings property. It is important for the setting to outline the behavior management procedure to ensure adults know the limits and boundaries so that staff doesn’t receive allegations about harming children. Another legislation that influences practices within early year settings could be the safe guarding policy. This policy ensures that all children are safe and are kept from harm or neglect. The safeguarding policy and procedure influences practices in the early years setting because it is the staff within the settings role because they take on the parental responsibility to take care of the child. There should always have a designated person who staff can go to when there are concerns for a child’s welfare or if the staff member needs advice on their role within the setting or to provide safe guarding inductions for new staff. This influences settings because the designated person makes sure that the children’s welfare is paramount as well as ensuring that the child protection policy is updated yearly. This would help to make sure that the settings child protection policy is following the current laws about safeguarding children. [quote here] . Another role of the designated person would be to make sure the staff members within the setting has child protection training every two to three years and is recorded to make sure that the staffs is complying to the law. (2012 ). Ways to Encourage Self-Help Skills in Children. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.extension.org/pages/26436/ways-to-encourage-self-help-skills-in-children. [Last Accessed 29 November 2012 ].

Advertising Objectives Essay Example for Free

Advertising Objectives Essay Furthermore, Budweiser’s mission is to pursue a long-term growth strategy by pursuing high consumption markets and attaining a firm market share among competitors. Budweiser has a strong brand name domestically, but for this particular region it will need to implement a penetration strategy. Also, Budweiser will focus on securing valuable distribution channels including pubs and supermarkets. The product positioning strategy reflects competitive pricing and product differentiation. Inherently, the product reflects cultural values of the target country, with attributes such as caffeine and local flavors that represent regional preferences. The brand may potentially increase market share via acquisition of equity investment. Tactical Details Product Various product attributes will be localized to appeal to consumer tastes such as a diet/lighter version beer with caffeine. Offering smaller glass bottles, which align with European consumption volume trends, will differentiate product packaging. The beer base content will be standardized but with local flavors based on market research. Also, based on potential research findings there is a possible product extension for an â€Å"all-natural† beer within the Austrian market. Additionally, products will be available in mini kegs to support the younger market segment behavioral characteristics. Advertising Implementing TV, Radio, Direct mail, Print ads, and Internet will be necessary to keep up with competitive advertising within this region. Messaging will focus on initially creating awareness. Ultimately, message strategies will portray a global brand through localized messaging. Internet advertising will be highly influential for the demographic market segment. Advertising will include viral ads, flash advertisements, and promotional incentives and incorporate sites such as MySpace and blogs (for the younger generation). Furthermore, sponsorship from popular celebrities or musicians for events and products will appeal to the target market. Personal Selling Face to face education via account executives with clubs/pubs will be imperitive to create awareness and motivate front-line distributors. Additionally, face-to-face points of contact in grocery stores and super/hypermarkets will be important in order to impact this a vast portion of purchases. These tasks will be contracted out to a local sales force that understands the culture, industry and competitive environment. Routine follow-ups and frequent interactions will be emphasized in order to maintain strong distributor relationships. Sales Promotion Incentives will be offered to club owners, super markets and so forth that will be based on volume discounts. A sales contest will also be commenced across the club/pub segment and the supermarket segment to increase purchases, emphasize product push through distribution channels and create awareness for caffeinated beer. Sub-brand specific websites will offer promotional incentives as well (BOGO, etc). Sleek, appealing point of purchase displays will be exhibited in supermarkets. Promotional partnerships with record a company, such as free iTunes downloads with purchase will be implemented to appeal to youthful market. Distribution Distribution will primarily focus on clubs/pubs, closely following the Red Bull distribution model and its flourishing success within this region. Distribution will also be emphasized in super and hypermarkets. Price Policy Pricing will remain competitive, but not premium. Also, based on market research, pricing will reflect that of energy drinks. Product differentiation and promotional efforts will not focus on price, but instead aim to increase purchasing through incentives such as volume discounts. Research A partnership with an experienced European market research agency (i. e. EURO, RSCG) will be imperative to monitoring quality perception and target market acceptance. Research will closely examine brand recognition development over time. Data mining from distributors to track trends will also be influential in understanding consumption behaviors. Research will also be needed in evaluating the possibility of launching a more mainstream bud beer. Finally, based upon success within Austria, further research into surrounding countries will be necessary.

The Changing Political Economy Of India Essay Example for Free

The Changing Political Economy Of India Essay From 1947 – 1990 India had a much closed system of economy. Most of the core industries were controlled by the central government and there were no real competitors. A policy of import substitution in the decades after independence encouraged the development of a broad industrial base, but a lack of competition contributed to poor product quality and inefficiencies in production. During this period India had high restrictions on the FDI (Foreign Direct Investment). For those players who wanted to invest, there were too many bureaucratic levels in the Indian political system which has resulted in delays in getting the necessary approvals. For those companies that were able to establish the product lines in India, the true value of the commodities could not be realized as the prices of the commodities were controlled. Though there was improvement in the infrastructure, it was never adequate to serve the ever growing large population. Because the restrictions on the FDI and inadequate funds, development in sectors like transportation and power was slow. Multinational companies operating in India must overcome erratic electricity supplies, poor roads and gridlocked seaports and airports while contending with government policies that discourage hiring and hold back domestic demand for goods in many sectors. The predominance of inefficient state-owned enterprises, particularly in the banking sector, remains a brake on further growth. Since 1990, there were radical changes to the Indian economic system. The economic reforms that started driving the early 1990s have started transforming the Indian economy into an open system of economy. There has been a gradual liberalization of the Public Sector Units. Most of the restrictions on FDI were removed. There were many SEZ (Special Economic Zones) set up across the country to encourage investment in private sector. Government has relaxed limits on foreign investment across most industries. It has also given an opportunity for the big home grown companies to move beyond India. Relaxation of Foreign-exchange controls resulted in multinational companies to be able to invest more freely in India. . India is the second fastest growing economy of the world at present. The strong emergence of private sector in the Indian economy has heightened the pace of development of the pharmaceutical industry in India. The pharmaceutical industry has achieved global recognition as a producer of low cost high quality bulk drugs and formulations. The recent regulatory and much awaited patent laws changes have lead the Indian pharmaceutical industry towards exploring newer avenues of drug development, thus, promising higher capital investment in the pharmaceutical industry in the near future. The Indian pharmaceutical research is backed by strong government support and availability of surplus skilled technical workers. Some of the Indian companies have gone global with presence in 60 countries, including USA, Europe and China. India is one of the top ten producers of bulk drugs in the world and 60% of India’s bulk drugs production is exported. The Indian economy’s growth rate has averaged above 7% over the past three years, yet future expectations for growth are even higher (India Economic Summit, 2006). People generally think that India is over populated. In the current economic scenario, the key strength of India is its population. Now India has the largest educated population in the world. India was among the first developing nations to recognize the importance of software, India already enjoys a fairly strong position in providing IT services. The country offers abundant engineering and technical talent: every year, it produces 400,000 graduate engineers, second only to Chinas 490,000. Companies might also be attracted to India by the increasing availability of reliable suppliers, the chance to escape unrelenting price pressures at home, and the size of the domestic market. LG, for example, plans to make handsets in India to take advantage of its rapidly growing demand for mobile telephones. Although India was late and slow in modernization of industry in general in the past, it is now a front-runner in the emerging â€Å"Knowledge based New Economy†. From an agro based economy it has emerged as a service oriented one. The unprecedented high level of foreign exchange reserves, the upward trend in FDI inflows and the general growth of the economy have given more confidence and encouragement to the policy-makers in the acceleration of economic reforms and liberalization. Both at the central and state levels and across political parties, in general, there is consensus on further economic liberalization. Now India has a well coordinated government action, a centralized economy that can pour resources into projects and direct the development of entire industries, something that was much harder in Indias sprawling, bureaucratic democracy from 1940-1990. India has focused more on software and services, which can be delivered via networks without bureaucratic interference, unlike physical goods. The sum of India’s total exports and imports amounts to around 25%-30% of its GDP. The Indian government is investing more in infrastructure, health and education, and in improving agricultural productivity. It would have a cumulative effect on the economy. India has the one of the highest number of middle class families in the world. The economic liberalization and a large domestic market will prove to be a very attractive target for the multinationals. Reference: India Economic Summit 2006 India: Meeting New Expectations New Delhi, 26-28 November

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Ethnographic Methods in Qualitative Research

Ethnographic Methods in Qualitative Research Firstly, this essay outlines a definition of both qualitative and ethnography methods. It will then explain how four articles of qualitative research have used the ethnographic method. It will discuss each article then compare and contrast them. Finally, the essay will look at a critical analysis of ethnography by linking the articles to the data written. They are as follows: Impact of financial incentives on clinical autonomy and internal motivation in primary care: ethnographic study is article one; Assessing the promise of user involvement in health service development: ethnographic study is article two; Receptionist input to quality and safety in repeat prescribing in UK general practice: ethnographic case study is article three; and Role of ethnographic research for assessing behavior of employees during cleaning and sanitation in food preparation areas is article four. And finally, it will look at different perspectives on ethnography such as feminist and postmodernist. Qualitative research collects data that usually diary accounts, open-ended questionnaires, unstructured interviews and unstructured observations (Jamshed, 2004). This kind of research is hard to measure. It includes things such as eye colour or characteristics of something that are obtained by in-depth research through collecting rich data. Therefore, qualitative research can be described, rather than measurable data (quantitative) (Patton and Cochran, 2002). Ethnography is used to represent the study of realism through knowledge and experiences, and the understanding of human behaviour, and in addition It consists of debates on the emergence of todays society. Max Weber definition embraces the explanation and understanding by using the interpretive understanding of social action, where interpretivism is subjective meaning to social action. Schutz (1962) suggest it is observation on the experiences of everyday lives (Schutz, 1962, p. 59 cited in Bryman, 2008, p.16). Ethnography is a study of observation and interviews, and developing an understanding of the society and individuals behaviour. According to Sarsby (1984) every field is different and it is being at the right place at the right time (Bryman, 2008, p. 401) and building a relationship with partcipants. Article one is a study that was done using observations and interviews. The research explores the attitudes and patterns of behaviour of the staff. The researchers had interviews that were both formal and informal conversations with most of the staff. To get the details it was requested that the partcipants described their job roles. They were asked what their views were on how it affected their jobs with new contracts (MacDonald, 2007). The methods they used were interviews and observations of involvement within the practice. They stated that the data of these methods helped to compare the behaviour of the staff (MacDonald, 2007). With the interviews, they transcribed and coded to recognise the developing areas. They conversed with the research team frequently to assess expectations and also to categorise ways for more study (MacDonald, 2007). There are limitations to this study, as the researchers conducted insignificant samples and there were no views from the staff within the practices. Besides that, they found that they could not observe the motivation of the staff. This is because it might delay observations of their behaviour and the writing up of their findings (MacDonald, 2007). The research shows the early stages and there is a need for further research (MacDonald, 2007). The outline of the study where the structural deviations linked with the implementation of the quality and outcomes has shown the ways that doctors and staff relate to each other. In addition, it shows the difficulty in predicting the long-term costs of the changes (MacDonald, 2007). Article two used participants observations and interviews, and collections of documentary evidence. It was led by professionals that determined the areas that needed improvement where partcipants users could take part (Fudge, 2008). It was hard to identify the effect on the services. Indeed, the study highlighted there was further knowledge of the personal gains for the staff who were involved (Fudge, 2008). By doing this research it gave increased knowledge about strokes and the services available for patients and specialists, and administrative staff (Fudge, 2008). There was not much evidence of direct user involvement of improving quality of services. In addition, there a lack of skilled staff was noticed (Fudge, 2008). The study has limitations because the programme is not directly generalisable to modernisation. Another limitation was that the study was only carried out two years of the three years that was predicted. It only provided part of the study where the user involvement continues to progress (Fudge, 2008). One strength of this research is that, by using the ethnography method, they are able to include participant observations. They can see what the staff actually do instead of what they say (Fudge, 2008). The objective of the research in article three was to describe, explore and to compare organisational routines for repeat prescriptions in doctors surgeries. (Swinglehurst, 2011). The investigation involved mapping the prescribing service by building on a rich description of the organisational doctors surgeries, and also connecting them through combination reports on the repeat prescriptions (Swinglehurst, 2011). The research showed that the receptionists and administrative staff regarded themselves responsible to the patients when repeating prescriptions. It requires a high degree of modifying and the decision of receptionists where there is a need for an updated study for patient protection (Swinglehurst, 2011). It was found by researchers that the doctors were oblivious of the input of their receptionists and administrative staff, indeed, within the article there was no information in the policy documents and previous research. However, the staff were occasionally criticised for n ot getting work done and their indirect ways of safeguarding patients (Swinglehurst, 2011). The research discovered the relationship and pressures of the work they do daily, and to find ways of the issues within the surgeries, and to find a better way for the procedure of repeat prescriptions. They found their research was bigger than any other UK practice. Furthermore, the willingness of the staff being observed could have replicated features of the practice. This is common when observing, as using electronic patient records are combined with pharmacy systems (Swinglehurst, 2011). Article four is a study that observes and undertakes interviews in the workplace. This is to see how they understand and explore practices of food handling and provide measures for the effectiveness of workplace training. The research shows that the results help to identify areas of improvement, by allowing the progress of training with the right tools. This is where the training is inputted from primary production through to food handling by the consumer (Crandell et al., 2015). This study used an ethnography method to collect the data of employees who did the cleaning and sanitation jobs (Crandell et al., 2015). Many tasks were identified while doing an observation interview procedure (Crandell et al., 2015). The study showed that there was a need for improvement and to provide training and materials, and also to regulate whether the SOP and SSOP procedures were being followed as written and if not, why not? (Crandell et al., 2015). The research found that there is a need for new a nd modified work flow, and with new tools and training (Crandell et al., 2015). The researchers used interviews with open-ended questions to fill the gaps that observations cannot pick up. However, there are limitations with open-ended questions that can give diverse information; the answer could be irrelevant to the research, and also the question can be too complex and the interviewee could lose their way in the interview. Another problem is that the person who is being interviewed could be intimidated by the questions. It can be time consuming and the interviews take a long time to transcribe and code. Strengths of open-ended questions interviews include that they can allow for unlimited possible answers and can be answered in detail. Some findings could be gained that the interviewer had not thought of using before. This essay will now use critical analysis of the ethnography method, and it will discuss the findings within the study. An example of ethnography is the Chicago School of Social Research. Robert Park encouraged students to study and observe the continuous changes of social occurrences of Chicago in the 1920s and 1930s. The research was extensive in areas such as crime and deviance, race relations and urbanism (May, 2001, p.147; Bulmer, 1984a; Kurtz, 1984). It is claimed that the researcher was part of the study in order to get an understanding of changes by participating and recording their experiences (May, 2001, p.148). However, it can be argued that individuals act on principles from their environments. This is because they can understand the actions of individuals who occupy and produce cultures, defined as symbolic and learned aspects of human behaviour. Becker (1979) states that there is a need to recognise the difficulties and concepts in order to determine the information within the study (May, 2001, p148). Ethnography leads to an empathetic understanding of a social setting. Glaser and Strauss (1967) state that it should be related to the behaviour of the study. As the researcher is exposed to each social setting it acts as a control on reaching rushed conclusions (May, 2001, pp. 150-151). It is possible that researchers will omit a whole range of data in order to confirm their own pre-established beliefs, leaving the method open to the charge of bias. Furthermore, the observation of small-scale setting leaves it open to the charge that its findings are local, specific and not generalisable. It therefore lacks external validity. This may be challenged by arguing that the observed social setting is typical, by adopting the perspective of realism and examining the generative mechanisms of human interaction (May, 2001, pp. 170 171, Porter, 1993), or using a variety of data sources (May, 2001, p.171). This essay will now compare the four articles. All articles used an ethnography method with interviews and observations. Article one and two did a small amount of research. It is clear if the study was done over a longer term it would have been more accurate. This is because the researchers would have rich and more detailed data. Article two is an example of this statement. It was smaller than the researchers predicted à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ they only researched for two years instead of the three years they predicted. Article one had no mention of the views from the staff and in article three the doctors were unaware of what administrative staff do within the practice. However, they were often asked what they have done within the day. Article four used open-ended questions to fill in the gaps that observation could not identify. However, it can be argued that the questions can be complex and all the answers are not recorded. The first research only used a small group of researchers; the study does not show the views and the outcomes of observation in the study. There were many consequences and it was difficult to recognise the impact of the services. The research found that there is a lack of technical knowledge. However, other studies have shown it helps with the running of the surgery. The third undertook an investigation by charting the services to build a rich description. It showed it is essential for quality and services on repeat prescriptions. Also, it highlights the work that the receptionists and administrative staff do in the background. Indeed, teamwork is essential for patient safety. Finally, the fourth study identifies areas of improvement and training with the right tools. The study evaluates the cleaning process of working with food. Documents were observed and identified the need for improvements in employee training with the right tools, and training for improvement. This kind of research has proved to be first-rate and it seems to be an ideal way to study. Even though there are differences among areas of study, it has delivered an in-depth collection of data. It also often determines more research that needs to done. There are limitations too; time is an issue for ethnographic studies and there are costs with doing full in-depth research. Another example would be funding à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ to do an in-depth research will cost money to do. It will be cheaper to do a survey then an investigation over a long time. However, the main challenge would be acceptance from the people they are studying. They need to be accepted in the area of a study to get the best results. The progress is important to find out the key informants to conduct this kind of research. This is because they would undertake regular reviews and the researchers need to have a good rapport with them. When conducting research participant observation involves looking and listening. The objective is to see individuals in their usual background; the investigator should not interrupt the setting. Blending into the background is usually recommended. However, it can be impossible, for example, when observing in a classroom will be out of place. This can result in an artificial setting (Taylor et al., 1995, p621). However, it can be difficult to observe sometimes a participant observer and interviewers are unclear because researchers usually write up the days finding on the day while they are still fresh in their minds. However, even d oing it on the same day information can be left out due to the fact that the researcher cannot remember everything that has be spoken in the interview. Feminist approach suggests that issues concerning women are often overlooked. Looking through the feminist lens they believe that it is how we think, such as what is the truth and what is false, (epistemology) and it is the reflection of the researcher understanding of what is fact(ontology). According to Marcus (1992) realist ethnographers believe in coherence, community, historical determination and structure (Skeggs, Nd, p.431). In addition, there is a reality out there which can be discovered and identified.(Skeggs,Nd, p.431). Marcus also suggest that it is the question of who or what controls and defines the identity of individuals, social groups, nations and cultures (Skeggs, Nd, p.431). http://reinhardmeyers.uni-muenster.de/docs/Postmodernism5.htm Postmodernists ethnographers focuses on the pressures of issues of globalisation, and the movement of people, and the everyday relations of the world (Weiss and Wesley, Nd). Therefore, different perspectives see ethnography in a different way, and also do their study in various differences of their research. They argue that the nature of knowledge has changed to a new radical theories. The theory of knowledge (epistemology) claims that the truth can be discovered by the use of the correct techniques. In addition, it used to evaluate what is true and what is not, however, postmodernist believe it is possible to rule out the knowledge as being untrue (har Hol, yr, pp. 904/5). In conclusion, this essay has looked at how qualitative research and ethnography methods are used in four different articles. It has sought to identify similarities and differences of using ethnography within research. All four used ethnography with observation and interviews. In the studies, they all highlighted that there is a need for further research and training is needed in all areas of these works of research. Each work of research was done in different areas; however, they have similar aspects in what they covered. However, they have used the study in different ways. It has shown that, when using the qualitative research and ethnographic method, there are strengths and weaknesses. Before starting the research, these have to be examined before deciding on what method to use. By looking at different views on ethnography, it highlights that they look at it in different perspectives of the work of ethnography method.

Politics Impact On Financial Market And Economy Economics Essay

Politics Impact On Financial Market And Economy Economics Essay The stock market affects the economy on different sides: first the wealth effect which is the effect on people financial outlook, this means that people lose their money on shares. The second impact is the effect on pensions which means the investment trust that can be the most important thing for the long term development. The third impact is represented by the consumer confidence for the stock market. The fourth impact is the investment itself which is represented by the increased issuing for shares. The last impact is the bond market which develops and improves the investments (Pettinger, 2011). The economics of a country is related to the stock exchange situation. Stock exchange has many roles in the economy: raising capital for business through selling shares, mobilizing savings for investments helps companies management in financing their organizations, facilitating company growth through merger agreement in stock market, profit sharing through dividends and stock price that generate revenue if it increases and corporate governance by offering public stock exchange (kelly, 2010). Stock exchange also involve in creating investment opportunities for small investments since investing in shares is open for both large and small stock investors because a person buys the number of share he can afford. It is a barometer of economy since the share prices rise and fall depending on market forces. If the economy shows sign of stability and growth, the share prices tend to rise or remain stable, however if it shows depression then the stock market crash (Mandelbrot Hudson, 2006).   The types of stocks are: Common stock, Concentrated stock, Golden share, Growth stock,   Issued shares, Preferred stock, Restricted stock, Shares authorized, Shares outstanding, Tracking stock, and Treasury stock (Little, 2012). In economics, a financial market is a mechanism that allows people to buy and sell financial securities, commodities, and other fungible items of value at low transaction costs and at prices that reflect the efficient market hypothesis (Mandelbrot Hudson, 2006).   Finance markets facilitate the raise of capital, the transfer of risk, and the international trade. The financial market matches between the borrower and the lender who buys or sold securities. Borrowers of the financial market can be individual persons, private companies, public corporations, government, and municipalities; whereas lenders in the financial market are the investors(Soros, 2009).   The Financial markets could mean: 1. Organizations that facilitate the trade in financial products. For example: stock exchanges facilitate the trade in stocks, bonds, and warrants. 2. Relating buyers and sellers to trade financial products. Financial market can be domestic or international; trading financial products attract the interest of finance expert while the matches between seller and buyer attract the interest of economics (Dorfman, 1997). The finance markets have changes due to globalization and new economic climate, the demand have increased from investors, regulators, and customers. In Marc Fabers book Gloom Boom Doom Report, there is identification for three structural changes in modern finance (Soros, 2009).   These changes are called: the three Ations The first Ation is securitization where a liability or a mortgage is turned into an asset. The increase in securitization lead to a big problem since it decreases the liquidity. The second Ation is the digitalization of financial trading where technology network have linked globally the financial markets. The third Ation is the quantification where strong tendency in financial markets can be turned into organized spreadsheets with clear buy and sell signals. Finance market is always exposed to risks due to the change in political, social, or technology situation (Amadeo, 2012). Market risk  is the decrease in the value of an investment or trading due to the change in value of the market risk factors. The four standard market risk factors are stock prices, interest rates, foreign exchange rates, and commodity prices. The related market risks are: equity risk: the risk that stock prices will change. Interest rate risk: the risk that interest rates will change. Currency risk: the risk that foreign exchange rates will change. Commodity risk: the risk that commodity prices such as corn, copper, crude oil will change. Risk modeling  means the use of techniques in order to determine the financial risk. The techniques include  market risk,  value at risk, historical simulation, or  extreme value theory  in order to analyze a financial situation and forecast the losses (Crockford, 1986). The financial risks are categorized into  credit risk,  liquidity risk,  interest rate risk, and  operational risk  categories. Political risk is considered one of the operational risk beside legal risk and the operational risk management. This type of risks faces the investors, government, and corporations. There are macro and micro-level political risks. The Macro-level political risks have similar impacts across all foreign actors in a given location. This means that it affects all participants in a given country. Micro-level risks focus on sector, firm, or project specific risk. The political climate has a direct impact on every company and all businesses (Crockford, 1986). Politics is the process where a group of people make collective decisions that arrange the public regulations. Politics show authority and power that permits the government to manage and control the internal stability. The government failure occurs when it lose the ability to provide the civil his financial, social, and economical rights, in addition to the ability in controlling the political security. This can occur for the following reasons: Poor Information: this means that politicians may have poor information about the type of service to provide. Political interference: this means that politicians may take the short term view rather than considering long term effects. Lack of incentives: There is no profit motive working in the public sector which can lead to inefficiency. According to Bato (2010), the relationship is between the political freedom and the economic is statistically significant. Political freedom is connected with the concepts of  equality,  civil liberties,  and  human rights. It provides the country the ability to start a new beginning that improves people lives. According to political philosopher  Nikolas Kompridis, the pursuit of freedom in the modern era can be broadly divided into two motivating ideals: freedom as  autonomy, or  independence. There are different types of political failures: A crisis of state authority which is represented by military pressures, a succession crisis, or severe corruption. This can reflect the rise of religious sectors against the ruling government. Major divisions among the official, military, economic, and religious experts of the country. Economic conditions that seem unjustly on workers can be the main factor in government failure. A broad culture of opposition that unites different social and political groups that encourages efforts to oppose the government. The political revolutions are the activity that aims to change the government and the political system that leads to instability in the internal political situation that has negative effect on the economy in addition to the destruction of the structure. Europeans spoke of revolutions when one form of government gave way to another or a city-states government shifted between republican and aristocratic rule. The notion of revolution destroys the old ways in order to bring new progresses that improve the performance. The revolutions were involved in: Economics: the shift from agricultural to industrial economies is called the Industrial Revolution. Science: Scientific Revolution is used to indicate the shift from traditional natural philosophy to experimental science. Moreover, the revolutions were involved in improving the performance in military and other aspects (Bremmer, 2007). Political revolutions is used for sudden changes in the government through demonstrations and accompanied by attacks on government officials, on public or private property or any other political authority. When the revolution change government institutions but leave the economic and social structure; they are called social revolutions. While they are called the great revolution if they change the government structures, the organization of the economy, the social hierarchy, the role of religion, and major symbols and beliefs regarding authority and national identity. Revolutions are a form of internal political conflict that relates to popular rebellions or civil wars. Revolution is not just challenges to political authority for power but efforts to change a societys major political or economic or religious institutions. Political revolutions is the result of government failure, therefore it aims at improving the economics of the country by changing the government and political structure (Bremmer, 2007). The modern idea of revolution that developed in the eighteenth century was to show revolutions as progressive changes in the social order. These changes replaced outdated and unjust political, economic, religious, and social institutions with a new social organization. The political revolutions have different objectives (Bremmer, 2007): Constitutional revolutions objective is to replace  traditional empires with republics bound by newly written rules that would limit state power and give rights and responsibilities to citizens. As an example on this type: the American Revolution 1776; the French Revolution 1789; the Revolutions of 1848 in France, Germany, and Austria; the Turkish Revolution of 1919; the Iranian Revolution of 1905; and the Chinese Republican Revolution (1911). Anticolonial revolutions objective is to end rule by foreign countries. Some examples include the Latin American revolutions 1808-1828, the Vietnamese 1954 and Algerian 1962 revolutionsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Communist revolutions: inspired by the historical theories of Karl Marx, aimed to overturn existing government and replace them with one-party states that remove private property. They revolutions created dictatorships that destroyed economic elites. For example on this revolution type, Russia 1917, China 1949, and Cuba 1959. Antidictatorial revolutions: it is the result of corruption of dictatorships, aimed to create new governments based on constitutions or one-party states. For examples Mexico 1911, Nicaragua 1979, and the Philippines 1976 (Bremmer, 2007). People are involving in selecting the right government that can provide them strong economy and stable politics situation. The impact of the revolution on the economy is negative during the act, beside it need a period of time in order to rearrange the regulations and control the financial market. The stock market price will decrease since the demand will stop all the revolution period. Moreover the exchange will stop due to the difficulties and risk in transporting. Arab countries have successful take their independents from the occupational countries. However, the leader who have organized the anticolonial revolution, ruled for a long period of time without respecting the countrys constitution. The majorities of Arab young are educated and have the ability to be productive in his country. However, they are struggling to find full time employment due to the mess in distributing the job on unqualified people who permit the government to work for personal benefits. The Arab reaction to the popular movement in Tunisia was surprising since they were  motivated to move against their own governments. Arab countries lack political freedom beside to the economic difference (low income people, or high income), therefore they may use Tunisia sample in their own internal revolutions. The revolutions show a new beginning of a new Arab countries that aim at changing the governments that stole their economics resources by a government that provide them a strong economy. However, the fact is that The Egyptian market remained closed for the entire month of February even as the hardest hit markets were Oman and Qatar, down10.2% and 9.3% respectively for the month of February, while Dubai lost 8.1% and Saudi 6.6%.     Investors seeking to reduce risk were forced to sell out of other Middle Eastern markets, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia. All countries within the Region are different with respect to their social, economic, and political challenges. However, we may witness further pockets of changes across the Middle East. The fire that engulfed the Arab communities commenced in Tunisia, spread to Egypt, and transformed itself into a distinguished moment in the history of the Arab nation. Tunisians and Egyptians surprised the world with the speed and dynamic nature of the revolution that within weeks achieved its objectives. The impacts of these revolutions are still expanding to stimulate the Arab masses to change their internal governments in Libya, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Yemen, Bahrain, and in Iraq. After undergoing the study, the collected data through both data collecting tools, secondary and primary, shows that the political turbulence has a negative impact on the financial economy.

Literature Survey on Hydrogen Separation Technique

Literature Survey on Hydrogen Separation Technique Literature review has been performed in order to identify recent publications on hydrogen separation methods, hydrogen solubility, materials and concepts in research institutes and laboratories. The aim of the performed literature survey was to monitor recent worldwide literature and find out whether some of the developed and reported solutions might possibly help to improve existing hydrogen separation concept in PDh system, enabling efficient complete separation of hydrogen from all unwanted hydrocarbons. Literature survey on hydrogen separation technique Basically there are four important methods applied to the separation of gases in the industry: absorption, adsorption, cryogenic and membranes. Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) is a gas purification process consisting of the removal of impurities on adsorbent beds. The usual adsorbents and gases adsorbed are molecular sieves for carbon monoxide, activated carbon for CO2, activated alumina or silica gel. Industrial PSA plants consist of up to 12 adsorbers and along with the number of valves required this makes the system rather complicated and complex. The PSA process is usually a repeating sequence of the following steps: adsorption at feed pressure, co-current depressurisation to intermediate pressure, counter-current depressurisation to atmospheric pressure usually starting at 10 % to 70 % of the feed pressure, counter-current purge with hydrogen enriched or product gas at ambient pressure, co-current pressure equalisation and finally, co-current pressurisation with feed or secondary process gas[1]. For hydrogen purification by PSA hydrogen purity is high but the amount of rejected hydrogen is also relatively high (10 †“ 35 %). It seems also that cryogenic technology might not be applicable for PDh process gas separation. Cooling down the mixture will finally end in a solid jet fuel and a gas phase. Handling the solid is more difficult when compared with liquid. During the survey it became evident that membrane technology is the most popular, used and still investigating for the improvement process for hydrogen separation therefore the focus of the study is mainly on this technique. The membrane separation process involves several elementary steps, which include the solution of hydrogen and its diffusion as atomic hydrogen through the membrane bulk material. Nowadays, membrane technologies are becoming more frequently used for separation of wide varying mixtures in the petrochemical related industries. According to Sutherland[2] it is estimated that bulk chemicals and petrochemicals applications represented about 40% of the membrane market in the whole chemicals industry or about $ 1.5 billions, growing over 5 % per year. Membrane gas separation is attractive because of its simplicity and low energy cost. The advantages of using membrane gas separation technologies could be summarized as following: Continuous and clean process, membranes do not require regeneration, unlike the adsorption or the absorption processes, which require regeneration step leading to the use of two solid beds or a solvent regeneration unit. Required filtration system is simple and inexpensive. Compared with conventional techniques, membranes can offer a simple, easy-to-operate, low-maintenance process. Membrane process is simple, generally carried out at atmospheric conditions which, besides being energy efficient, can be important for sensitive applications in pharmaceutical and food industry. The recovery of components from a main stream using membranes can be done without substantial additional energy costs. Membrane is defined essentially as a barrier, which separates two phases and restricts transport of various chemicals in a selective manner. A membrane can be homogenous or heterogeneous, symmetric or asymmetric in structure, solid or liquid; can carry a positive or negative charge or be neutral or bipolar. Transport through a membrane can be affected by convection or by diffusion of individual molecules, induced by an electric field or concentration, pressure or temperature gradient. It takes place when a driving force is applied to the components in the feed. In most of the membrane processes, the driving force is a pressure difference or a concentration (or activity) difference across the membrane. Another driving force in membrane separations is the electrical potential difference. This driving force only influences the transport of charged particles or molecules. The hydrogen separation factor is sometimes used to specify membrane quality. It is defined as following: where ni stands for moles of species i transferred through the membrane and ?pi stands for the partial pressure difference of species i through the membrane. The membrane thickness may vary from as small as 10 microns to few hundred micrometers. Basic types of membranes are presented in Figure 4. Membranes in petrochemical industry are mainly used for concentration, purification and fractionation however they may be coupled to a chemical reaction to shift the chemical equilibrium in a combination defined as a membrane reactor. Using a membrane is adding costs to any process, therefore in order to overcome the cost issue another advantages must overcome the added expenses like material with a very good separation factor, high flux, high quality membrane materials (stable during many months of operation). In a membrane separation reactor both organic and inorganic membranes can be used. Many industrial catalytic processes involve the combination of high temperature and chemically harsh environments favouring therefore inorganic membranes due to their thermal stability, resistance to organic solvents, chlorine and other chemicals. Some promising applications using inorganic membranes include certain dehydrogenation, hydrogenation and oxidation reactions like formation of butane from dehydrogenation of ethyl benzene, styrene production from dehydrogenation of ethyl benzene, dehydrogenation of ethane to ethane, oxidative coupling of methane etc. In membrane reactor two basic concepts can be distinguished as can be seen in Figure 5. reaction and separation combined in one reactor (catalytic membrane reactor) reaction and separation are not combined and the reactants are recycled along a membrane system (membrane recycle reactor) Catalytic membrane reactor concept is used especially with inorganic membranes (ceramics, metals) and polymeric membranes where the catalyst is coupled to the membrane. Membrane recycle reactor can be applied with any membrane process and type of membranes. Most of the chemical reactions need catalyst to enhance the reaction kinetics. The catalyst must be combined with the membrane system and various arrangements are possible, as can be seen in Figure 6. The advantage of the catalyst located inside the bore of the tube is simplicity in preparation and operation. When needed the catalyst could be easily replaced. In case of top layer filled with catalyst and membrane wall, the catalyst is immobilized onto the membrane. Palladium has been known to be a highly hydrogen permeable and selective material since the 19th century. The existing Pd-based membranes can be mainly classified into two types according to the structure of the membrane as (i) self-supporting Pd-based membranes and (ii) composite structures composed of thin Pd-based layers on porous materials. Most self-supporting Pd-based membranes are commercially available in the forms that are easily integrated into a separation setup. However these membranes are relatively thick (50 mm or more) and therefore the hydrogen flux through them is limited. Thick palladium membranes are expensive and rather suitable for use in large scale chemical production. For practical use it is necessary to develop separation units with reduced thickness of the layer. An additional problem is that in order to have adequate mechanical strength, relatively thick porous supports have to be used. In the last decade a significant research has been carried out to achie ve higher fluxes by depositing thin layers of Pd or Pd alloys on porous supports like ceramics or stainless steel. A submicron thick and defect-free palladium-silver (Pd-Ag) alloy membrane was fabricated on a supportive microsieve by using microfabrication technique and tested by Tong et al[4]. The technique also allowed production of a robust wafer-scale membrane module which could be easily inserted into a membrane holder to have gas-tight connections to outside. Fabricated membrane had a great potential for hydrogen purification and in application like dehydrogenation industry. One membrane module was investigated for a period of ca. 1000 hours during which the membrane experienced a change in gas type and its concentration as well as temperature cycling between 20 – 450  °C. The measured results showed no significant reduction in flux or selectivity, suggesting thus very good membrane stability. The authors carried out experiments with varying hydrogen concentration in the feed from 18 to 83 kPa at 450  °C to determine the steps limiting H2 transport rate. It is assumed that the fabricated membrane may be used as a membrane reactor for dehydrogenation reactions to synthesize high value products although its use may be limited due to high pressures of tens of bars. Schematic drawing of the hydrogen separation setup is presented in Figure 7. The membrane module was placed in a stainless steel holder installed in a temperature controlled oven to ensure isothermal operation. The H2/He feed (from 300 to 100 ml/mol) was preheated in spirals placed in the same oven. The setup was running automatically for 24 h/day and could handle 100 recipes without user intervention. Tucho et al.[5] performed microstructural studies of self-supported Pd / 23 wt. % Ag hydrogen separation membranes subjected to different heat treatments (300/400/450  °C for 4 days) and then tested for hydrogen permeation. It was noted that changes in permeability were dependent on the treatment atmosphere and temperature as well as membrane thickness. At higher temperatures significant grain growth was observed and stress relaxation occurred. Nam et al.[6] were able to fabricate a highly stable palladium alloy composite membrane for hydrogen separation on a porous stainless steel support by the vacuum electrodeposition and laminating procedure. The membrane was manufactured without microstructural change therefore it was possible to obtain both high performance (above 3 months of operation) and physical and morphological stability of the membrane. It was observed that the composite membrane had a capability to separate hydrogen from gas mixture with complete hydrogen selectivity and could be used to produce ultra-pure hydrogen for applications in membrane reactor. Tanaka et al.[7] aimed at the improved thermal stability of mesoporous Pd-YSZ-g-Al2O3 composite membrane. The improved thermal stability allowed operation at elevated temperature (> 500  °C for 200 hours). This was probably the result of improved fracture toughness of YSZ-g-Al2O3 layer and matching thermal expansion coefficient between palladium and YSZ. Kuraoka, Zhao and Yazawa[8] demonstrated that pore-filled palladium glass composite membranes for hydrogen separation prepared by electroless plating technique have both higher hydrogen permeance, and better mechanical properties than unsupported Pd films. The same technique was applied by Paglieri et al.[9] for plating a layer of Pd and then copper onto porous ?-substrate. Zahedi et al.[10] developed a thin palladium membrane by depositing Pd onto a tungsten oxide WO3 modified porous stainless steel disc and reported that permeability measureme nts at 723, 773 and 823 K showed high permeability and selectivity for hydrogen. The membrane was stable with regards to hydrogen for about 25 days. Certain effort has been performed for improving hydrothermal stability and application to hydrogen separation membranes at high temperatures. Igi et al.[11] prepared a hydrogen separation microporous membranes with enhanced hydrothermal stability at 500  °C under a steam pressure of 300 kPa. Co-doped silica sol solutions with varying Co composition (Co / (Si + Co) from 10 to 50 mol. %) were prepared and used for manufacturing the membranes. The membranes showed increased hydrothermal stability and high selectivity and permeability towards hydrogen when compared with pure silica membranes. The Co-doped silica membranes with a Co composition of 33 mol. % showed the highest selectivity for hydrogen, with a H2 permeance of 4.00 x 10-6 (m3 (STP) Ãâ€" (m Ãâ€" s Ãâ€" kPa)-1) and a H2/N2 permeance ratio of 730. It was observed that as the Co composition increased as high as 33 %, the activation energy of hydrogen permeation decreased and the H2 permeance increased. Additional increase in Co concentration resulted in increased H2 activation energy and decreased H2 permeance. Due to high permselectivity of Pd membranes, high purity of hydrogen can be obtained directly from hydrogen containing mixture at high temperatures without further purification providing if sufficient pressure gradient is applied. Therefore it is possible to integrate the reforming reaction and the separation step in a single unit. A membrane reformer system is simpler, more compact and more efficient than the conventional PSA system (Pressure Swing Adsorption) because stem reforming reaction of hydrocarbon fuels and hydrogen separation process take place in a single reactor simultaneously and without a separate shift converter and a purification system. Gepert et al.[12] have aimed at development of heat-integrated compact membrane reformer for d ecentralized hydrogen production and worked on composite ceramic capillaries (made of ?-Al2O3) coated with thin palladium membranes for production of CO-free hydrogen for PEM fuel cells by alcohol reforming. The membranes were tested for pure hydrogen and N2 as well as for synthetic reformate gas. The process steps comprised the evaporation and overheating of the water/alcohol feed, water gas shift combined with highly selective hydrogen separation. The authors have focused on the step concerned with the membrane separation of hydrogen from the reforming mixture and on the challenges and requirements of that process. The challenges encountered with the development of capillary Pd membranes were as following: long term temperature and pressure cycling stability in a reformate gas atmosphere, the ability to withstand frequent heating up and cooling down to room temperature, avoidance of the formation of pin-holes during operation and the integration of the membranes into reactor housi ng. It was observed that palladium membranes should not be operated at temperatures below 300  °C and pressures lower than 20 bar, while the upper operating range is between 500 and 900  °C. Alloying the membrane with copper and silver extend their operating temperature down to a room temperature. The introduction of silver into palladium membrane increases the lifetime, but also the costs when compared with copper. Detailed procedure of membrane manufacturing, integration into reformer unit and testing is described by the authors. Schematic of the concept of the integrated reformer is shown in Figure 8. The membrane was integrated in a metal tube embedded in electrically heated copper plates. Before entering the test tube, the gases were preheated to avoid local cooling of the membrane. Single gas measurements with pure N2 and H2 allowed the testing of the general performance of the membrane and the permselectivity for the respective gases to be reached. Synthetic reformate gas consisting of 75 % H2, 23.5 % CO2 and 1.5 % CO was used to get information about the performance. The membranes were tested between 370 – 450  °C and pressures up to 8 bar. The authors concluded that in general the membranes have shown good performance in terms of permeance and permselectivity including operation under reformate gas conditions. However, several problems were indicated concerning long-term stability under real reforming conditions, mainly related to structural nature (combination of different materials: ceramic, glaze, palladium resulted on incoherent potential for causing membrane failure). At operation times up to four weeks the continuous Pd layer remained essentially free from defects and pinholes. Han et al.[13] have developed a membrane separation module for a power equivalent of 10 kWel. A palladium membrane containing 40 wt. % copper and of 25 mm thickness was bonded into a metal frame. The separation module for a capacity of 10 Nm3 h-1 of hydrogen had a diameter of 10.8 cm and a length of 56 cm. Reformate fed to the modules contained 65 vol. % of hydrogen and the hydrogen recovery through the membrane was in the range of 75 %. Stable operation of the membrane separation was achieved for 750 pressure swing tests at 350  °C. The membrane separation device was integrated into a methanol fuel processor. Pientka et al.[14] have utilized a closed-cell polystyrene foam (Ursa XPS NIII, porosity 97 %) as a membrane buffer for separation of (bio)hydrogen. In the foam the cell walls formed a structured complex of membranes. The cells served as pressure containers of separated gases. The foam membrane was able to buffer the difference between the feed injection rate and the rate of consumption of the product. Using the difference in time-lags of different gases in polymeric foam, efficient gas separation was achieved during transient state and high purity hydrogen was obtained. Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) is involved in developing dense hydrogen-permeable membranes for separating hydrogen from mixed gases, particularly product streams during coal gasification and/or methane reforming. Novel cermet (ceramic-metal composite) membranes have been developed. Hydrogen separation with these membranes is non-galvanic (does not use electrodes or external power supply to drive the separation and hydrogen selectivity is nearly 100 % because the membrane contain no interconnected porosity). The membrane development at ANL initially concentrated on a mixed proton/electron conductor based on BaCe0.8Y0.2O3-d (BCY), but it turned to be insufficient to allow high non-galvanic hydrogen flux. To increase the electronic conductivity and thereby to increase the hydrogen flux the development focused on various cermet membranes with 40-50 vol. % of metal or alloy dispersed in the ceramic matrix. Balachandran et al.[15],[16] described the development performed at ANL. The powder mixture for fabricating cermet membranes was prepared by mechanical mixing Pd (50 vol. %) with YSZ, after that the powder mixture was pressed into discs. Polished cermet membranes were affixed to one end of alumina tube using a gold casket for a seal (as can be seen in Figure 9). In order to measure the hydrogen permeation rate, the alumina tube was inserted into a furnace with a sealed membrane and the associated gas flow tubes. Hydrogen permeation rate for Pd/YSZ membranes has been measured as a function of temperature (500-900  °C), partial pressure of hydrogen in the feed stream (0.04-1.0 atm.) and membrane thickness ( » 22-210 mm) as well as versus time during exposure to feed gases containing H2, CO, CO2, CH4 and H2S. The highest hydrogen flux was  » 20.0 cm3 (STP)/min cm2 for  » 22- mm thick membrane at 900  °C using 100 % hydrogen as the feed gas. These results suggested that membranes with thickness In the last decade Matrimid 5218 (Polyimide of 3,3,4,4-benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride and diamino-phenylindane) has attracted a lot of attention as a material for gas separation membranes due to the combination of relatively high gas permeability coefficients and separation factors combined with excellent mechanical properties, solubility in non-hazard organic solvents and commercial availability. Shishatskiy et al.[18] have developed asymmetric flat sheet membranes for hydrogen separation from its mixtures with other gases. The composition and conditions of membrane preparation were optimized for pilot scale membrane production. The resulting membrane had a high hydrogen flux (1 m3 (STP)/m2h*bar) and selectivity of H2/CH4 at least 100, close to the selectivity of Matrimid 5218, material used for asymmetric structure formation. The hydrogen flux through the membranes increased with the decrease of polymer concentration and increase of non-solvent concentration. In addition, the influence of N2 blowing over the membrane surface (0, 2, 3, 4 Nm3 h-1 flow rate) was studied and it was proved that the selectivity of the membrane decreased with increase of the gas flow. The SEM image of the membrane supported by Matrimid 5218 is shown in Figure 10. The stability against hydrocarbons was tested by immersion of the membrane into the mixture of n-pentane/n-hexane/toluene in 1:1:1 ratio. Stability tests showed that the developed membrane was stable against mixtures of liquid hydrocarbons and could withstand continuous heating up to 200  °C for 24 and 120 hours and did not lose gas separation properties after exposure to a mixture of liquid hydrocarbons. The polyester non-woven fabric used as a support for the asymmetric membrane gave to the membrane excellent mechanical properties and allowed to use the membrane in gas separation modules. Interesting report on development of compact hydrogen separation module called MOC (Membrane On Catalyst) with structured Ni-based catalyst for use in the membrane reactor was presented by Kurokawa et al[19]. In the MOC concept a porous support itself had a function of reforming catalyst in addition to the role of membrane support. The integrated structure of support and catalyst made the membrane reformer more compact because the separate catalysts placed around the membrane modules in the conventional membrane reformers could be eliminated. In that idea first a porous catalytic structure 8YSZ (mixture of NiO and 8 mol. % Y2O3-ZrO2 at the weight ratio 60:40) was prepared as the support structure of the hydrogen membrane. The mixture was pressed into a tube closed at one end and sintered then in air. Slurry of 8YSZ was coated on the external surface of the porous support and heat-treated for alloying. Obtained module of size 10 mm outside and 8 mm inside diameter, 100 ~ 300 mm length and the membrane thickness was 7 ~ 20 mm were heated in flowing hydrogen at 600  °C for 3 hours to reduce NiO in the support structure into Ni before use (the porosity of the support after reduction was 43 %). A stainless steel cap and pipe were bonded to the module to introduce H2 into the inside of the tubular module. Figure 11 presents the conceptual structure design of the MOC module as compared with the structure of the conventional membrane reformer. The sample module in the reaction chamber was placed in the furnace and heated at 600  °C, pre-heated hydrogen (or humidified methane) was supplied inside MOC at the pressure of 0.1 MPa and the permeated hydrogen was collected from the outside chamber around the module at ambient pressure. The 100 ~ 300 mm long modules with 10 mm membrane showed hydrogen flux of 30 cm3 per minute per cm2 which was two times higher than the permeability of the conventional modules with palladium based alloy films. Membrane On Catalyst modules have a great potential to be applied to membrane reformer systems. In this concept a porous support itself has a function of reforming catalyst in addition to the role of membrane support. It seems that Membrane On Catalyst modules have a great potential to be applied to membrane reformer systems. Amorphous alloy membranes composed primarily of Ni and early transition metals (ETM) are an inexpensive alternative to Pd-based alloy membranes, and these materials are therefore of particular interest for the large-scale production of hydrogen from carbon-based fuels. Catalytic membrane reactors can produce hydrogen directly from coal-derived synthesis gas at 400 °C, by combining a commercial water-gas shift (WGS) catalyst with a hydrogen-selective membrane. Three main classes of membrane are capable of operating at the high temperatures demanded by existing WGS catalysts: ceramic membranes producing pure hydrogen via ion-transfer mechanism at  ³ 600  °C, alloy membranes which produce pure hydrogen via a solution-diffusion mechanism between 300 – 500  °C and microporous membranes, typically silica or carbon, whose purity depends on the pore size of the membrane and which operate over a wide temperature range dependent on the membrane material. In order to explore the suitability of Ni-based amorphous alloys for this application, the thermal stability and hydrogen permeation characteristics of Ni-ETM amorphous alloy membranes has been examined by Dolan et al[20]. Fundamental limitation of these materials is that hydrogen permeability is inversely proportional to the thermal stability of the alloy. Alloy design is therefore a compromise between hydrogen production rate and durability. Amorphous Ni60Nb(40-x)Zr(x) membranes have been tested at 400 °C in pure hydrogen, and in simulated coal-derived gas streams with high steam, CO and CO2 levels, without severe degradation or corrosion-induced failure. The authors have concluded that Ni-Nb-Zr amorphous alloys are therefore prospective materials for use in a catalytic membrane reactor for coal-derived syngas. Much attention has been given to inorganic materials such as zeolite, silica, zirconia and titania for development of gas- and liquid- separation membranes because they can be utilized under har sh conditions where organic polymer membranes cannot be applied. Silica membranes have been studied extensively for the preparation of various kinds of separation membranes: hydrogen, CO2 and C3 isomers. Kanezeashi[21] have proposed silica networks using an organo-inorganic hybrid alkoxide structure containing the organic groups between two silicon atoms, such as bis(triethoxysilyl)ethane (BTESE) for development of highly permeable hydrogen separation membranes with hydrothermal stability. The concept for improvement of hydrogen permeability of silica membrane was to design a loose-organic-inorganic hybrid silica network using mentioned BTESE (to shift the silica networks to a larger pore size for an increase in H2 permeability). A hybrid silica layer was prepared by coating a silica-zirconia intermediate layer with a BTESE polymer sol followed by drying and calcination at 300 °C in nitrogen. A thin, continuous separation layer of hybrid silica for selective H2 permeation was observed on top of the SiO2-ZrO2 intermediate layer as presented in Figure 12. Hybrid silica membranes showed a very high H2 permeance, ~ 1 order of magnitude higher (~ 10-5 mol m-2 s-1 Pa-1) than previously r eported silica membranes using TEOS (Tetraethoxysilane). The hydrothermal stability of the hybrid silica membranes due to the presence of Si-C-C-Si bonds in the silica networks was also confirmed. Nitodas et al.[22] for the development of composite silica membranes have used the method of chemical vapour deposition (CVD) in the counter current configuration from TEOS and ozone mixtures. The experiments were conducted in a horizontal hot-wall CVD quartz reactor (Figure 13) under controlled temperature conditions (523 – 543 K) and at various reaction times (0 -15 hours) and differential pressures across the substrate sides using two types of substrates: a porous Vycor tube and alumina (g-Al2O3) nanofiltration (NF) tube. The permeance of hydrogen and other gases (He, N2, Ar, CO2) were measured in a home-made apparatus (able to operate under high vacuum conditions 10-3 Torr, feed pressure up to 70 bar) and the separation capability of the composite membranes was determined by calculating the selectivity of hydrogen over He, N2, Ar, CO2. The in-situ monitoring of gas permeance during the CVD development of nanoporous membranes created a tool to detect pore size alterations i n the micro to nanometer scale of thickness. The highest permeance values in both modified and unmodified membranes are observed for H2 and the lowest for CO2. This indicated that the developed membranes were ideal candidates for H2/CO2 separations, like for example in reforming units of natural gas and biogas (H2/CO2/CO/CH4). Moon et al.[23] have studied the separation characteristics and dynamics of hydrogen mixture produced from natural gas reformer on tubular type methyltriethoxysilane (MTES) silica / ?-alumina composite membranes. The permeation and separation of CO pure gas, H2/CO (50/50 vol. %) binary mixture and H2/CH4/CO/CO2 (69/3/2/26 vol. %) quaternary mixture was investigated. The authors developed a membrane process suitable for separating H2 from CO and other reformate gases (CO2 or CH4) that showed a molecular sieving effect. Since the permeance of pure CO on the MTES membrane was very low (CO  » 4.79 – 6.46 x 10-11 mol m-2 s-1 Pa-1), comparatively high hydrogen selectivity could be obtained from the H2/CO mixture (separation factor: 93 – 110). This meant that CO (which shall be eliminated before entering fuel cell) can be separated from hydrogen mixtures using MTES membranes. The permeance of the hydrogen quaternary mixture on MTES membrane was 2.07 – 3.37 x 10-9 mol m-2 s-1 Pa-1 and the separation factor of H2 / (CO + CH4 + CO2) was 2.61 – 10.33 at 323 – 473 K (Figure 14). The permeation and selectivity of hydrogen were increased with temperature because of activation of H2 molecules and unfavourable conditions for CO2 adsorption. Compared to other impurities, CO was most successfully removed from the H2 mixture. The MTES membranes showed great potential for hydrogen separation from reforming gas with high selectivity and high permeance and therefore they have good potential for fuel cell systems and for use in hydrogen stations. According to the authors, the silica membranes are expected to be used for separating hydrogen in reforming environment at high temperatures. Silica membranes prepared by the CVD or sol-gel methods on mesoporous support are effective for selective hydrogen permeation, however it is known that hydrogen-selective silica materials are not thermally stable at high temperatures. Most researchers reported a loss of permeability of silica membranes even 50 % or greater in the first 12 hours on exposure to moisture at high temperature. Much effort has been spent on the improvement of the stability of silica membranes. Gu et al.[24] have investigated a hydrothermally stable and hydrogen-selective membrane composed of silica and alumina prepared on a macroporous alumina support by CVD in an inert atmosphere at high temperature. Before the deposition of the silica-alumina composite multiple graded layers of alumina were coated on the alumina support with three sols of decreasing particle sizes. The resulting supported composite silica-alumina membrane had high permeability for hydrogen (in the order of 10-7 mol m-2 s-1 Pa-1) at 873 K . Significantly the composite membrane exhibited much higher stability to water vapour at the high temperature of 873 K in comparison to pure silica membranes. The introduction of alumina into silica made the silica structure more stable and slowed down the silica disintegration process. As mentioned, silica membranes produced by sol-gel technique or by CVD applied for gas separation, especially for H2 production are quite stable in dry gases and exhibit high separation ratio, but lose the permeability when used in the steamed gases because of sintering or tightening. Thi Literature Survey on Hydrogen Separation Technique Literature Survey on Hydrogen Separation Technique Literature review has been performed in order to identify recent publications on hydrogen separation methods, hydrogen solubility, materials and concepts in research institutes and laboratories. The aim of the performed literature survey was to monitor recent worldwide literature and find out whether some of the developed and reported solutions might possibly help to improve existing hydrogen separation concept in PDh system, enabling efficient complete separation of hydrogen from all unwanted hydrocarbons. Literature survey on hydrogen separation technique Basically there are four important methods applied to the separation of gases in the industry: absorption, adsorption, cryogenic and membranes. Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) is a gas purification process consisting of the removal of impurities on adsorbent beds. The usual adsorbents and gases adsorbed are molecular sieves for carbon monoxide, activated carbon for CO2, activated alumina or silica gel. Industrial PSA plants consist of up to 12 adsorbers and along with the number of valves required this makes the system rather complicated and complex. The PSA process is usually a repeating sequence of the following steps: adsorption at feed pressure, co-current depressurisation to intermediate pressure, counter-current depressurisation to atmospheric pressure usually starting at 10 % to 70 % of the feed pressure, counter-current purge with hydrogen enriched or product gas at ambient pressure, co-current pressure equalisation and finally, co-current pressurisation with feed or secondary process gas[1]. For hydrogen purification by PSA hydrogen purity is high but the amount of rejected hydrogen is also relatively high (10 †“ 35 %). It seems also that cryogenic technology might not be applicable for PDh process gas separation. Cooling down the mixture will finally end in a solid jet fuel and a gas phase. Handling the solid is more difficult when compared with liquid. During the survey it became evident that membrane technology is the most popular, used and still investigating for the improvement process for hydrogen separation therefore the focus of the study is mainly on this technique. The membrane separation process involves several elementary steps, which include the solution of hydrogen and its diffusion as atomic hydrogen through the membrane bulk material. Nowadays, membrane technologies are becoming more frequently used for separation of wide varying mixtures in the petrochemical related industries. According to Sutherland[2] it is estimated that bulk chemicals and petrochemicals applications represented about 40% of the membrane market in the whole chemicals industry or about $ 1.5 billions, growing over 5 % per year. Membrane gas separation is attractive because of its simplicity and low energy cost. The advantages of using membrane gas separation technologies could be summarized as following: Continuous and clean process, membranes do not require regeneration, unlike the adsorption or the absorption processes, which require regeneration step leading to the use of two solid beds or a solvent regeneration unit. Required filtration system is simple and inexpensive. Compared with conventional techniques, membranes can offer a simple, easy-to-operate, low-maintenance process. Membrane process is simple, generally carried out at atmospheric conditions which, besides being energy efficient, can be important for sensitive applications in pharmaceutical and food industry. The recovery of components from a main stream using membranes can be done without substantial additional energy costs. Membrane is defined essentially as a barrier, which separates two phases and restricts transport of various chemicals in a selective manner. A membrane can be homogenous or heterogeneous, symmetric or asymmetric in structure, solid or liquid; can carry a positive or negative charge or be neutral or bipolar. Transport through a membrane can be affected by convection or by diffusion of individual molecules, induced by an electric field or concentration, pressure or temperature gradient. It takes place when a driving force is applied to the components in the feed. In most of the membrane processes, the driving force is a pressure difference or a concentration (or activity) difference across the membrane. Another driving force in membrane separations is the electrical potential difference. This driving force only influences the transport of charged particles or molecules. The hydrogen separation factor is sometimes used to specify membrane quality. It is defined as following: where ni stands for moles of species i transferred through the membrane and ?pi stands for the partial pressure difference of species i through the membrane. The membrane thickness may vary from as small as 10 microns to few hundred micrometers. Basic types of membranes are presented in Figure 4. Membranes in petrochemical industry are mainly used for concentration, purification and fractionation however they may be coupled to a chemical reaction to shift the chemical equilibrium in a combination defined as a membrane reactor. Using a membrane is adding costs to any process, therefore in order to overcome the cost issue another advantages must overcome the added expenses like material with a very good separation factor, high flux, high quality membrane materials (stable during many months of operation). In a membrane separation reactor both organic and inorganic membranes can be used. Many industrial catalytic processes involve the combination of high temperature and chemically harsh environments favouring therefore inorganic membranes due to their thermal stability, resistance to organic solvents, chlorine and other chemicals. Some promising applications using inorganic membranes include certain dehydrogenation, hydrogenation and oxidation reactions like formation of butane from dehydrogenation of ethyl benzene, styrene production from dehydrogenation of ethyl benzene, dehydrogenation of ethane to ethane, oxidative coupling of methane etc. In membrane reactor two basic concepts can be distinguished as can be seen in Figure 5. reaction and separation combined in one reactor (catalytic membrane reactor) reaction and separation are not combined and the reactants are recycled along a membrane system (membrane recycle reactor) Catalytic membrane reactor concept is used especially with inorganic membranes (ceramics, metals) and polymeric membranes where the catalyst is coupled to the membrane. Membrane recycle reactor can be applied with any membrane process and type of membranes. Most of the chemical reactions need catalyst to enhance the reaction kinetics. The catalyst must be combined with the membrane system and various arrangements are possible, as can be seen in Figure 6. The advantage of the catalyst located inside the bore of the tube is simplicity in preparation and operation. When needed the catalyst could be easily replaced. In case of top layer filled with catalyst and membrane wall, the catalyst is immobilized onto the membrane. Palladium has been known to be a highly hydrogen permeable and selective material since the 19th century. The existing Pd-based membranes can be mainly classified into two types according to the structure of the membrane as (i) self-supporting Pd-based membranes and (ii) composite structures composed of thin Pd-based layers on porous materials. Most self-supporting Pd-based membranes are commercially available in the forms that are easily integrated into a separation setup. However these membranes are relatively thick (50 mm or more) and therefore the hydrogen flux through them is limited. Thick palladium membranes are expensive and rather suitable for use in large scale chemical production. For practical use it is necessary to develop separation units with reduced thickness of the layer. An additional problem is that in order to have adequate mechanical strength, relatively thick porous supports have to be used. In the last decade a significant research has been carried out to achie ve higher fluxes by depositing thin layers of Pd or Pd alloys on porous supports like ceramics or stainless steel. A submicron thick and defect-free palladium-silver (Pd-Ag) alloy membrane was fabricated on a supportive microsieve by using microfabrication technique and tested by Tong et al[4]. The technique also allowed production of a robust wafer-scale membrane module which could be easily inserted into a membrane holder to have gas-tight connections to outside. Fabricated membrane had a great potential for hydrogen purification and in application like dehydrogenation industry. One membrane module was investigated for a period of ca. 1000 hours during which the membrane experienced a change in gas type and its concentration as well as temperature cycling between 20 – 450  °C. The measured results showed no significant reduction in flux or selectivity, suggesting thus very good membrane stability. The authors carried out experiments with varying hydrogen concentration in the feed from 18 to 83 kPa at 450  °C to determine the steps limiting H2 transport rate. It is assumed that the fabricated membrane may be used as a membrane reactor for dehydrogenation reactions to synthesize high value products although its use may be limited due to high pressures of tens of bars. Schematic drawing of the hydrogen separation setup is presented in Figure 7. The membrane module was placed in a stainless steel holder installed in a temperature controlled oven to ensure isothermal operation. The H2/He feed (from 300 to 100 ml/mol) was preheated in spirals placed in the same oven. The setup was running automatically for 24 h/day and could handle 100 recipes without user intervention. Tucho et al.[5] performed microstructural studies of self-supported Pd / 23 wt. % Ag hydrogen separation membranes subjected to different heat treatments (300/400/450  °C for 4 days) and then tested for hydrogen permeation. It was noted that changes in permeability were dependent on the treatment atmosphere and temperature as well as membrane thickness. At higher temperatures significant grain growth was observed and stress relaxation occurred. Nam et al.[6] were able to fabricate a highly stable palladium alloy composite membrane for hydrogen separation on a porous stainless steel support by the vacuum electrodeposition and laminating procedure. The membrane was manufactured without microstructural change therefore it was possible to obtain both high performance (above 3 months of operation) and physical and morphological stability of the membrane. It was observed that the composite membrane had a capability to separate hydrogen from gas mixture with complete hydrogen selectivity and could be used to produce ultra-pure hydrogen for applications in membrane reactor. Tanaka et al.[7] aimed at the improved thermal stability of mesoporous Pd-YSZ-g-Al2O3 composite membrane. The improved thermal stability allowed operation at elevated temperature (> 500  °C for 200 hours). This was probably the result of improved fracture toughness of YSZ-g-Al2O3 layer and matching thermal expansion coefficient between palladium and YSZ. Kuraoka, Zhao and Yazawa[8] demonstrated that pore-filled palladium glass composite membranes for hydrogen separation prepared by electroless plating technique have both higher hydrogen permeance, and better mechanical properties than unsupported Pd films. The same technique was applied by Paglieri et al.[9] for plating a layer of Pd and then copper onto porous ?-substrate. Zahedi et al.[10] developed a thin palladium membrane by depositing Pd onto a tungsten oxide WO3 modified porous stainless steel disc and reported that permeability measureme nts at 723, 773 and 823 K showed high permeability and selectivity for hydrogen. The membrane was stable with regards to hydrogen for about 25 days. Certain effort has been performed for improving hydrothermal stability and application to hydrogen separation membranes at high temperatures. Igi et al.[11] prepared a hydrogen separation microporous membranes with enhanced hydrothermal stability at 500  °C under a steam pressure of 300 kPa. Co-doped silica sol solutions with varying Co composition (Co / (Si + Co) from 10 to 50 mol. %) were prepared and used for manufacturing the membranes. The membranes showed increased hydrothermal stability and high selectivity and permeability towards hydrogen when compared with pure silica membranes. The Co-doped silica membranes with a Co composition of 33 mol. % showed the highest selectivity for hydrogen, with a H2 permeance of 4.00 x 10-6 (m3 (STP) Ãâ€" (m Ãâ€" s Ãâ€" kPa)-1) and a H2/N2 permeance ratio of 730. It was observed that as the Co composition increased as high as 33 %, the activation energy of hydrogen permeation decreased and the H2 permeance increased. Additional increase in Co concentration resulted in increased H2 activation energy and decreased H2 permeance. Due to high permselectivity of Pd membranes, high purity of hydrogen can be obtained directly from hydrogen containing mixture at high temperatures without further purification providing if sufficient pressure gradient is applied. Therefore it is possible to integrate the reforming reaction and the separation step in a single unit. A membrane reformer system is simpler, more compact and more efficient than the conventional PSA system (Pressure Swing Adsorption) because stem reforming reaction of hydrocarbon fuels and hydrogen separation process take place in a single reactor simultaneously and without a separate shift converter and a purification system. Gepert et al.[12] have aimed at development of heat-integrated compact membrane reformer for d ecentralized hydrogen production and worked on composite ceramic capillaries (made of ?-Al2O3) coated with thin palladium membranes for production of CO-free hydrogen for PEM fuel cells by alcohol reforming. The membranes were tested for pure hydrogen and N2 as well as for synthetic reformate gas. The process steps comprised the evaporation and overheating of the water/alcohol feed, water gas shift combined with highly selective hydrogen separation. The authors have focused on the step concerned with the membrane separation of hydrogen from the reforming mixture and on the challenges and requirements of that process. The challenges encountered with the development of capillary Pd membranes were as following: long term temperature and pressure cycling stability in a reformate gas atmosphere, the ability to withstand frequent heating up and cooling down to room temperature, avoidance of the formation of pin-holes during operation and the integration of the membranes into reactor housi ng. It was observed that palladium membranes should not be operated at temperatures below 300  °C and pressures lower than 20 bar, while the upper operating range is between 500 and 900  °C. Alloying the membrane with copper and silver extend their operating temperature down to a room temperature. The introduction of silver into palladium membrane increases the lifetime, but also the costs when compared with copper. Detailed procedure of membrane manufacturing, integration into reformer unit and testing is described by the authors. Schematic of the concept of the integrated reformer is shown in Figure 8. The membrane was integrated in a metal tube embedded in electrically heated copper plates. Before entering the test tube, the gases were preheated to avoid local cooling of the membrane. Single gas measurements with pure N2 and H2 allowed the testing of the general performance of the membrane and the permselectivity for the respective gases to be reached. Synthetic reformate gas consisting of 75 % H2, 23.5 % CO2 and 1.5 % CO was used to get information about the performance. The membranes were tested between 370 – 450  °C and pressures up to 8 bar. The authors concluded that in general the membranes have shown good performance in terms of permeance and permselectivity including operation under reformate gas conditions. However, several problems were indicated concerning long-term stability under real reforming conditions, mainly related to structural nature (combination of different materials: ceramic, glaze, palladium resulted on incoherent potential for causing membrane failure). At operation times up to four weeks the continuous Pd layer remained essentially free from defects and pinholes. Han et al.[13] have developed a membrane separation module for a power equivalent of 10 kWel. A palladium membrane containing 40 wt. % copper and of 25 mm thickness was bonded into a metal frame. The separation module for a capacity of 10 Nm3 h-1 of hydrogen had a diameter of 10.8 cm and a length of 56 cm. Reformate fed to the modules contained 65 vol. % of hydrogen and the hydrogen recovery through the membrane was in the range of 75 %. Stable operation of the membrane separation was achieved for 750 pressure swing tests at 350  °C. The membrane separation device was integrated into a methanol fuel processor. Pientka et al.[14] have utilized a closed-cell polystyrene foam (Ursa XPS NIII, porosity 97 %) as a membrane buffer for separation of (bio)hydrogen. In the foam the cell walls formed a structured complex of membranes. The cells served as pressure containers of separated gases. The foam membrane was able to buffer the difference between the feed injection rate and the rate of consumption of the product. Using the difference in time-lags of different gases in polymeric foam, efficient gas separation was achieved during transient state and high purity hydrogen was obtained. Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) is involved in developing dense hydrogen-permeable membranes for separating hydrogen from mixed gases, particularly product streams during coal gasification and/or methane reforming. Novel cermet (ceramic-metal composite) membranes have been developed. Hydrogen separation with these membranes is non-galvanic (does not use electrodes or external power supply to drive the separation and hydrogen selectivity is nearly 100 % because the membrane contain no interconnected porosity). The membrane development at ANL initially concentrated on a mixed proton/electron conductor based on BaCe0.8Y0.2O3-d (BCY), but it turned to be insufficient to allow high non-galvanic hydrogen flux. To increase the electronic conductivity and thereby to increase the hydrogen flux the development focused on various cermet membranes with 40-50 vol. % of metal or alloy dispersed in the ceramic matrix. Balachandran et al.[15],[16] described the development performed at ANL. The powder mixture for fabricating cermet membranes was prepared by mechanical mixing Pd (50 vol. %) with YSZ, after that the powder mixture was pressed into discs. Polished cermet membranes were affixed to one end of alumina tube using a gold casket for a seal (as can be seen in Figure 9). In order to measure the hydrogen permeation rate, the alumina tube was inserted into a furnace with a sealed membrane and the associated gas flow tubes. Hydrogen permeation rate for Pd/YSZ membranes has been measured as a function of temperature (500-900  °C), partial pressure of hydrogen in the feed stream (0.04-1.0 atm.) and membrane thickness ( » 22-210 mm) as well as versus time during exposure to feed gases containing H2, CO, CO2, CH4 and H2S. The highest hydrogen flux was  » 20.0 cm3 (STP)/min cm2 for  » 22- mm thick membrane at 900  °C using 100 % hydrogen as the feed gas. These results suggested that membranes with thickness In the last decade Matrimid 5218 (Polyimide of 3,3,4,4-benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride and diamino-phenylindane) has attracted a lot of attention as a material for gas separation membranes due to the combination of relatively high gas permeability coefficients and separation factors combined with excellent mechanical properties, solubility in non-hazard organic solvents and commercial availability. Shishatskiy et al.[18] have developed asymmetric flat sheet membranes for hydrogen separation from its mixtures with other gases. The composition and conditions of membrane preparation were optimized for pilot scale membrane production. The resulting membrane had a high hydrogen flux (1 m3 (STP)/m2h*bar) and selectivity of H2/CH4 at least 100, close to the selectivity of Matrimid 5218, material used for asymmetric structure formation. The hydrogen flux through the membranes increased with the decrease of polymer concentration and increase of non-solvent concentration. In addition, the influence of N2 blowing over the membrane surface (0, 2, 3, 4 Nm3 h-1 flow rate) was studied and it was proved that the selectivity of the membrane decreased with increase of the gas flow. The SEM image of the membrane supported by Matrimid 5218 is shown in Figure 10. The stability against hydrocarbons was tested by immersion of the membrane into the mixture of n-pentane/n-hexane/toluene in 1:1:1 ratio. Stability tests showed that the developed membrane was stable against mixtures of liquid hydrocarbons and could withstand continuous heating up to 200  °C for 24 and 120 hours and did not lose gas separation properties after exposure to a mixture of liquid hydrocarbons. The polyester non-woven fabric used as a support for the asymmetric membrane gave to the membrane excellent mechanical properties and allowed to use the membrane in gas separation modules. Interesting report on development of compact hydrogen separation module called MOC (Membrane On Catalyst) with structured Ni-based catalyst for use in the membrane reactor was presented by Kurokawa et al[19]. In the MOC concept a porous support itself had a function of reforming catalyst in addition to the role of membrane support. The integrated structure of support and catalyst made the membrane reformer more compact because the separate catalysts placed around the membrane modules in the conventional membrane reformers could be eliminated. In that idea first a porous catalytic structure 8YSZ (mixture of NiO and 8 mol. % Y2O3-ZrO2 at the weight ratio 60:40) was prepared as the support structure of the hydrogen membrane. The mixture was pressed into a tube closed at one end and sintered then in air. Slurry of 8YSZ was coated on the external surface of the porous support and heat-treated for alloying. Obtained module of size 10 mm outside and 8 mm inside diameter, 100 ~ 300 mm length and the membrane thickness was 7 ~ 20 mm were heated in flowing hydrogen at 600  °C for 3 hours to reduce NiO in the support structure into Ni before use (the porosity of the support after reduction was 43 %). A stainless steel cap and pipe were bonded to the module to introduce H2 into the inside of the tubular module. Figure 11 presents the conceptual structure design of the MOC module as compared with the structure of the conventional membrane reformer. The sample module in the reaction chamber was placed in the furnace and heated at 600  °C, pre-heated hydrogen (or humidified methane) was supplied inside MOC at the pressure of 0.1 MPa and the permeated hydrogen was collected from the outside chamber around the module at ambient pressure. The 100 ~ 300 mm long modules with 10 mm membrane showed hydrogen flux of 30 cm3 per minute per cm2 which was two times higher than the permeability of the conventional modules with palladium based alloy films. Membrane On Catalyst modules have a great potential to be applied to membrane reformer systems. In this concept a porous support itself has a function of reforming catalyst in addition to the role of membrane support. It seems that Membrane On Catalyst modules have a great potential to be applied to membrane reformer systems. Amorphous alloy membranes composed primarily of Ni and early transition metals (ETM) are an inexpensive alternative to Pd-based alloy membranes, and these materials are therefore of particular interest for the large-scale production of hydrogen from carbon-based fuels. Catalytic membrane reactors can produce hydrogen directly from coal-derived synthesis gas at 400 °C, by combining a commercial water-gas shift (WGS) catalyst with a hydrogen-selective membrane. Three main classes of membrane are capable of operating at the high temperatures demanded by existing WGS catalysts: ceramic membranes producing pure hydrogen via ion-transfer mechanism at  ³ 600  °C, alloy membranes which produce pure hydrogen via a solution-diffusion mechanism between 300 – 500  °C and microporous membranes, typically silica or carbon, whose purity depends on the pore size of the membrane and which operate over a wide temperature range dependent on the membrane material. In order to explore the suitability of Ni-based amorphous alloys for this application, the thermal stability and hydrogen permeation characteristics of Ni-ETM amorphous alloy membranes has been examined by Dolan et al[20]. Fundamental limitation of these materials is that hydrogen permeability is inversely proportional to the thermal stability of the alloy. Alloy design is therefore a compromise between hydrogen production rate and durability. Amorphous Ni60Nb(40-x)Zr(x) membranes have been tested at 400 °C in pure hydrogen, and in simulated coal-derived gas streams with high steam, CO and CO2 levels, without severe degradation or corrosion-induced failure. The authors have concluded that Ni-Nb-Zr amorphous alloys are therefore prospective materials for use in a catalytic membrane reactor for coal-derived syngas. Much attention has been given to inorganic materials such as zeolite, silica, zirconia and titania for development of gas- and liquid- separation membranes because they can be utilized under har sh conditions where organic polymer membranes cannot be applied. Silica membranes have been studied extensively for the preparation of various kinds of separation membranes: hydrogen, CO2 and C3 isomers. Kanezeashi[21] have proposed silica networks using an organo-inorganic hybrid alkoxide structure containing the organic groups between two silicon atoms, such as bis(triethoxysilyl)ethane (BTESE) for development of highly permeable hydrogen separation membranes with hydrothermal stability. The concept for improvement of hydrogen permeability of silica membrane was to design a loose-organic-inorganic hybrid silica network using mentioned BTESE (to shift the silica networks to a larger pore size for an increase in H2 permeability). A hybrid silica layer was prepared by coating a silica-zirconia intermediate layer with a BTESE polymer sol followed by drying and calcination at 300 °C in nitrogen. A thin, continuous separation layer of hybrid silica for selective H2 permeation was observed on top of the SiO2-ZrO2 intermediate layer as presented in Figure 12. Hybrid silica membranes showed a very high H2 permeance, ~ 1 order of magnitude higher (~ 10-5 mol m-2 s-1 Pa-1) than previously r eported silica membranes using TEOS (Tetraethoxysilane). The hydrothermal stability of the hybrid silica membranes due to the presence of Si-C-C-Si bonds in the silica networks was also confirmed. Nitodas et al.[22] for the development of composite silica membranes have used the method of chemical vapour deposition (CVD) in the counter current configuration from TEOS and ozone mixtures. The experiments were conducted in a horizontal hot-wall CVD quartz reactor (Figure 13) under controlled temperature conditions (523 – 543 K) and at various reaction times (0 -15 hours) and differential pressures across the substrate sides using two types of substrates: a porous Vycor tube and alumina (g-Al2O3) nanofiltration (NF) tube. The permeance of hydrogen and other gases (He, N2, Ar, CO2) were measured in a home-made apparatus (able to operate under high vacuum conditions 10-3 Torr, feed pressure up to 70 bar) and the separation capability of the composite membranes was determined by calculating the selectivity of hydrogen over He, N2, Ar, CO2. The in-situ monitoring of gas permeance during the CVD development of nanoporous membranes created a tool to detect pore size alterations i n the micro to nanometer scale of thickness. The highest permeance values in both modified and unmodified membranes are observed for H2 and the lowest for CO2. This indicated that the developed membranes were ideal candidates for H2/CO2 separations, like for example in reforming units of natural gas and biogas (H2/CO2/CO/CH4). Moon et al.[23] have studied the separation characteristics and dynamics of hydrogen mixture produced from natural gas reformer on tubular type methyltriethoxysilane (MTES) silica / ?-alumina composite membranes. The permeation and separation of CO pure gas, H2/CO (50/50 vol. %) binary mixture and H2/CH4/CO/CO2 (69/3/2/26 vol. %) quaternary mixture was investigated. The authors developed a membrane process suitable for separating H2 from CO and other reformate gases (CO2 or CH4) that showed a molecular sieving effect. Since the permeance of pure CO on the MTES membrane was very low (CO  » 4.79 – 6.46 x 10-11 mol m-2 s-1 Pa-1), comparatively high hydrogen selectivity could be obtained from the H2/CO mixture (separation factor: 93 – 110). This meant that CO (which shall be eliminated before entering fuel cell) can be separated from hydrogen mixtures using MTES membranes. The permeance of the hydrogen quaternary mixture on MTES membrane was 2.07 – 3.37 x 10-9 mol m-2 s-1 Pa-1 and the separation factor of H2 / (CO + CH4 + CO2) was 2.61 – 10.33 at 323 – 473 K (Figure 14). The permeation and selectivity of hydrogen were increased with temperature because of activation of H2 molecules and unfavourable conditions for CO2 adsorption. Compared to other impurities, CO was most successfully removed from the H2 mixture. The MTES membranes showed great potential for hydrogen separation from reforming gas with high selectivity and high permeance and therefore they have good potential for fuel cell systems and for use in hydrogen stations. According to the authors, the silica membranes are expected to be used for separating hydrogen in reforming environment at high temperatures. Silica membranes prepared by the CVD or sol-gel methods on mesoporous support are effective for selective hydrogen permeation, however it is known that hydrogen-selective silica materials are not thermally stable at high temperatures. Most researchers reported a loss of permeability of silica membranes even 50 % or greater in the first 12 hours on exposure to moisture at high temperature. Much effort has been spent on the improvement of the stability of silica membranes. Gu et al.[24] have investigated a hydrothermally stable and hydrogen-selective membrane composed of silica and alumina prepared on a macroporous alumina support by CVD in an inert atmosphere at high temperature. Before the deposition of the silica-alumina composite multiple graded layers of alumina were coated on the alumina support with three sols of decreasing particle sizes. The resulting supported composite silica-alumina membrane had high permeability for hydrogen (in the order of 10-7 mol m-2 s-1 Pa-1) at 873 K . Significantly the composite membrane exhibited much higher stability to water vapour at the high temperature of 873 K in comparison to pure silica membranes. The introduction of alumina into silica made the silica structure more stable and slowed down the silica disintegration process. As mentioned, silica membranes produced by sol-gel technique or by CVD applied for gas separation, especially for H2 production are quite stable in dry gases and exhibit high separation ratio, but lose the permeability when used in the steamed gases because of sintering or tightening. Thi