Palladium membranes were prepared on large tubes (80 mm diameter and 150 mm length) of porous stainless steel supports (PSS) using a modified electroless plating technique. The morphology of the palladium layer was found to be depending on the container material of the coating apparatus. The use of PMMA resulted in compact palladium layers with smooth surfaces whereas PTFE led to inhomogeneous palladium coating with rough surface. Two different ceramic materials and coating methods were used to prepare an intermediate layer needed to prevent intermetallic diffusion between the palladium and the support at elevated temperatures. Wet powder spraying of TiO2 followed by sintering resulted in a smoother surface than atmospheric plasma spraying of YSZ, thus allowing for a thinner palladium coating. Pd/TiO2/PSS membranes showed about 4 times higher hydrogen permeances than Pd/YSZ/PSS membranes as a consequence of higher palladium thickness and lower porosity of the ceramic intermediate layer. The selectivity against nitrogen was comparable for both membranes. However, the YSZ intermediate layer showed better stability at elevated temperatures. Two membrane tubes were applied in the membrane reformer, which produced hydrogen successfully from a gas-to-liquid (GtL) fuel. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.