Reactive distillation for synthesizing ethyl tert-butyl ether from low-grade alcohol catalyzed by potassium hydrogen sulfate

Journal Article · Thu Feb 29 23:00:00 EST 1996 · Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/ie9504664· OSTI ID:225476

Matouq, M; Quitain, A T; Takahashi, Katsuroku; Goto, Shigeo ^[1]

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1. Nagoya Univ. (Japan). Dept. of Chemical Engineering

Synthesis of ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE) from the reaction between ethanol (EtOH) and tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) in the presence of different acid catalysts (KHSO{sub 4}, NaHSO{sub 4}, H{sub 2}SO{sub 4}, and Amberlyst 15) was investigated at low alcohol grade (mixture of 80 mol % water). Potassium hydrogen sulfate (KHSO{sub 4}) showed the highest selectivity among the tested catalysts. Other catalysts caused the dehydration of TBA into water (H{sub 2}O) and isobutene (IB). In the top of the reactive distillation column with total reflux, the condensate was split into two layers. The upper layer contained ETBE with a more than 60 mole fraction.

• OSTI ID: 225476
• Journal Information: Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, Journal Name: Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 35; ISSN IECRED; ISSN 0888-5885
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

10 SYNTHETIC FUELS
BUTANOLS
CATALYSTS
CATALYTIC EFFECTS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DISTILLATION EQUIPMENT
ETHANOL
ETHERS
FUEL ADDITIVES
POTASSIUM SULFATES
SODIUM SULFATES
SULFURIC ACID
SYNTHESIS