Study on Macro-Kinetics of One-Step DME Synthesis from Synthesis Gas

Mechanism of one-step production of dimethyl ether (DME) from synthesis gas over a commercial Cu-Zn based catalyst C301 and γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst at 480-550 K and 3-8 MPa was studied. Experimental data and theoretical calculations were used to develop the thermodynamics, reaction kinetics, and reactor model. Thermodynamic and kinetics features were discussed in detail. A reaction kinetics model that can provide reliable data for simulations and engineering applications was developed from the experiments. Kinetics parameters were determined by least squares regression. Monte Carlo simulations of experiments were performed to analyze the effects of operating conditions and instrumentation uncertainties in measurement of experiment variables on reliability of kinetic parameters of reaction kinetics model. These simulations gave the confidence limits of the kinetics parameters and were useful for experiment design for acquisition of more data. Experimental data and results are useful for understanding the mechanism and the further development of the one-step DME production process. They constitute a fundamental database for pilot plant scale experiments.