Can a dimethyl ether reactor use an isothermal reactor?
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Can a dimethyl ether reactor use an isothermal reactor? Methanol and shift reactions are both carried out in isothermal reactors; can the same be done for dimethyl ether?
When choosing an isothermal reactor, the first factor to consider is the medium used for heat transfer; water is generally used for this purpose. The reaction temperature for dimethyl ether is usually above 300°C, and at 300°C the saturated vapor pressure of water exceeds 10 MPa. This increases the manufacturing costs of the reactor significantly. Moreover, the critical temperature of water is 374°C, which means that the temperature range suitable for dimethyl ether reactions is quite narrow. Therefore, at the current active temperatures of catalysts, isothermal reactors are not suitable for such reactions. Both methanol and sulfur-tolerant shift reactions currently take place at around 250°C, so isothermal reaction is feasible.