Discuss the industrial operating conditions of dimethyl ether catalysts
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Dear experts from production and design organizations, please share the common process operating conditions used when employing molecular sieve and activated alumina-based catalysts for the gas-phase dehydration of methanol to produce dimethyl ether. These include the operating range of reaction temperature, pressure, methanol liquid space velocity, catalyst conversion rate, catalyst loading amount, as well as any issues that arise during the reaction process in industrial settings. I think many people interested in this field only obtain rather vague information from some reviews or overviews, without actual process technical specifications from the production front line. :handshake
In recent years, few new plants have used molecular sieves as catalysts for the synthesis of dimethyl ether; alumina is used in most cases. However, various manufacturers have added some active components to them to further optimize their performance. The dimethyl ether synthesis catalysts produced by the Southwest Research Institute in China are of good quality, as are those manufactured by Toyo Company and Topso Company abroad. The catalyst activation temperature ranges of Southwest Research Institute and Toyo Company are narrower than those of Topsoe Company; therefore, the first two reactors of these companies are of the cold-start type while the latter one is a fixed-bed reactor.