Dehydration of Methanol to Dimethyl Ether Employing Modified H-ZSM-5 Catalysts

Synthesis of Dimethyl ether from methanol was investigated over H-ZSM-5 and promoted H-ZSM-5 catalysts employing Mg, Na, Zr, Al and Zn components. All samples were characterized by AAS, BET, XRD and TPD analyses. Results of TPD analysis indicated that the number of weak strength acid sites increased on the surface of Na, Zn and Mg modified H-ZSM-5, while the number of medium strength acid sites increased on the surface of Zr and Al modified H-ZSM-5. Zr- modified H-ZSM-5 zeolite exhibited higher activity (94%) and selectivity (99%) than other materials while all modified catalysts exhibited good stability.
Ultimately, it was concluded that production of dimethyl ether from methanol occurred on acidic sites with medium and/or weak strengths. In this direction, an optimum catalyst for dehydration of methanol to DME with high conversion, selectivity and stability was developed.