Fuel ethers such as MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether), TAME (tertiary amyl methyl ether) and ETBE (ethyl tertiary butyl ether) can be produced very efficiently from alcohols (methanol/ethanol) and olefin cuts (C4/C5) in reactive distillation columns which are packed with acid ion exchange rings. In the present contribution first a detailed three phase nonequilibrium model for such a packed catalytic distillation column will be presented. Then it will be demonstrated how this model can be used for the prediction of suitable operating conditions and optimal arrangement of feed streams and packings. Finally the simulated results will be validated by comparison with experimental data from a laboratory scale MTBE-column.