Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol.46, No.4, 1105-1113, 2007
Experimental and simulation studies of TAME synthesis in a fixed-bed reactor
Experimental data of TAME synthesis in a fixed-bed reactor were obtained in an experimental setup with a laboratory-scale jacketed column packed with a macroreticular strong cation ion-exchange resin in hydrogen form (Amberlyst 15 Wet, Rohm & Haas) as catalyst. Two kinds of experiments were performed: TAME synthesis (etherification + isomerization) and only isomerization between the isoamylenes. The experiments were carried out in the temperature range 313-353 K, at 12-13 bar. A mathematical model that uses a Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetic law previously obtained and that, for the description of the behavior of the fixed-bed reactor, considers plug flow with axial dispersion, assumes negligible mass transfer resistances and, in the adsorbed phase, considers significant only the accumulation of methanol, with the adsorption equilibrium described by a Langmuir isotherm, written in terms of activities, was developed. The experimental results, even when involving only the isomerization between the isoamylenes, are reasonably well-simulated by the model developed.