Kinetic Study of Ethanol Dehydration to Ethylene and Diethyl Ether in Catalytic Packed Bed Reactor Over ZSM-5 Catalyst

Abstract

Dehydration of ethanol is one of the crucial processes as it is considered a green route for producing ethylene and diethyl ether and is promoted mainly by economics and environmental appeal. In this study, different kinetic models for ethanol dehydration to ethylene and diethyl ether were developed based on two parallel reactions and different mechanisms. Additionally, a mathematical model of a packed bed reactor was also suggested based on a set of hypotheses for investigating the axial concentration profile of ethanol. Kinetic parameters of each model were estimated by nonlinear regression analysis of obtained experimental data reported in the literature at temperatures between (523.15 – 623.15) K. The analysis showed that the single-site model I for ethylene formation and dual-site (LHHW) model for diethyl ether formation gave the best representation of experimental data compared to other proposed models. Kinetic parameters were found to be in good accordance with the Arrhenius equation with acceptable straight-line plots, and they have been satisfactorily correlated as functions of reaction temperature. The mathematical model presented a smooth linear change in ethanol concentration at various temperatures. The AARD% obtained for each chosen ethylene and diethyl ether formation model were about (1.4502-2.5978) and (0.9135-2.9394), respectively.