Synthesis of AlOOH slurry catalyst and catalytic activity for methanol dehydration to dimethyl ether

AlOOH slurry catalysts were prepared by complete liquid-phase technology from aluminum iso-propoxide (AIP). Dehydration of methanol to dimethyl ether (DME) over these catalysts was investigated in slurry reactor. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen adsorption, temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia (NH3–TPD). The results showed that the slurry catalysts had high specific surface area and pore volume, and the specific surface area and the strength of weak acidic sites were influenced considerably by the molar ratio of H2O/AIP and HNO3/AIP. Activity tests indicated that AlOOH slurry catalysts had excellent catalytic activity and stability in slurry reactor for the dehydration of methanol to dimethyl ether, and the activity correlated well with the strength of weak acidic sites of catalysts, which can be controlled by changing the H2O/AIP and HNO3/AIP molar ratios. The average methanol conversion at even stage reaches nearly 80% and DME selectivity almost 100% over CAT-P1 catalyst. No deactivation was found during the reaction of 500 h. It is also expected that CAT-P1 becomes a promising methanol dehydration catalyst for the STD process based on CuZuAl methanol synthesis catalyst.