Synthesis of ethyl tert-butyl ether with tert-butyl alcohol and ethanol on various ion exchange resin catalysts

Heterogeneous catalytic synthesis of ETBE with tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) and ethanol (EtOH) using seven ion exchange resins has been studied. After characterization of catalysts, batch kinetic studies were conducted to sort out the most suitable catalyst based on TBA conversion and ETBE selectivity. Optimum operating conditions found were 343 K temperature; 1:2 feed mole ratio (TBA:EtOH), and 10% catalyst loading. Kinetic modeling for the most suitable catalyst CT-145H was done using heterogeneous and quasi-homogeneous models, but latter fit well to experimental data.