Kinetic modeling of gas phase synthesis of ethyl chloride from ethanol and HCl in fixed bed reactor

•Gas-phase process of ethyl chloride synthesis from ethanol and HCl over high porous Al2O3-based catalysts in a bed-fixed reactor was investigated.•Two rival kinetic models for the description of process kinetic were proposed.•The values of rate constants, reaction equilibrium constants and activation energy were calculated for both kinetic models.

Kinetic modeling of gas-phase synthesis of ethyl chloride from ethanol and hydrochloric acid over high porous Al2O3 and 2 wt% ZnCl2/Al2O3 catalysts was studied in a continuous plug flow reactor in the temperature range of 200–325 °C. Two rival kinetic models were proposed that both describe the kinetics well. The kinetic parameters of the reaction were determined and activation energy values for ethyl chloride formation from ethyl alcohol and diethyl ether reactions were calculated.

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