Alcohol splitting for the production of methyl methoxyacetate: Integration of ion-exchange with bipolar membrane electrodialysis

As a green technology for organic synthesis, alcohol splitting by using bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BMED) is restricted from industrial practice due to the unacceptable electrical resistance of the organic medium. This research proposes an integration strategy to reduce the electrical resistance, i.e., filling ion-exchange resins in a BMED stack. This strategy is adopted for the production of methyl methoxyacetate in methanol, and the performance of 4 kinds of ion-exchange resins are assessed in terms of the voltage drop, product yield, and current efficiency. Under the experimental conditions, the lowest voltage drop was achieved by using D201 macroreticular anion-exchange resin, and the voltage drop decreased by 44.3–61.4%. However, there was a slight decrease in the product yield and current efficiency due to the adsorption of methyl methoxyacetate onto the resins. As a compromise, 201*7 gel-type anion-exchange resin is the best choice.

Research highlights▶ First report in a non-aqueous system by integration of BMED with ion-exchange. ▶ This strategy makes it possible for BMED to run under a lower energy consumption for the production of methyl methoxyacetate in methanol. ▶ The performance of 4 kinds of ion-exchange resins are assessed in terms of the voltage drop, product yield, and current efficiency. ▶ The lowest voltage drop was achieved by using D201 macrorecticular anion-exchange resin, and the voltage drop decreased by 44.3%–61.4%.