ANALYSIS OF THE FIXED BED REACTOR FOR DME SYNTHESIS

Dimethyl Ether (DME, $CH_3OCH_3$) is the simplest ether and is considered as one of the leading candidates in the quest for a substitute fur petroleum-based fuels. In this work, we analyzed the one-step synthesis of DME in a shell and tube type fixed bed reactor and carried out a simulation with a one-dimensional, steady state model of a heterogeneous catalyst bed, while taking into consideration the heat and mass transfer between the catalyst pellets and reactants gas and the effectiveness factor of the catalysts, together with the reactor cooling through the reactor tube wall. The reactor simulation was carried out under steady state condition and we compared the simulation results with the experimental data obtained from operations of a pilot-scale reactor and found good agreement between them.