Preparation and catalytic evaluation of phosphated zirconia nanopowder for ethanol dehydration into diethyl ether

Abstract

Research on renewable energy development is intensified nowadays, including the production of diethyl ether (DEE) as a high-value alternative fuel. This study explored the catalytic conversion of ethanol into diethyl ether using a phosphated zirconia catalyst. We examined different concentrations of phosphoric acid (1, 2, 3, and 4 M) and calcination temperatures (400, 500, and 600 °C) applied to zirconia nanopowder to evaluate their influence on the acidity of the resulting phosphated zirconia. The catalysts were characterized by FTIR, XRD, SAA, SEM-EDX Mapping, and TG-DTA. Among the catalysts tested, the PZ-2-400 catalyst, prepared with a 2 M H3PO4 concentration and calcined at 400 °C, exhibited the highest acidity value of 0.56 g/mol pyridine. When operated at the optimum temperature of 225 °C, this catalyst achieved an ethanol conversion of 80.04 % and a diethyl ether yield of 1.00 %. These findings suggest that modification of ZrO2 with phosphoric acid acts as a solid acid catalyst for diethyl ether synthesis with better activity and selectivity than unmodified ZrO2.