Simultaneous Isomerization and Etherification of Isoamylenes with Methanol

Abstract

AbstractThe effect of feed MeOH/2M1B molar ratio on the initial isomerization and etherification rates of 2‐methyl‐1‐butene (2M1B) was studied in a batch reactor. The initial reaction rates for etherification and isomerization increased when the MeOH/2M1B molar ratio decreased. The ratio of etherification and isomerization rate was 2–3 until at lowest initial MeOH/2M1B molar ratio 0.2, where the isomerization rate increased significantly. At MeOH/2M1B molar ratio 0.2 the isomerization reaction rate was twice as high as the etherification reaction rate. Several kinetic formulations were tested to explain this new data and the data obtained in earlier studies. According to the statistics, a kinetic model based on three active sites gave the best fit, but it was discussed that the basic Langmuir‐Hinshelwood mechanism might be more adequate. An improved fit of the Langmuir‐Hinshelwood model was obtained, when a correction factor describing the acceleration of isomerization rate with the molar fraction of 2M1B was added into the kinetic equations.