Thermodynamics and Kinetics of the Dehydration of tert-Butyl Alcohol

Abstract

The dehydration of tert-butyl alcohol to water and isobutene was studied using an ion-exchange resin catalyst at temperatures between 60 and 90 °C. A temperature-dependent equilibrium constant for the dehydration reaction was obtained that gave a reaction enthalpy of 26 kJ mol-1, in good agreement with values in the literature. Measured data were used for kinetic modeling of the reaction. The best model with physically meaningful parameters was of Langmuir−Hinshelwood type where isobutene does not adsorb on the catalyst. The activation energy for the reaction in this case was 18 kJ mol-1.