D. Bell, B. Towler, M. Fan
2010
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Abstract
Methanol is a liquid at ambient conditions and is widely considered as a transportation fuel. Methanol, especially M85, can be burned in engines designed to burn gasoline, but methanol may be corrosive to materials designed to contact gasoline. Methanol is also hydrophilic, so it may absorb water, which would have a negative impact on its performance. The heat of combustion for methanol, at 22.3 MJ/kg, is substantially less than gasoline, typically 44 MJ/kg, so a vehicle burning methanol would have a significantly lower range compared to gasoline. Dimethyl ether (DME) is formed by the dimerization of methanol. DME is a gas at ambient conditions, with a 25°C boiling point and a 0.5 Mpa vapor pressure at 20°C. DME is slightly polar and is nearly nontoxic. There are two approaches to DME synthesis. The most common current approach is the two pot synthesis, in which methanol is made from syngas, and then the methanol is converted to DME. In the one pot synthesis of DME, a newer approach, the reactor contains both the methanol synthesis catalyst and a solid acid catalyst for the conversion of methanol to DME. Two approaches to catalyst formulation are taken. One is to load methanol synthesis catalyst onto a solid acid support. The second is to simply mix methanol synthesis and solid acid catalysts.