Chemical Equilibrium and Reaction Kinetics of the Heterogeneously Catalyzed Formation of Poly(oxymethylene) Dimethyl Ethers from Methylal and Trioxane

Poly(oxymethylene) dimethyl ethers (OMEs) are attractive components for tailoring diesel fuels. They belong to the group of oxygenates that reduce soot formation in the combustion when added to diesel fuels and can be produced on a large scale based on gas-to-liquid technology. This work deals with a particularly favorable route for their large scale production in which they are formed from methylal and trioxane. Reaction kinetics and chemical equilibrium of the OME formation via this route were studied in a batch reactor using the ion-exchange resin Amberlyst 46 as heterogeneous catalyst at temperatures between 323 and 363 K and for a wide range of feed compositions. An adsorption-based kinetic model is presented that represents both reaction kinetics and equilibrium well.