Simultaneous production of tert-Amyl ethyl ether and tert-Amyl alcohol from isoamylene-ethanol-water mixtures in a batch-reactive distillation column

tert-Amyl ethyl ether (TAEE) and tert-amyl alcohol (TAA), which are the attractive alternatives to methyl tert-butyl ether as octane-enhancing gasoline-blending components, are produced by the simultaneous etherification and hydration of 2-methyl-2-butene (2M2B) in a batch-reactive distillation column. It was shown that, by changing the reboiler temperature in the range of 90-124 degrees C, significant increases of the overall fractional conversion of 2M2B, reaching values of 0.99, were achieved in this system. In the presence of water, the formation of TAA was also found to take place by the reactions of 2M2B and TAEE with water. Higher selectivities were observed for TAA than for TAEE, in the presence of water. This is due to the higher adsorption equilibrium constant of water than of ethanol on an Amberlyst-15 resin catalyst. A significant increase in the fractional conversion of 2M2B to TAEE was observed in the absence of water.