Dehydration of methanol over Nordstrandite based catalysts for dimethyl ether synthesis

Abstract

This study focused on the investigation of Nordstrandite as a catalyst for dehydration of methanol to dimethyl ether synthesis. The structure phase of Nordstrandite has been changed to boehmite and gamma-Al2O3 in sequence via calcinations at various temperatures. Moreover, the properties of the samples have been varied significantly with heat treatment. The number of acid sites of Nordstrandite was much higher than the other aluminas. However, the catalytic activity of Nordstrandite was comparable to the other catalysts with fewer amounts of acid sites. This means that structure phase is one of the most important factors for catalytic performance in this reaction. (C) 2009 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.