Influence of structure type of Al2O3 on dehydration of methanol for dimethyl ether synthesis

Abstract

This study focused on the effect of alumina properties on the catalytic performance in the dehydration of methanol to synthesize dimethyl ether. The catalysts (gamma-Al2O3 and eta-Al2O3) were prepared from boehmite and bayerite, respectively, via calcination at various temperatures. With heat treatment, the properties of alumina have been changed significantly. Under identical reaction conditions, gamma-Al2O3 calcined at 500 C and eta-Al2O3 calcined at 500 degrees C showed the highest catalytic activity, because of high acid site density among the same types of alumina. Interestingly, eta-Al2O3 showed higher catalytic activity than gamma-Al2O3, although both catalysts possess comparable acidic properties. This means the structure type of alumina is crucial to determine catalytic performance in this reaction.