Introductory Remarks

Olefin etherification with alcohol is one technology used to produce oxygenated fuel with high octane numbers. The process involves reversible etherification, separation of ether product from light hydrocarbon, unreacted olefin and alcohol, alcohol recovery and recycle. The critical parameters for design, troubleshooting and optimization of an etherification process is investigated in this presentation. These key parameters are: the molar ratio of alcohol to reactive olefin, the operating temperature and pressure of the etherification reactor, the azeotrope / reactive distillation to effectively separate hydrocarbon and ether product, and the effective recovery of alcohol. Any improper setup of these parameters will result in low conversion of the reactive olefin, high content of unexpected by-product, process upset, and high energy consumption due to required alcohol recycle.