Self-Etherification Process for Cleaner Fuel Production

Abstract

The process of fluidized catalytic cracking (FCC) gasoline self-etherification with ethanol has several benefits. Firstly, the gasoline volume is effectively increased by adding ethers produced from ethanol which is renewable. Secondly, the etherified gasoline product has higher octane number with lower blending Reid vapor pressure (bRvp) and amount of olefins content. Two catalysts; i.e., Amberlyst 16 and Beta-zeolite are used for etherification in this study. The bRvp of etherified FCC gasoline is lower than that of ethanol direct blend gasoline (called gasohol) and also could be lower than that of original FCC gasoline with moderate ethanol conversion. However, the octane number of etherified FCC gasoline catalyzed by Amberlyst 16 is slightly lower than that of gasohol. Beta-zeolite is a more suitable catalyst than Amberlyst 16 for the etherification of FCC gasoline with ethanol because not only a better catalytic activity for etherification, but some isomerization also occurs without aromatization. Therefore it offers improved gasoline products with higher research octane number and gasoline renewability with lower bRvp than that of gasohol. Olefins and ethanol conversions increase with increasing ethanol ratio in feed. Nevertheless, ethanol feed ratio is limited specification of distillation temperatures which are dependent on the evaporation of ethanol and its amount. The cold start problem might not be occurred even in low bRvp as proven by satisfied drivability index.

Equilibrium of the simultaneous etherification of isobutene and isoamylenes with ethanol in liquid-phase

“…Furthermore, simultaneous etherification of isobutene and isoamylenes could constitute the integration of two etherification processes at industrial scale, which would mean savings in installation, operation and maintenance costs. In fact, the etherification of gasolines from FCC with ethanol and methanol has already been studied (Cataluña et al, 2008;Rock and Korpelshoek, 2008;Kiatkittipong et al, 2008Kiatkittipong et al, , 2009Kiatkittipong et al, , 2011Rihko and Krause, 1996) showing as feasible the technique of the simultaneous etherification of several olefins.…”

Benzin İçin Oksijenli Yakıt Katkıları

“…Ürünlerde etanol bulunacağı için yakıtın oktan sayısı gliserin ile eterleşme reaksiyonuyla elde edilen yakıttan daha yüksektir [61]. Etanol ile eterleştirilen benzinin Reid buhar basıncı benzin-etanol karışımından daha düşüktür [63]. Bu eterleşme reaksiyonunda yakıt içindeki olefinik hidrokarbonlar reaksiyona girerek azaltılır.…”

“…Yakıtın uçuculuğunu arttıran olefinik hidrokarbonların rafineri işlemi sırasında ek bir maliyetle benzin içindeki miktarı sınırlandırılır. Benzinin etanol ile eterleşme reaksiyonu sayesinde benzin içindeki olefinik hidrokarbon miktarı azaltılarak yüksek oktan sayılı ve buhar basıncı daha düşük oksijenli yakıt elde edilebilir [63]. Terpinol: Benzinin oktan sayısını arttırmak için kullanılabilecek yenilenebilir oksijenli yakıt katkılarından biridir.…”

Selective synthesis of 2-ethoxy alkanes through ethoxylation of 1-alkenes with bioethanol over zeolite beta catalyst in a liquid phase continuous process

“…The use of ethanol as a fuel or a blend of ethanol and gasoline hydrocarbons has some disadvantages such as increased evaporative emissions, and phase separation on contact with water, leading to inefficiencies of the combustion process and corrosion of storage tanks. 4 Chemical conversions of ethanol into hydrocarbons, esters or ethers are ways to overcome these problems. Catalytic conversion of ethanol into hydrocarbons suitable for automotive fuel application has been found to be difficult.…”

“…Hydroalkoxylation of alkenes, which involves addition of an alcohol molecule across the double bond of the olefin, is one of the most effective strategies for the synthesis of ethers. The synthesis of fuel ethers can be done by etherification reaction of isobutene and isoamylene with ethanol over ion exchange resins like Amberlyst-16, 4,23 Amberlyst-15, [21][22][23][24] KU-2-8, 21 Amberlyst-35, 22,23 or heteropoly acids 23 like silicotungstic acid, silicophosphoric acid, or zeolites like H-Y, 25 USY, 24 H-mordenite, 25 H-ZSM-5 24 and H-beta, 4,24,26 or lanthanide metal triflates. 27 An alternative synthesis route is via intermolecular dehydration reaction between the corresponding tertiary alcohol and short chain primary alcohol; 28,29 for instance ETBE can be obtained by reaction between tert-butyl alcohol and ethanol.…”