The High-Yield Direct Synthesis of Dimethyl Ether from CO₂ and H₂ in a Dry Reaction Environment

Author

Huazheng Li
Shoujie Ren
Shenxiang Zhang
Surya Padinjarekutt
Bratin Sengupta
Xinhua Liang, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow
Shiguang Li
Miao Yu

Abstract

Direct dimethyl ether (DME) synthesis from CO₂ and H₂ is considered a promising production route. However, this process is thermodynamically and kinetically restricted by the presence of water as a byproduct. In this study, a water-conduction membrane was incorporated into the direct DME synthesis reactor to generate a dry reaction environment. In the absence of water, the activities of the CO₂ hydrogenation catalyst (CZA) and methanol dehydration catalyst (HZSM-₅) were boosted 4- and 10-fold, respectively, and single-pass CO₂ conversion of up to 73.4%, far beyond equilibrium, and DME yields of up to 54.5% were obtained. Moreover, the good protection of the catalysts against fast deactivation was demonstrated.

Recommended Citation

H. Li et al., "The High-Yield Direct Synthesis of Dimethyl Ether from CO₂ and H₂ in a Dry Reaction Environment," Journal of Materials Chemistry A, vol. 9, no. 5, pp. 2678 - 2682, Royal Society of Chemistry, Feb 2021.

The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1039/d0ta10417e

Department(s)

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering

Research Center/Lab(s)

Intelligent Systems Center

Comments

U.S. Department of Energy, Grant DE-AR0000806

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

2050-7488; 2050-7496

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2021 Royal Society of Chemistry, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

07 Feb 2021