REACTION OF ETHANOL AND FORMALDEHYDE - USE OF VERSATILE CATION-EXCHANGE RESINS AS CATALYST IN BATCH REACTORS AND REACTIVE DISTILLATION-COLUMNS

Diethoxymethane was prepared in batch mode as well as in continuous Re active Distillation Column (RDC) from ethanol and aqueous formaldehyde in the presence of a macroporous cation-exchange resin Indion-130. Th e batch reaction was studied for the effect of catalyst loading, mole ratio, concentration, temperature, etc. A pseudo homogeneous model was used to explain the batch kinetics and the kinetic parameters were ev aluated. In the case of RDC, the effect of various parameters such as residence time, reflux ratio, mole ratio, feed concentration, feed con figuration, etc. on the conversion and product purity was studied and evaluated.