KINETICS AND THERMODYNAMICS OF SYNTHESIS OF TERTIARY-AMYL METHYL-ETHER CATALYZED BY ION-EXCHANGE RESIN

Synthesis of tertiary-amyl methyl ether (TAME) was carried out in the temperature range 40-70-degrees-C using a sulfonic acid resin as the c atalyst. Thermodynamic data were calculated from the equilibrium conce ntration of the components in a stirred batch reactor by the Unifac me thod. The enthalpy change of TAME formation was calculated to be (-20. 4 +/- 0.8) kJ/mol and the equilibrium constant is expressed as Ka = 3. 94 x 10(-4) exp (20400/RT). For the kinetic tests, a homogeneous solut ion system was selected to interpret experimental results. The activat ion energy of the forward reaction was calculated to be (94.0 +/- 1.5) kJ/mol and the rate constant is expressed as k2 = 5.31 x 10(11) exp ( -94000/RT). The validity of this kinetic model was verified by fitting experimental data.