title: Scale study of direct synthesis of dimethyl ether from biomass synthesis gas.
abstract: We investigated the synthesis of dimethyl ether (DME) from biomass synthesis gas using a kind of hybrid catalyst consisting of methanol and HZSM-5 zeolite in a fixed-bed reactor in a 100 ton/year pilot plant. The biomass synthesis gas was produced by oxygen-rich gasification of corn core in a two-stage fixed bed. The results showed that CO conversions reached 82.00% and 73.55%, the selectivities for DME were 73.95% and 69.73%, and the space-time yields were 124.28 kg m(-3) h(-1) and 203.80 kg m(-3) h(-1) when gas hourly space velocities were 650 h(-1) and 1200 h(-1), respectively. Deoxidation and tar removal from biomass synthesis gas was critical to the stable operation of the DME synthesis system. Using single-pass synthesis, the H(2)/CO ratio improved from 0.98-1.17 to 2.12-2.22. The yield of DME would be increased greatly if the exhaust was reused after removal of the CO(2).
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Renewable Energy and Gas Hydrate, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510640, China.
authors.forename: Yongxing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.forename: Tiejun
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Chuangzhi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Longlong
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D018533:Biomass; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D004867:Equipment Design; D005740:Gases; D008738:Methyl Ethers / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D010100:Oxygen; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors; D003313:Zea mays / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D005740:Gases; D008738:Methyl Ethers; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; C033413:dimethyl ether; D010100:Oxygen