The Effect of Temperature and Ethanol Concentration on Diethyl Ether Production by Using Adsorption–Dehydration Process

The objective of this research is to produce DiEthyl Ether from ethanol broth fermentation by using adsorption - dehydration process with H-zeolite as catalyst. H-zeolite catalyst was synthesized from natural zeolite obtained from District Gunung Kidul, Indonesia. The H-zeolite catalyst was produced with chemical treatment, washing, drying and calcinations processes and then impregnation by using Al /aluminum. The zeolite catalyst was analyzed for its X-ray Diffraction and specific surface area. DiEthyl Ether was produced by adsorption with molecular sieve and then continued by dehydration process. DiEthyl Ether production used a fixed bed reactor with 1/2 in diameter, and ethanol fermentation broth as feed. The operation condition was 140-240oC and atmospheric pressure. The main compounds in the liquid phase of products are diethyl ether, methanol, ethanol and water. The result also showed that the adsorption process can increase purity of ethanol and therefore increase the ethanol conversion. Moreover, increasing operation temperature and ethanol concentration were able to increase the ethanol conversion, while H-zeolite and Alumina catalyst had the same affects in the ethanol conversion