Gas-phase Methanol Carbonylation for Dimethyl Ether and Acetic Acid Co-production

Gas-phase methanol carbonylation over HMOR catalyst was investigated for the synthesis of dimethyl ether (DME) and acetic acid (HOAc). The results revealed that the selectivity of DME reached 98% and the methanol conversion was 45% under the reaction temperature of 493K. While, the selectivity of HOAc was 30% and the methanol conversion reached 80% when reaction temperature was increased to 573K. TEM, SEM, XRD, N-2 physisorbtion, XPS and TG-DTG measurements were performed to characterize the texture and structure of the catalyst. Serious coking on the catalyst surface significantly limited the utilization of unmodified HMOR catalyst in the reaction.