Kinetic Model of the Synthesis of Methyl-tert-Butyl Ethers in the Presence of HY and CuBr₂/HY Zeolite Catalysts

The kinetic model of the synthesis of methyl-tert-butyl ethers by intermolecular dehydration of tert-butanol with methanol using HY zeolite with a hierarchical structure as a catalyst (HY_mmm), as well as a catalyst system based on CuBr₂ deposited on HY_mmm, is considered. A kinetic model was constructed and a multistage scheme of chemical transformations was developed based on the experimental data. The kinetic model is based on the law of acting surfaces with allowance for adsorption and desorption processes on the catalyst surface. The inverse problem was solved in the form of a global optimization problem, which made it possible to determine the parameters of the kinetic model—the kinetic constants and activation energies.