Single-step dimethyl ether synthesis |on a Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃/ZrO₂ +γ-Al₂O₃ bifunctional catalyst in slurry reactor

A fibrous CD501 methanol synthesis catalyst was prepared by a novel coprecipation method and characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD and BET. For Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃/ZrO₂+γ-Al₂O₃ bifunctional catalyst which is a mixture of CD501 and γ-Al₂O₃, the catalytic performance for dimethyl ether (DME) synthesis was evaluated in a slurry reactor. The characterization showed that the CD501 catalyst had a larger specific surface area and a higher Cu/Zn dispersion than those of a commercial catalyst (COM) and LP201 catalyst. For the DME synthesis in a slurry reactor using CD501+γ-Al₂O catalyst, the CO conversion is twice as that on the COM+γ-Al₂O₃ or LP201+γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst. After 270h test, the CO conversion decreased from 61% to 57%, the space time yield of DME decreased from 0.54g/(g·h) to 0.48g/(g·h), respectively. Compared with COM catalyst, the stability of the present reported catalyst was much improved.When reaction temperature is 250℃, pressure 4.0MPa, space velocity 3000mL/(g·h), and H/C mol ratio 1.0, the CO conversion reached 61%, and space time yield of DME reached 0.54g/(g·h).