Study on the Synthesis of Methyl Ethyl Carbonate by Transesterification of Diethyl Carbonate with Dimethyl Carbonate

Synthesis of methyl ethyl carbonate(MEC) by transesterification of diethyl carbonate(DMC) with dimethyl carbonate(DEC) was carried out over Al_2O_3/SiO_2 catalysts.Effects of the active component loading amount,catalyst dosage,reaction temperature and time on the transesterification reaction were investigated in detail.The catalysts were characterized by means of NH_3-TPD and N_2 adsorption/desorption techniques.Results indicated that the 12% Al_2O_3/SiO_2 catalyst exhibited the best activity for the transesterification of DMC with DEC.Under the optimial conditions: catalyst dosage 7%,temperature 120 ℃, reaction time 8 h,molar ratio of DMC to DEC 1∶1,the highest yield of MEC,about 63.64%,was obtained.Furthermore,the reusability of the catalyst was also investigated.The catalyst exhibited a good stability for transesterification of DMC with DEC under the reaction conditions.