Synthesizing Ethylene Glycol Monoethyl Ether Directly from Ethanol and Ethylene Glycol

Direct synthesis of ethylene glycol monoethyl ether from ethanol and ethylene glycol was investigated. The effects of the catalyst, reaction pressure, temperature on the yield of product were studied. When the molar ratio of ethylene glycol and ethanol is 1:4, temperature is at 240℃, pressure is at 7 MPa, dosage of catalyst is 4%of reactants, anhydrous aluminum chloride has the optimal catalytic performance. A ethylene glycol conversion rate of 35.8% and a ethylene glycol monoethyl ether selectivity of 59.5% can be achieved. The reaction optimization was done with single factor and orthogonal experiments: catalyst AlCl3, the molar ratio of ethylene glycol and ethanol is 1:4, reaction time is 4 hours, pressure is at 6 MPa, temperature is at 260℃, dosage of catalyst is 4%of reactants, under this condition, the conversion of ethylene glycol is up to 38.8%,the selectivity of ethylene glycol monoethyl ether is up to 59.9%. In addition, the effect of the molar ratio of AlCl3 and Na2HPO4 on reaction activity and selectivity have been studied. The results show that when the ratio of AlCl3 and Na2HPO4 is 1:3, an ethylene glycol conversion rate of 25.1% can be obtained. The selectivity of ethylene glycol monoethyl ether is 72.3% under this ratio.