RU97114880A - METHOD FOR PRODUCING SIMPLE DIMETHYL ETHER USED AS FUEL - Google Patents

Claims (2)

1. The method of producing dimethyl ether containing methanol up to 20 wt.% And water up to 20 wt.%, Effective as a fuel in internal combustion engines with compression ignition, from synthesis gas containing hydrogen and carbon oxides, characterized in that the synthesis -gas is converted into a gas technological mixture of dimethyl ether, methanol and water in one or more reactors for carrying out catalytic reactions in the presence of a catalyst that is active both in methanol synthesis and in methanol dehydration; the gas process mixture is cooled to obtain a liquid process phase (4) containing the formed methanol, dimethyl ether and water, and a gaseous technological phase (2A) containing unconverted synthesis gas and a portion of the obtained dimethyl ether, the processing of which includes further stages of the separation of the gaseous phase and liquid phase; passing the liquid phase through the first distillation unit (DME distillation column) and distilling off the stream (5) of the light fraction of the product containing dimethyl ether and methanol, and removing the stream (6) with the residue after distillation containing methanol and water; passing the stream with the residue after distillation through a second distillation unit (methanol distillation column) and distilling off the methanol-containing stream (7), introducing methanol into the installation for cleaning by washing; washing the gaseous process phase that appeared at the separation stage with methanol in the installation for cleaning by washing and removing dimethyl ether and methanol from the installation after washing the stream (8); the conversion of part of the methanol in the stream after washing to dimethyl ether and water in a catalytic dehydration reactor (RDM) in contact with a dehydration catalyst; removing and cooling from the dehydration reactor a stream (9) of a product comprising dimethyl ether, water and unconverted methanol, and combining a light product stream from the first distillation unit with a cooled product stream from a dehydration reactor to obtain a combined stream (10) of a product representing dimethyl ether, applicable as a fuel.  2. The method according to p. 1, characterized in that part of the gaseous process phase is recycled to the reactors for carrying out catalytic reactions.