摘要 |
A method is disclosed wherein t-butanol is reacted with methanol in a reaction zone in the presence of a catalyst to provide methyl-tert-butyl ether and the improvement of accomplishing the reaction in one-step which comprises: a. contacting the reactants with a montmorillonite silica-alumina catalyst which has been treated with hydrogen fluoride; b. continuously contacting said t-butanol and methanol in a molar amount of about 0.1 to 10 moles of methanol per mole of t-butanol with said catalyst at a temperature of about 20 DEG C. to about 250 DEG C. and a pressure of about atmospheric to about 1000 psig to obtain the methyl tert-butyl product, wherein under certain conditions the product mix separates into an isobutylene-MTBE product-rich phase and a heavier aqueous methanol phase. |