ONE STEP SYNTHESIS OF METHYL T-BUTYL ETHER FROM T-BUTANOL USING ALKYLSULFONIC ACID-MODIFIED OXIDE CATALYSTS

摘要

ONE STEP SYNTHESIS OF METHYL t-BUTYL ETHER FROM t-BUTANOL ALKYLSULFONIC ACID-MODIFIED OXIDE CATALYSTS (D#81,167-F) Disclosed is a method wherein t-butanol is reacted with methanol in one step to provide methyl t-butyl ether at a temperature of about 20.degree.C to 250.degree.C and a pressure of about atmospheric to about 1000 psig employing a heterogenous catalyst comprising a Group IV oxide having an alkylsulfonic acid covalently bonded thereto, particularly alkylsulfonic acid covalently bonded to silica gel and having the structure: wherein R is an alkyl group having from 1 to 3 carbon atoms and n is an integer in the range of 3 to 10.