HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Dimethyl ether (DME; also known as methoxymethane) is the
organic compound In chemistry, organic compounds are generally any chemical compounds that contain carbon-hydrogen or carbon-carbon bonds. Due to carbon's ability to catenate (form chains with other carbon atoms), millions of organic compounds are known. Th ...
with the formula CH3OCH3, (sometimes ambiguously simplified to C2H6O as it is an isomer of ethanol). The simplest
ether In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group—an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups. They have the general formula , where R and R′ represent the alkyl or aryl groups. Ethers can again ...
, it is a colorless gas that is a useful precursor to other organic compounds and an aerosol propellant that is currently being demonstrated for use in a variety of fuel applications. It is an isomer of
ethanol Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl group linked to a ...
.


Production

Approximately 50,000 tons were produced in 1985 in Western Europe by dehydration of methanol:Manfred Müller, Ute Hübsch, “Dimethyl Ether” in Ullmann’s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2005. :2 CH3OH → (CH3)2O + H2O The required methanol is obtained from synthesis gas ( syngas). Other possible improvements call for a dual catalyst system that permits both methanol synthesis and dehydration in the same process unit, with no methanol isolation and purification. Both the one-step and two-step processes above are commercially available. The two-step process is relatively simple and start-up costs are relatively low. A one-step liquid-phase process is in development.


From biomass

Dimethyl ether is a synthetic
second generation biofuel Second-generation biofuels, also known as advanced biofuels, are fuels that can be manufactured from various types of non-food biomass. Biomass in this context means plant materials and animal waste used especially as a source of fuel. First-gener ...
(BioDME), which can be produced from lignocellulosic biomass. The EU is considering BioDME in its potential biofuel mix in 2030; It can also be made from biogas or
methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane ...
from animal, food, and agricultural waste, or even from shale gas or
natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon d ...
. The Volvo Group is the coordinator for the
European Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lis ...
Seventh Framework Programme project BioDME where Chemrec's BioDME pilot plant is based on black liquor gasification in Piteå,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
.


Applications

The largest use of dimethyl ether is as the feedstock for the production of the methylating agent, dimethyl sulfate, which entails its reaction with sulfur trioxide: : + → Dimethyl ether can also be converted into acetic acid using
carbonylation Carbonylation refers to reactions that introduce carbon monoxide into organic and inorganic substrates. Carbon monoxide is abundantly available and conveniently reactive, so it is widely used as a reactant in industrial chemistry. The term carbon ...
technology related to the Monsanto acetic acid process: : + 2 CO + H2O → 2 CH3CO2H


Laboratory reagent and solvent

Dimethyl ether is a low-temperature solvent and extraction agent, applicable to specialised laboratory procedures. Its usefulness is limited by its low boiling point (), but the same property facilitates its removal from reaction mixtures. Dimethyl ether is the precursor to the useful
alkylating agent Alkylation is the transfer of an alkyl group from one molecule to another. The alkyl group may be transferred as an alkyl carbocation, a free radical, a carbanion, or a carbene (or their equivalents). Alkylating agents are reagents for effectin ...
,
trimethyloxonium tetrafluoroborate Trimethyloxonium tetrafluoroborate is the organic compound with the formula . (It is sometimes called "Meerwein's salt" after Hans Meerwein.Meerwein's salt classically referred to triethyloxonium tetrafluoroborate. However, in recent years, the t ...
.


Niche applications

A mixture of dimethyl ether and propane is used in some over-the-counter "
freeze spray Freeze spray (cold spray or vapocoolant) is a type of aerosol spray product containing a liquified gas used for rapidly cooling surfaces, in medical and industrial applications. It is usually sold in hand-held spray cans. It may consist of vario ...
" products to treat warts, by freezing them. In this role, it has supplanted halocarbon compounds ( Freon). Dimethyl ether is also a component of certain high temperature "Map-Pro" blowtorch gas blends, supplanting the use of
methyl acetylene Propyne (methylacetylene) is an alkyne with the chemical formula . It is a component of MAPD gas—along with its isomer propadiene (allene), which was commonly used in gas welding. Unlike acetylene, propyne can be safely condensed.Peter P ...
and propadiene mixtures. Dimethyl ether is also used as a propellant in aerosol products. Such products include hair spray, bug spray and some aerosol glue products.


Research


Fuel

A potentially major use of dimethyl ether is as substitute for propane in LPG used as fuel in household and industry. Dimethyl ether can also be used as a blendstock in propane
autogas Autogas or LPG is liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) used as a fuel in internal combustion engines in vehicles as well as in stationary applications such as generators. It is a mixture of propane and butane. Autogas is widely used as a "green" ...
. It is also a promising fuel in diesel engines, and gas turbines. For diesel engines, an advantage is the high cetane number of 55, compared to that of diesel fuel from petroleum, which is 40–53. Only moderate modifications are needed to convert a diesel engine to burn dimethyl ether. The simplicity of this short carbon chain compound leads during combustion to very low emissions of particulate matter. For these reasons as well as being sulfur-free, dimethyl ether meets even the most stringent emission regulations in Europe ( EURO5), U.S. (U.S. 2010), and Japan (2009 Japan). At the European Shell Eco Marathon, an unofficial World Championship for mileage, vehicle running on 100% dimethyl ether drove 589 km/liter (169.8 cm3/100 km), fuel equivalent to gasoline with a 50 cm3 displacement 2-stroke engine. As well as winning they beat the old standing record of 306 km/liter (326.8 cm3/100 km), set by the same team in 2007. To study the dimethyl ether for the combustion process a chemical kinetic mechanism is required which can be used for Computational fluid dynamics calculation.


Refrigerant

Dimethyl ether is a refrigerant with
ASHRAE The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE ) is an American professional association seeking to advance heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC&R) systems design and constructi ...
refrigerant designation R-E170. It is also used in refrigerant blends with e.g.
ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous ...
,
carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is t ...
, butane and propene. Dimethyl ether was the first refrigerant. In 1876, the French engineer
Charles Tellier Charles Tellier (29 June 1828 – 19 October 1913) was a French engineer, born in Amiens. He early made a study of motors and compressed air. In 1868, he began experiments in refrigeration, which resulted ultimately in the refrigerating plant, a ...
bought the ex-Elder-Dempster a 690 tons cargo ship ''Eboe'' and fitted a methyl-ether refrigerating plant of his design. The ship was renamed ''Le Frigorifique'' and successfully imported a cargo of refrigerated meat from
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...
. However the machinery could be improved and in 1877 another refrigerated ship called ''Paraguay'' with a refrigerating plant improved by Ferdinand Carré was put into service on the South American run.http://www.ashrae.org/technology/page/1933#et ASHRAE list of refrigerants


Safety

Unlike other alkyl ethers, dimethyl ether resists
autoxidation Autoxidation (sometimes auto-oxidation) refers to oxidations brought about by reactions with oxygen at normal temperatures, without the intervention of flame or electric spark. The term is usually used to describe the gradual degradation of organic ...
. Dimethyl ether is also relatively non-toxic, although it is highly flammable. BASF Explosion Disaster on July 28, 1948 in Ludwigshafen was caused by this compound – 200 people died, a third of the industrial plant was destroyed.


Data sheet


Routes to produce dimethyl ether


Vapor pressure

:Experimental vapor pressures of dimethyl ether


See also

* Methanol economy


References


External links


The International DME Association

NOAA site for NFPA 704

XTL & DME Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dimethyl Ether Aerosol propellants Dialkyl ethers Fuels Synthetic fuels Symmetrical ethers Organic compounds with 2 carbon atoms