Design of a Production Process for Poly(oxymethylene) Dimethyl Ethers from Dimethyl Ether and Trioxane

Poly(oxymethylene) dimethyl ethers (OME) are promising synthetic fuels. When compared to fossil diesel fuel, OME reduce the soot formation in diesel engines. OME can be produced from the C1 platform syngas via different routes. This work investigates an OME production process via dimethyl ether and trioxane. The process is simulated and optimized using process simulation with varying model depth. As no experimental data are available on the chemical equilibrium of the reaction of dimethyl ether and trioxane, chemical equilibrium constants are partly estimated from formation data of the reactants.