Review

pubs.acs.org/IECR

Dehydration of Ethanol to Ethylene

Minhua Zhang and Yingzhe Yu*
Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of the Ministry of Education, Tianjin University Research and Development Center
for Petrochemical Technology, Tianjin 300072, Peoples Republic of China
*
S Supporting Information

ABSTRACT: This article is an up-to-date review of the literature available on the subject of ethanol to ethylene. The process of
ethanol to ethylene has broad development prospects. Compared with the process of petroleum to ethylene, ethanol dehydration
to ethylene is economically feasible. Researchers have been redirecting their interest to the ethylene production process, catalysts,
and reaction mechanisms. A uidized bed reactor, together with a wear-resistant, ecient, and stable catalyst will be the focus of
future research that includes a deep understanding of the large-scale activated alumina catalyst and the molecular sieve catalyst
used, and will promote the development of the ethanol dehydration to ethylene process and provide strong support for the
market competiveness of the process.

1. INTRODUCTION and biomass is considered as one of the most important renewable

Ethylene is one of the largest chemical products in the world, and energy resources.
also one of the most important raw materials in the Ethanol to ethylene reaction occurs through ethanol
dehydration under the condition of appropriate temperature
petrochemical industry. At present, about 75% of petrochemical
and the eect of the catalyst. Ethanol catalytic dehydration to
products are produced from ethylene, including acetaldehyde,
ethylene is the earliest used process in the industry.7 X. D. Xu
acetic acid, ethylene oxide, ethylene glycol, ethylbenzene,
et al.810 studied the acid-catalyzed dehydration of ethanol,
chloroethanol, vinyl chloride, styrene, ethylene dichloride, and
n-propanol, ethylene glycol, and glycerol in supercritical water,
vinyl acetate, etc.; it can also be used as a polymerization raw
and found that these dehydration reactions proceed rapidly with
material to produce a variety of important organic chemical
a high degree of specicity, making them good candidates for
products such as polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene,
industrial exploitation. The production process of ethanol catalytic
and so on.1 Ethylene production has been considered as one of
dehydration to ethylene is starting to attract more attention. This
the indicators to measure the petrochemical development level of
paper aims to help researchers comprehensively understand the
countries all over the world.
development process and the current status of traditional ethanol
The main technical process to produce ethylene at present is
catalytic dehydration to ethylene process, including research work
hydrocarbon-cracking. About 99% of the global ethylene is
on reaction mechanisms and ecient catalyst. The critical
synthesized by this method.2 Hydrocarbon-cracking uses petro-
problems to be solved by the technology are made clear. The
hydrocarbon or natural gas as raw material. Hydrocarbon
process of petroleum to ethylene and the process of ethanol
compounds with a large number of carbon atoms can be cracked
dehydration to ethylene are preliminarily analyzed and compared
at high temperature into smaller hydrocarbon compounds.3
on the economic level.
In recent years, with industrial production capacity increasing
year by year, the demand of fossil fuels also has increased in the 2. ETHYLENE PRODUCTION PROCESS
daily life and industrial production. The nonrenewable fossil fuels
will inevitably face the problem of its reserves becoming less and The American Halcon/Scientic Design Company, base-group
less, and its nal depletion is inevitable. Therefore, it is urgent to of ABB Lummus Global of America and the Brazilian National
look for renewable alternative energy sources. Some eorts are Petrobras, etc. have developed their own ethanol dehydration
being made to research and to develop new methods for using technologies. Considering the establishment of the industrial
nonpetroleum resources as raw materials to produce ethylene, production devices,11 the process of ethanol dehydration to
which is the alternative to traditional hydrocarbon cracking to ethylene typically includes two parts: the ethanol dehydration
ethylene process. reaction and the purication of ethylene products. Feedstock for
According to a survey of the U.S. Department of Agriculture ethanol dehydration after preheat evaporation ows into the
and the European Biomass Industry Association, biomass reactor to generate the crude ethylene, and then into a water
reserves are huge: the United States, Europe, Africa and Latin washing tower, alkaline washing tower, dryer, light-ends tower,
America are able to produce the energy of 3.8 1010 GJ, 8.3 109 GJ, and heavy-ends tower to remove light byproducts and heavy
2.1 1010 GJ, and 1.9 1010 GJ, respectively. The potential of byproducts, etc. Ethylene product is obtained from the overhead
biomass energy production worldwide in 2050 is expected to be 1.5
1011 to 4.5 1011 GJ. In the situation of fossil resources becoming Received: January 21, 2013
increasingly sparse, the use of biomass ethanol catalytic dehydration Revised: June 18, 2013
to ethylene has greater development potential and broad application Accepted: June 20, 2013
prospects.46 Such methods have aroused the attention of the world, Published: June 20, 2013

2013 American Chemical Society 9505 dx.doi.org/10.1021/ie401157c | Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2013, 52, 95059514
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Figure 1. A simple process diagram of a bioethanol-based ethylene plant12.

of the heavy-ends tower at last. The corresponding process form of xed bed reactor. When it is used for the endothermic
diagram is shown in Figure 1.12 reaction, the raw material should enter the reactor together with the
Alumina-based catalysts are used in most of the current heat carrier and the reaction should occur step by step; that is, a
industrial reactors of ethylene production. Ethanol at the multiple adiabatic xed bed reactor should be used to heat the
concentration of 95% (w/w) is used as raw material and the reactants between the two reactors, which can eectively ensure that
operation conditions are a temperature of 300500 C, a the reactors reach the reaction temperature so that the reaction can
pressure of 0.10.2 MPa, and space velocity of 0.11 h1. The be carried out smoothly. Barrocas et al.24 adopted multiparallel or a
ethylene yield can reach 9499%.13,14 Pearson et al.15 have made parallel series of adiabatic xed bed reactor for the reaction of
systematic researches on the inuencing factors of the process ethanol catalytic dehydration to ethylene at high temperature, and
operation of ethanol dehydration to ethylene, including reaction the heat required by the reaction was provide by the steam entering
temperature, operating pressure, space velocity, the water the reactor together with raw materials. The experimental results
content in raw material of ethanol, and so on. show that the reactor eectively improved the ethanol conversion
The production process of ethanol dehydration to ethylene rate and ethylene yield.
has become more mature. The ongoing research work at present has The uidized bed reactor has a relatively short development
focused on the process intensication, including the improvement history. It can be used in a multiphase chemical reaction, and it
of the reactor, process simulation, and optimization. has such advantages as high heat and mass transfer rate, more
2.1. Reactor. The reaction of ethanol dehydration to uniform bed temperature, and relatively stable operation. It is
ethylene is an endothermic reaction and it requires relatively particularly suitable for large-scale production with great thermal
more heat, with higher reaction temperature; meanwhile, eect, and it has been applied to the production equipment of
reaction temperature plays a vital role in the selectivity of the many chemical products.25,26 Tsao et al.27 have developed a
target product, ethylene. The main byproduct generated is ether reaction process of ethanol catalytic dehydration to ethylene in
when the temperature is below 573 K, and the main product the uidized bed reactor using a SiAl-oxide catalyst. The one-
ethylene is only generated when the temperature is over 573 K. way ethanol conversion rate was higher than 99.5%, and the
Therefore, in the process of ethanol dehydration to ethylene, the ethylene yield was greater than 99% before distillation, values
selection and design of the reactor is critical.16 There are mainly which were consistently higher than that of the tube xed bed
two kinds of reactors for ethanol dehydration to ethylene, namely, process. The process of the uidized bed reactor of ethanol
the xed bed reactor and the uidized bed reactor. Currently, the dehydration to ethylene has a promising development prospect,
xed bed reactor is mainly used in industrial productions.17 but there are also urgent problems to be solved; that is, the
The xed bed reactor is the general reactor of a gassolid friction and collision between catalyst particles and those
catalytic reaction and is widely used in various elds of chemical between catalyst particles and the reactor walls are likely to
industry.18 The xed bed reactors of ethanol dehydration to wear the SiAl-oxide catalyst, and wear-resistance of the catalyst
ethylene can be divided into two types: isothermal tubular should be improved.
reactor and adiabatic reactor. The isothermal column tube xed 2.2. Simulation and Optimization of Process. The
bed reactor was rst used in the process of ethanol dehydration chemical process simulation is the basic technology in process
to ethylene, and the reactor is most applied in the existing systems engineering. Process analysis and optimization is
production equipment of ethanol dehydration to ethylene in undertaken on the basis of process simulation.28
China. The tubular xed bed reactor has relatively poor The process simulation method was used to simulate the
temperature control ability, and regeneration and replacement process of ethanol dehydration to ethylene, which can improve
of the catalyst is also more complex. In addition, the reactor is the heat recovery capacity of the system, reduce the auxiliary
very sensitive to small changes of the reaction process. For heating and cooling load (such as: steam, cooling water, etc.) of
example, slight changes of raw material temperature are likely to the utility as much as possible, improve the energy eciency and
lead reactors to be out of control. Researchers call this phenomenon economy of the overall process, reduce the production cost and
as parametric sensitivity.19 From 1950s to 1980s, many researchers further improve the competitiveness of biomassethanol
conducted the study on tube xed bed reactor, but they did not dehydration to the ethylene process. Wang J.29 adopted the
thoroughly solve the problems existing in the reactor.2022 Froment Aspen Tech process simulation software to conduct simulation
et al.23 consider that the adiabatic xed bed reactor is the most basic of design conditions and transformation conditions for the
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distillation section of the ethanol and ethanol dehydration to (2) A series of reactions
ethylene in a domestic plant. Energy-saving improvement was
C2H5OH C2H5OC2H5 C2H4
conducted on the basis of the existing process. The ethanol
concentration of the rectifying section in the ethanol production (3) A parallel series reaction
process was reduced to 46.4%. Steam did not need the addition
of a carrier gas in the dehydration section of the improved
process, the energy consumption of which was 20.2% less than
that of the existing process. Chen Yu12 has used the PRO/II
process simulation software and conducted a simulation of
ethanol to ethylene process in a domestic plant. The researchers
used double-eect distillation technology to improve the existing
process, and adopted the technology of a heat exchanging
network on this basis to optimize processes and reduce energy
consumption. After optimization, the heating utility was reduced
by 8.23%, cooling utility by 5.85%, and compressor work by The above three reaction routes refer to three reversible
24.13% per unit compared to existing process. reactions, namely ethanol intramolecule dehydration to ethylene,
Aslo, researchers used the process simulation method to ethanol intermolecule dehydration to ether, and ether
conduct auxiliary study on the operation conditions of the dehydration to ethylene.
ethanol dehydration to ethylene reactor. Kagyrmanova et al.30 3.1. Ethanol Intramolecule Dehydration to Ethylene.
have researched the reaction of the ethanol dehydration to There are mainly three kinds of reaction mechanisms of ethanol
ethylene on the commercialized Al-based catalyst from multiple catalytic dehydration to olen under dierent reaction
aspects, including a reaction kinetics study, the reactor testing, conditions,43 namely, E1, E2, and E1cB mechanism, as is
and process simulation. On the basis of the process simulation, shown as follows, where A and B are the acidic and basic centers
operating characteristics and optimal operating conditions of of the catalyst, respectively.
the ethanol dehydration industrial tubular xed bed reactor
with an annual output of 60 000 tons of ethylene have been
determined.

3. REACTION MECHANISMS
Since the middle of 20th century, many researchers have
conducted studies on the reaction mechanism of ethanol
dehydration with dierent catalysts, including activated alumi-
na,31,32 phosphate,33 magnesium oxide,34 molecular sieve,35,36
heteropoly acid,37,38 and so on, but up to now, there has still been The reactions of E1, E2, and E1cB are elimination reactions,44
no consensus, and the research in this eld is continuing. and the three are competitive reactions. The E1 reaction is a
In addition to the main product of ethylene and the main single-molecule elimination reaction, and it rst generates a
byproduct of ether, the reaction of ethanol dehydration may also carbonation intermediate, which is the rate controlling step and is
generate a small amount of byproducts, such as acetaldehyde,39 a rst-order reaction, then quickly loses -hydrogen to generate
hydrocarbons (methane, ethane, propylene, butylene),40 and olen. The E2 reaction is a bimolecular elimination reaction, and
light base-groups41 (CO2, CO, H2, etc.) and so on. As the the reaction is nished in one step; the reaction rate is inuenced
amount of other byproducts is small, most of the mechanism by the concentration of the two compounds, which is a second-
research of ethanol dehydration reaction considers mainly the order reaction. E1cB reaction is a single-molecule conjugate base
generation of ethylene and ether, which can be summarized as elimination reaction; in the reaction process, the nucleophilic
three kinds of routes: (1) parallel reactions,42 (2) a series of center rst captures -hydrogen of the reactant to generate
reactions, and (3) a parallel series reaction. The main controversy carbanion (conjugate base), and then the hydroxyl of the
lies in whether ethylene is directly generated from ethanol or conjugate base leaves to generate olen, which is the rst step
indirectly generated from ether, or both routes coexist, just as is reaction and should be an equilibrium reaction with a quicker
shown in the following three formulas. rate. The second step is the rate-limiting step in the overall
(1) Parallel reactions reaction with a slower rate, inuenced only by the concentration
of one kind of molecule.
Noller et al.45 have studied the ethanol dehydration process.
They found that the carbocations in the E1 reaction will not
generate ethanol, the E2 reaction is not reversible, and the
carbanion of the E1cB reaction can generate ethanol. The
reaction mechanism of ethanol dehydration process is inuenced
by such factors as ethanol, catalyst type, and so on.
The active sites of ethanol intramolecular dehydration to
ethylene are the weak acid centers and relatively strong acid
centers of the catalyst. However, the strong acid centers can
easily lead to ethylene polymerization, which is of great harm to
the ethanol dehydration reaction, especially the stability of the
reaction. Ramesh et al.46 prepared modied ZSM-5 zeolites with
dierent P content and used them in ethanol dehydration to
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ethylene reaction. The results of the research suggest that the in the alcohol molecules adsorbed on base sites breaks, and then
introduction of P will block the pores, reduce the adsorption of both react to generate ether.
the polymer, and thus improve the selectivity and thermo- El-Salaam et al.52 have researched the reaction of the ethanol
stability. In ZSM-5 with P introduced, no ethylene polymer and dehydration on CdO, and found that although alcohol
aromatic hydrocarbons are found and coke resistance perfor- dehydration is a catalytic reaction of the acid centers, the
mance of the catalyst is improved. Zhang et al.47 conducted a existence of a pH center at the same time is more conducive to
theoretical study on the reaction mechanism of ethylene the reaction. Ethanol molecules adsorbed on acid sites lose
dimerization on ZSM-5 zeolite and they argued that there are hydroxyl, and hydroxyl of ethanol molecules adsorbed on base
two main reaction mechanisms of ethylene dimerization on sites loses hydrogen, and then both react to generate the ether.
HZSM-5 zeolite: step-by-step reaction route and concerted From the above studies, we can nd that the reaction
reaction route. mechanism of the ethanol to ether has not reached a consensus,
a. Step-by-step Reaction. In the rst step the ethylene but it can be ensured that the alkoxide is an important
molecule adsorbs on the Bronsted acid sites of HZSM-5 zeolite intermediate of the ethanol to ether; the reaction of the ethanol
via hydrogen bonds. In the second step ethylene molecules intermolecular dehydration to ether is a substitution reaction.
generate an ethoxide intermediate via protonation. In the third The generation of ether essentially follows the reaction
step the second ethylene molecule adsorbs on the zeolite catalyst, mechanism of SN1 (single-molecule nucleophilic substitution
attracts the ethoxide intermediate, then generates a CC bond reaction) or SN2 (bimolecular nucleophilic substitution reac-
and a new CO covalent bond with the ethoxide intermediate, tion).44
and nally generates butoxide. The reaction steps are shown as The SN1 reaction is divided into two steps: the rst step is that
follows: reactants dissociate to carbocations and the negatively charged
C2H4 + HZSM5 C2H4HZSM5 leaving group, which is the rate-controlling step and is the same
as the rst reaction step of mechanism E1; the second step is the
C2H4HZSM5 CH3CH 2ZSM5 carbocations associate with nucleophiles with an extremely fast
rate, which is a rst-order reaction. In the SN2 reaction, lone pair
CH3CH 2ZSM5 + C2H4 C4 H 9ZSM5 electrons of the nucleophile attack the electrophilic electron-
decient central atom, forming the intermediate, and losing the
b. Concerted Reaction. First of all, two ethylene molecules leaving base-group at the same time; theres no carbocations
coadsorb on the acid site of zeolite catalyst. Then, ethylene is generated in the reaction, and the rate controlling step is the joint
protonized; the generation of CC bond and CO bond occurs of both steps, and it is a second-order reaction. The SN1 and SN2
simultaneously, generating butoxide. The reaction steps are reaction mechanisms of ethanol intermolecular dehydration to
shown as follows: ether are shown as follows.
2C2H4 + HZSM5 (C2H4)2 HZSM5

(C2H4)2 HZSM5 C4 H 9ZSM5

3.2. Ethanol Intermolecule Dehydration to Ether.
Knozinger48,49 has summarized the research progress of the
ethanol dehydration reaction on -Al2O3. When the temperature
was lower than 513 K, the ethanol dehydration mainly generated
ethyl ether; when the temperature was 513523 K, the ethyl
ether would be converted to ethanol; when the temperature was
above 513 K, the ethanol dehydration generated the main
product of ethylene. During the process, when ethanol
dehydration reaction generates ether, the infrared spectroscopy
on the catalyst surface only detects the intermediate product
alkoxide. Alkoxides (hydroxyl hydrogen of the ethanol molecule
is substituted by the metal compounds) is the necessary
condition for the generation of ether, suggesting that ether has
two possible formation mechanisms: one is that the hydroxyl of
ROH adsorbed on the catalyst surface leaves to react with RO
Al adsorbed on the Al to generate ether. The other is that the
RO bond of the ROH of the alcohol molecule and RO bond
of the ROAl- adsorbed on Al break, and both generate ether.
Arai et al.50 have studied the ethanol dehydration reaction on
the SiAl composite oxide catalyst, and they think that two RO
Al adsorbed on the catalyst surface Al atoms react; that is, the The oxygen in ether molecule has an unshared electron pair,
OAl bond breaks and the RO bond also breaks, and then both which can be considered as a weak alkali. When the ether adsorbs
react to generate ether. on the acid sites of the catalyst, oxygen onium salt is formed, and
Jain et al.51 have studied the reaction of alcohol dehydration on then the carbonoxygen bond becomes weak. At this time, with
alumina, and found that there are acid centers and also alkaline the temperature increasing, the ether bond will break.53 The
centers on the alumina surface; the CO bond of the alcohol ether bond breaks to generate a carbocation and may further
molecules adsorbed on the acid sites breaks, and the OH bond generate ethylene, following the E1 reaction mechanism.
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4. CATALYSTS ethanol dehydration to ethylene with a higher conversion rate of

raw materials and the selectivity of target products can be
The ethanol dehydration to ethylene is an acid-catalyzed
prepared by adding a small amount of Ca, Mg, or Zn phosphate
reaction. Such catalysts have been researched and developed as
in the alumina. EI-Katatny et al.68 have researched the reaction of
clay, activated alumina, silicon oxide, magnesium oxide,
ethanol dehydration to ethylene on FeOx/Al2O3 catalyst, and the
zirconium oxide, phosphate, calcium phosphate, zinc aluminates,
results showed that the catalyst did not change the conversion
Heteropoly salt, and molecular sieve, etc., which can be
rate of raw materials of ethanol, but it improved the product
summarized as four categories: phosphoric acid, oxides,
ethylene selectivity. Chen et al.69 adopted TiO2/-Al2O3 to
molecular sieves, and miscellaneous acid catalyst.54
catalyze the bioethanol dehydration to an ethylene reaction in a
4.1. Catalyst of Phosphoric Acid System. The rst catalyst
microchannel reactor with the ethanol conversion rate of 99.96%
used in the industrial equipment of ethanol catalytic dehydration to
and the ethylene selectivity of 99.4%, which showed that the
ethylene plant was the catalyst of phosphoric acids. In the 1930s, it
addition of TiO2 helped to improve the ethanol conversion rate
was developed by the British Imperial Chemical (ICI) by loading
and ethylene selectivity. Y. X. Yu et al.70 researched and
phosphate on clay or coke.55 Donald et al.56 have researched the developed the NC1301 spherical catalyst with alumina as the
reaction temperature, alcohol concentration, space velocity, and the main component, and put the catalyst into practice in industrial
impact of the catalyst regeneration times on the reaction of ethanol production equipment in the Changzhou Chemical Factory. The
catalytic dehydration to ethylene with phosphoric acid catalyst. The results showed that when the reaction temperature was between
ethylene from ethanol dehydration reaction with phosphoric acid 623 and 713 K, the pressure was lower or equal than 0.3 MPa and
catalyst is of high purity; however, the catalyst is easily deactivated by the space velocity was between 0.3 and 0.6 h1; the ethanol
coke deposition, and it requires about a month to regenerate. Since conversion rate was 99.53100% and the ethylene selectivity was
the 1950s, such catalysts have no longer been used. 99.57100%, with a life cycle of 1218 months and 12 times of
4.2. Oxide Catalyst. The oxide catalyst of ethanol regeneration during that period. Y. Li et al.71 investigated the
dehydration is the typical representative of actived alumina- activated-alumina catalyzing low concentration ethanol dehy-
based catalysts. The catalyst currently used in the industrial dration reaction in a tubular xed bed reactor. When the volume
equipment of the ethanol dehydration to ethylene is mainly the concentration of the raw material of the ethanol changes from
actived alumina-based catalyst.57 Alumina is an important catalyst 50% to 100%, the ethanol conversion rate increased from 88% to
or catalyst carrier. It has long been found that alumina could be used 98%, and the selectivity of target product ethylene was over 98%
for the alcohol dehydration reaction and also used in many other on average.
chemical reactions such as isomerization, alkylation, and catalytic The actived alumina-based catalyst has good stability, and the
cracking, etc.58 purity of produced ethylene product based on such a catalyst is
In the 1950s, there was a lot of production equipment for also higher. But the concentration of raw material of ethanol
ethanol dehydration to ethylene built in Asia and South America, should not be too low, or it can make the ethanol dehydration
mainly using clay or alumina as the catalyst. Comparison of the reaction require higher temperature and lower space velocity,
two catalysts shows that the deactivation of clay is more serious which in turn leads to higher energy consumption.
than that of alumina, while the ethylene product obtained from 4.3. Molecular Sieve Catalysts. Molecular sieve has the
alumina catalyzing ethanol dehydration is of relatively low purity, regular pore structure, unique acidbase properties, and large
which is about 96% to 97%.59 In 1960, when Lummus in America specic surface area, which can be used as adsorbent material,
built the industrial plant of ethanol to ethylene in India, -Al2O3 catalytic material, and ion exchange material, and in many other
was used as the catalyst, and the ethanol conversion rate was up elds, such as petrochemical, environmental decontamination,
to 99%, and the yield of ethylene was 94%.60 Roca et al.61 have and detergent industry, etc.72 Since the 1980s, researchers have
investigated the ethanol dehydration reaction on the SiAl applied the molecular sieves for the ethanol catalytic dehydration
catalyst, and they found that ethylene was the main product, and to ethylene reaction, and the molecular sieves mainly used
ethylene and the byproduct ether followed the parallel reaction include ZSM-5 type, the SiAl-phosphate (SAPO) type, A type,
mechanism. In the 1980s, American Halcon Scientic Design and AM-11 type, etc., of which, the most studied one is the ZSM-5
Inc. successfully developed a new type of multioxide catalysts molecular sieve catalyst. SAPO series molecular sieves have good
with the main components of A12O3MgO/SiO2, which were catalytic ability for methanol dehydration to light olens, and
named the Syndol catalyst and were used in industrial equivalent they also have attracted the attention of more researchers.73
temperature xed bed reactors; the ethanol conversion rate was 4.3.1. ZSM-5 Molecular Sieve Catalysts. In the 1970s,
97%99%, and the product ethylene selectivity was nearly 97%; Argauer et al.74 and Dwyer et al.75 successfully synthesized ZSM-5
the one-way cycle of the catalyst was 812 months.62 The Syndol molecular sieve. The ZSM-5 zeolite molecular sieve has a two-
catalyst is considered as a kind of highly eective catalyst for dimensional 10-membered ring structure (0.530.56 nm
ethanol dehydration to ethylene. Kochar et al.63 have investigated 0.510.55 nm), excellent shape-selective catalysis, and is one of
the reaction of ethanol dehydration to ethylene with Syndol the most important molecular sieve catalytic materials, widely
catalyst, and found that the rising of the reaction temperature used in petrochemical, coal chemical industry, ne chemical
was conducive to the improvement of ethylene selectivity. Ezzo catalysis, and other catalytic elds.76,77
et al.6466 performed further research on the Al2O3Cr2O3 At the rst stage of these researches, the researchers used pure
catalyst, put the catalyst in an ethanol catalytic conversion ZSM-5 zeolite as the catalyst for ethanol dehydration to ethylene
reaction, and found that the main gas product was ethylene and reaction. Hao Tong78 studied the reaction of a dilute ethanol
the liquid products were mainly water, ether, and a small amount solution (20% v/v) to ethylene on ZSM-5 zeolite, and found that
of acetaldehyde and acetone. The addition of Cr2O3 improved when the reaction temperature was 672 K, the ethanol conversion
the activity of the catalyst for ethanol dehydration, and the rate was about 99%, with the ethylene selectivity of about 80%;
generation rate of ethylene on the catalyst surface was fastest at however, when the reaction temperature was 571 K, the ethanol
673 K. In the study, Kojima et al.67 found that the catalyst for the conversion rate decreased to about 42%, with an ethylene
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selectivity of about 72%. Le Van Mao et al.79 put forward the and the eective orice diameter is between 0.43 and 0.50 nm,
method of bioethanol fermentation with the HZSM-5 zeolite showing excellent catalytic performance in the methanol-
catalyst (without ne distillation) to generate ethylene in one step, to-olen (MTO) reactions.89 D. Y. Wang et al.90 researched the
which was called B.E.T.E. (bioethanol-to-ethylene). The feed reaction of ethanol dehydration in a SAPO-34 molecular sieve
ethanol concentration was 15%, and when the reaction temperature under the conditions of space velocity of 2 h1 and temperatures
reached 673 K, the ethanol conversion rate was 96%, and ethylene of 493593 K, and the results showed that when the reaction
selectivity was 49%. Phillips et al.80 studied the dehydration reaction temperature of SAPO-34 catalyst was higher than 533 K, the
on HZSM-5 under mild conditions of pressure below 0.07 MPa and ethanol conversion rate was about 90% and ethylene selectivity
temperature less than 473 K, by using an ethanol aqueous solution was about 99%; and the ether was generated when the reaction
of dierent volume concentration (80100%) as the raw material, temperature was below 533 K or space velocity was larger. Under
and found that carbon deposition is more likely on the HZSM-5 the reaction conditions (reaction condition: temperature of 49
catalyst, and water in ethanol helps to improve the catalyst activity 533 K, LHSV 2 h1), the catalytic activity of SAPO-34 was better
and inhibit carbon deposition. The research results at this stage than that of ZSM-5. Under the conditions of temperature of
showed that ZSM-5 zeolite could be used to catalyze the ethanol 673 K, mass ratio of ethanol/water of 1, the pressure of ethanol
dehydration reaction. However, the reaction should be carried out at and moisture of 0.4 MPa (carrier gas is Ar), and space velocity of
higher temperature, and the catalyst gets deactivated easily. To solve 16.7 h1, Dahl et al.91 studied the reaction of ethanol dehydration
the aforementioned problems, the researchers modied the ZSM-5 on SAPO-34 and found that ethanol was quickly translated into
zeolite with the hot water treatment, ion exchange, impregnation, ethylene and water on SAPO-34 pretreated by propylene. The
and other methods. Pan, L. V. et al.81,82 modied HZSM-5 zeolite ethylene conversion process is not diusion-limited under these
and then developed NKC-03A catalyst, using industrial ethanol as reaction conditions. Zhang et al.92 compared the activity and stability
the raw material, when the temperature was 533 K, space velocity of four kinds of catalysts in the reaction of ethanol dehydration to
was 2.3 h1, the ethanol conversion rate was 98%, and ethylene ethylene, namely -Al2O3, HZSM-5 (Si/Al = 25), SAPO-34, and
selectivity was 9899%. The catalyst has been used in industrialized NiAPSO-34, and found that the activity of the catalysts in descending
column tube reactors. Le Van Mao et al.83 studied the ethanol order was HZSM-5 > NiAPSO-34 > SAPO-34 > -Al2O3 (reaction
catalytic dehydration reaction with ZSM-5 zeolite modied with condition: temperature 723 K (-Al2O3), 573 K (HZSM-5), and
zinc and manganese, and found that when the temperature was 623 K (SAPO-34 and NiAPSO-34), LHSV 3 h1), while in the
673 K with space velocity of 2.5h1, the liquid ethanol content of raw stability test under 100 h, SAPO-34 and NiAPSO-34 have the best
material was 75%, the ethanol conversion rate was 99% and C2C4 stability. After considering all the aspects, NiAPSO-34 is most suitable
olen yield was 94%, which mainly was ethylene. Bun et al.84 used for the ethanol catalytic dehydration to ethylene reaction. Zhou T.
ZSM-5 zeolite modied with H, Cu ion for ethanol conversion et al.93 studied the ethanol (mass concentration is 99.7%) dehydra-
reaction separately, and the results showed that the H-ZSM-5 tion to ethylene reaction on the composite catalyst of SAPO-11/
catalyzed ethanol dehydrogenation eectively, while the ethanol on HZSM-5 and found that the increase of the catalyst acidity helped to
Cu-ZSM-5 zeolite was deeply oxidized to generate CO2 and CO; improve the ethanol conversion rate and ethylene yield, when the
increasing the hydroxyl on the H-NaZSM-5 surface can enhance the pressure was 0.1 MPa, the temperature was 513 K, the space velocity
dehydrogenation activity and decrease oxidation activity. Increasing was 1.2 h1, the ethanol conversion rate was 99.19%, and ethylene
Cu ions on the Cu-NaZSM-5 surface is good for the ethanol selectivity was 98.77%; when the ethanol conversion rate and
catalytic oxidation reaction. Takahara et al.85 researched the reaction ethylene selectivity both reached 99.00%, the reaction temperature of
of the ethanol dehydration to ethylene on dierent solid acid the catalyst was 60 K lower than those of HZSM-5 and SAPO-11.
catalysts, including mordenite, ZSM-5 zoelite, H hydrogen type The activity of ethanol catalytic dehydration reaction of
zoelite, and SiAl compounds, and the results showed that the various types of molecular sieve is not very high, which must
catalyst activity was related to the number of B acid sites, and modulate the surface acidity and pore size to improve the
mordenite had the highest catalytic activity for alcohol dehydroge- catalytic activity through modied molecular sieve.94 Compared
nation. Jia, O. Y. et al.86 conducted the ethanol dehydration reaction with the activity of activated alumina-based catalysts, the
on ZSM-5 zeolite catalyst modied with La in the laboratory modied molecular sieve catalyst has higher activity, its reaction
bioreactor. During the reaction over 950 h, the ethanol conversion temperature is lower, and it can catalyze the ethanol aqueous
rate and ethylene selectivity were above 98%, and the time required solution of low concentration for the dehydration reaction, but it
for the catalyst regeneration was no more than 830 h. Ramesh is less stable, and it can be deactivated easily with high cost and
et al.87 used the impregnation method to prepare the HZSM-5 complicated preparation process, which is still far from applicable
catalyst modied with P, the evaluation test of ethanol catalytic for large-scale industrial production.
dehydration was done at the temperature ranging from 523 to 723 K. 4.4. Heteropolyacid Catalyst. Heteropolyacid is the general
The catalytic activity was inuenced by P content, reaction term of an oxygen-containing multiacid formed by the central atom
temperature, and space velocity, with no deactivation within 200 h; (such as P, Si, Ge, Fe, and Co) and the lig-atom (such as Mo, W, V,
at a temperature of 623 K, the ethanol solution with a concentration and Nb, etc.) through the oxygen atom bridging. These catalysts can
of 10% was used as the raw material, and ethylene selectivity was be used as the acid or the oxidationreduction catalyst and can be
above 98%; Characterization results of the catalyst showed that the used both in the homogeneous reaction or nonhomogeneous
addition of P decreased ZSM-5 acidity. reaction.95,96
4.3.2. SAPO Series of Molecular Sieve. Union Carbide (UCC)88 Zhao B. L. et al.97 have researched the reaction of ethanol
in America developed a series of molecular sieve of Si dehydration to ethylene on six dierent heteropoly acids, and
Al-phosphate (SAPO-n, n represents the model) in 1984. The found that when the temperature was over 443 K, ethylene was
composition of the series of molecular sieves can change in a wide the main product, and when the temperature was below 443 K,
range and the silicon content changes with the synthesis ether is the main product; in the 440 h evaluation test, the
conditions. In the SAPO series of molecular sieve, SAPO-34 catalyst was stable without deactivation. Vazquez et al.98 have
molecular sieves have eight-member pore structure of chabazite, made Keggin-type phosphor-molybdate and phosphor-tungstic
9510 dx.doi.org/10.1021/ie401157c | Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2013, 52, 95059514
Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research Review

acid loaded on SiO2, and used them in a liquid dehydration production process through petroleum, the biomass ethanol
reaction of 96 wt % ethanol solution, and they carried out the full dehydration to ethylene process has the following advantages:102
reaction at 293 K for 72 h, and they found that the catalytic (1) The purity of bioethylene is high; the cost of separating
activity is satisfactory, and the catalyst can be separated from the and rening ethylene is very low; the investment is small;
system through the centrifugal separation method; the catalyst the construction period is short; and returns are fast.
used for several times still had good catalytic activity, and the (2) The raw materials are easily available; it is not limited by
characterization results showed that theres basically no structure
the resource distribution; and it can promote the
dierence between the used catalyst and the original catalyst.
Haber et al.99 have added K and Ag to phosphotungstic acid development of cyclic economy.
(HPW) and made two phosphotung salt of KxH3xPW12O40 and (3) Complex technologies or equipment are not needed; the
AgxH3xPW12O40, and loaded them on SiO2 under the conditions process can be easily improved.
of atmospheric pressure and temperature of 398773 K for the In the age of shortage of petroleum resources, biomass ethanol
ethanol dehydration reaction on it. When the temperature is dehydration to ethylene is sure to become a very promising
lower than 523 K, the main product on AgxH3xPW12O40/SiO2 is chemical process.
ethylene, and the yield increases up to about 45% with
temperature rising; when the temperature is between 523 and 6. CONCLUSIONS
573 K, the main product is acetaldehyde; when the temperatures The development level of the ethylene industry is one of the
continues to rise, the ethylene yield rises gradually, after it important indicators to measure the economic power of a
reaches over 673 K, the ethylene yield will increase faster up to country, and plays a vital role in the national economic
about 70% with temperature rising. The activity of development. That petroleum resources are becoming increas-
KxH3xPW12O40/SiO2 is low, close to the dehydration activity ingly strained restricts the development of the ethylene industry.
of SiO2. Varisli et al.100 have investigated the ethanol dehydration The development and utilization of various nonpetroleum raw
to ethylene reaction and ethanol to ether reaction (ethanol was materials producing ethylene have drawn extensive attention of
5 wt %, and the remaining was He gas) on three kinds of the countries. The process of ethanol to ethylene has broad
heteropolyacid catalysts of phosphor-tungstic acid (TPA), silico- development prospects and has great signicance for promoting
tungstic acid (STA), and molybdo-phosphoric acid (MPA) at the the economy development. Compared with the process of
temperature ranging from 413 to 523 K, and the results showed petroleum to ethylene, ethanol dehydration to ethylene is
that the water vapor would reduce the activity of the catalyst; economically feasible.
it generated ether when the temperature was below 453 K; At present, the studies of ethanol dehydration to ethylene
ethylene yield on heteropolyacid catalyst can reach 77%; the mainly focus on such aspects as the production process, the
activity of three heteropoly acid catalysts in descending order was reaction mechanism, and highly ecient catalyst.
STA > TPA > MPA. The reactor is the key equipment of the whole technology
Heteropolyacid catalyst used for ethanol dehydration to process of ethanol dehydration to ethylene. At present,
ethylene has the advantages of low reaction temperature, etc., but compared with the xed bed reactor which is most commonly
the ethanol conversion rate is relatively low. When used, used in the industrial equipment, the uidized bed reactor has
Heteropolyacid catalysts normally need to be loaded on the such advantages as larger heat and mass transfer rate, more
carrier, with the problems of serious loss and high preparation uniform bed temperature, and more stable operation. It is
cost. Thus, further study on Heteropoly acid catalyst is needed. especially suitable for large-scale production with great thermal
eect. However, the catalyst is easily worn due to the friction and
5. PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF ECONOMY collision between the catalyst particles and between the catalyst
The economic analysis and discussions on ethanol dehydration particles and the reactor. The uidized bed reactor, together with
to ethylene are mainly based on the production process of the a wear-resistant, ecient, and stable catalyst will be the focus of
American Halcon/Scientic Design Company.101 The compo- future research.
nents of ethylene product with dierent purity are shown in The catalyst is an eective means to change the reaction rate,
Table S1 in the Supporting Information. The investment (areas and control the direction of the reaction. A further understanding
beyond the battery are not included), raw materials, labor and of the reaction mechanism can help design and lter the basic
utilities consumption for producing ethylene with dierent component of the catalyst. At present, the catalyst mainly applied
purity are shown in Table S2 and Table S3 in the Supporting in the industrial plant of ethanol dehydration to ethylene is an
Information. In the ethylene production process of the American activated Al2O3-based catalyst. The reaction temperature is
Halcon/Scientic Design Company, the investment of dierent relatively high and some of byproducts are unfavorable for the
reactor systems is shown in Table S4 in the Supporting Information. production of the downstream products. Zeolite catalyst is the
Assuming that ethylene production is 17 300 tons per year, ethanol focus of current research, with which ethanol catalytic
is based on the wood of 700 yuan per ton, and other raw materials, dehydration can occur at lower temperature. However, its
chemicals and utilities all refer to the consumption quota of stability is poor, and it can be easily deactivated through carbon
intermedia ethylene, the calculated production cost of ethylene is deposition. Its cost is high and its preparation process is complex.
roughly 1900 yuan per ton or so. The plant investment of the two Thus, its usage is still at the exploratory stage in the laboratory
processes of hydrocarbon thermal cracking to ethylene and ethanol with some distance from large-scale industrial production
dehydration to ethylene were once compared by the base-group of application. On one hand, the future study will be focused on
ABB Lummus Global of America, as is shown in Table S5 in the deeply understanding the large-scale used activated alumina
Supporting Information. catalyst with a reasonable proposal for design and modication
From the gures in the table, the investment of a unit of being put forward to reduce the reaction temperature and to
ethylene of ethanol dehydration is lower than that of hydro- optimize the product distribution. On the other hand, eorts
carbon thermal cracking. Compared with the ethylene should be made to improve the stability of the zeolite catalyst to
9511 dx.doi.org/10.1021/ie401157c | Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2013, 52, 95059514
Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research Review

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Notes
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The authors declare no competing nancial interest.

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