Mohammad Davar Mahlouji - Chemical Engineering Department, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
Mitra Dadvar - Chemical Engineering Department, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
Hossein Beiki - Chemical Engineering Department, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

One-dimensional heterogeneous dispersed plug flow (DPF) model is employed in an adiabatic fixed bed reactor for the catalytic dehydration of methanol to dimethyl ether (DME). The mass andheat transfer equations are numerically solved for the reactor. Concentration of components andtemperature vary along the reactor, therefore the effectiveness factor would also change in thereactor. We used the effectiveness factor that was simulated according to the diffusion andreaction in the catalyst pellet as a pore network model. The simulated effectiveness factor was used for the reactor simulation. The simulation results were compared to the experimental data and a satisfactory agreement was confirmed

axial dispersion, fixed bed reactor, Methanol dehydration, Dimethyl ether, effectiveness factor