Pengaruh 5% MgO pada CuO-ZnO-Al2O3 sebagai Katalis Bifungsi untuk Sintesis Langsung DME dari Syngas pada Tekanan 15 Bar

Abstract

The application of fossil fuels for transportation and household is one of the main reasons for environmental issues. Imports of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) are continuously rising up to 70%, while domestic production is constant or even decreases. Therefore, the Indonesian government encourages to use dimethyl ether (DME) as an alternative energy for LPG to reduce import. The objective of this study was developing a catalyst based in CuO-ZnO-MgO-Al₂O₃ as a bifunctional catalyst for direct synthesis of DME from synthetic gas. The mineral composition in the proposed catalyst was about 31:16:53 by mass. The preparation methods of the catalyst include co-precipitation and 5 hours calcination at 350℃. The performances of CuO-ZnO-Al₂O₃ (CZA) and CuO-ZnO-Al₂O₃ with 5% MgO (CZMA5) were observed. The catalysts were activated using a mixture of 5% H₂ and N₂ as reducing gas. Furthermore, the activity of the catalyst was tested by conducting a direct synthesis of DME from a synthetic gas consisting of 65% H₂, 28% CO, 7% N₂. The DME synthesis was carried out in a fixed bed reactor at 15 bar, with two different temperatures of 260 and 280℃. The maximum DME yield achieved by 0,12% using the CZA bifunctional catalyst at 260℃ and 15 bar.