Mechanism of Dehydration of Ethanol over Alumina

Abstract

The dehydration reaction of ethanol to ether and ethylene was kinetically investigated in a flow system using •y-alumina. Pyridine was found to inhibit the formation of ethylene and ether. The rate of ethylene formation was investigated under steady state and non-steady state conditions and it was found to be zero order. The bimolecular ether formation is described by a first order equation of the Langmuir-Hinshelwood type. The activation energies for ethylene and ether formation were determined. A mechanism based on the participation of a common alkoxide intermediate for both reactions is proposed.