Production of Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether(MTBE)in Sudan

Abstract

Methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) is primarily used in gasoline blending as an octane enhancer to improve hydrocarbon combustion efficiency. Of all the Oxygenates, MTBE is the most attractive for a variety of technical reasons. It has a low vapor pressure. It can be blended with other fuels without phase separation. It has the desirable octane characteristics. MTBE is produced via direct addition of methanol to isobutylene using ion exchange resin as a catalyst. In order to improve the quality of the gasoline produced in the Sudanese refineries, this project studies the implantation of an MTBE plant with a capacity that suffices the production rate of Sudanese gasoline. The project based on conducting material and energy balances, designing reaction and distillation equipment besides estimating costs and profits. The main outcome of this work is the verification of the feasibility of constructing an MTBE plant in Sudan in terms of conversion, design and profitability considerations. According to this study, it is possible to obtain an overall conversion of around 80% with a purity of MTBE that reaches 95% and a payback period (PBP) that is estimated to be 3.7 years.