Diisopropyl Ether Production via Isopropanol Catalytic Dehydration over Zirconium Phosphate Modified Natural Zeolite

In this work, diisopropyl ether (DIPE) was produced through catalytic dehydration of isopropanol over zirconium phosphate-modified phosphate modified natural zeolite. The catalyst was prepared via the wet impregnation method. They were tested at 150 ˚C for 3 hours under a reflux system. The effect of zeolite-Zr(H2PO4)4 metal loading and zeolite-Zr without phosphate incorporation on dehydration isopropanol was also assessed. The results showed the natural zeolite was successfully modified as confirmed by XRD, FTIR, SEM-EDX, N2 physisorption, and catalyst acidity by the gravimetric technique. The highest isopropanol conversion (66.73%) was accomplished by 8 mEq/g zeolite-Zr(H2PO4)4 followed by the DIPE yield and selectivity up to 35.81% and 47.8%, respectively. Further reusability investigation showed that zeolite-Zr(H2PO4)4 catalyst provided adequate reusability up to the fourth reused with relatively decreased catalytic activity towards isopropanol dehydration.