Dynamics of a fixed‐bed adsorptive reactor for synthesis of diethylacetal

Diethylacetal from ethanol and acetaldehyde catalyzed by the acid resin Amberlyst 18 was synthesized. Adsorption and reaction experiments were performed in a laboratory‐scale fixed‐bed adsorptive reactor, operating isothermally at 15°C and at atmospheric pressure. Experimental results of dynamic adsorption of binary nonreactive mixtures were used to obtain multicomponent adsorption equilibrium isotherms of the Langmuir type. The reaction kinetics reported earlier were used in the model of the adsorptive reactor, which also included axial dispersion, external and internal mass‐transfer resistances, and multicomponent Langmuir isotherms. Model equations were solved by orthogonal collocation on finite elements (OCFE), implemented by the PDECOL package, using the measured model parameters, and were validated by experimental data for reaction and regeneration steps, with good accuracy.