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Dimethyl ether (DME) is an organic compound used in chemistry labs and as a substitute for liquefied petroleum gas. It is being studied as a biofuel and can be produced from waste products from paper mills. DME can be produced from natural gas or through new one-step procedures. It produces fewer greenhouse gases than traditional diesel fuel and can be used in modified diesel engines with no emissions. DME is also used to synthesize organic compounds and as a propellant in aerosol cans. It is stable but extremely flammable.
Dimethyl ether is an organic compound that is used to make other molecules. Also known as DME, it works as a reagent in chemistry labs. It is currently used as a substitute for liquefied petroleum gas. Additionally, DME is being extensively studied as a biofuel to replace diesel in engines. As of 2010, there are a number of pilot plants around the world to use this compound as a diesel fuel for vehicles.
The classic way to make DME is by reacting methanol with sulfuric acid. Methanol undergoes a dehydration reaction, ie it loses a water molecule, producing the desired product. Industrial production of dimethyl ether generally begins with natural gas, working through the synthetic gas into methanol and then into DME. There are new procedures to produce dimethyl ether in one step.
As a biofuel, DME can be produced from waste products from paper mills. An advantage of this, compared to other sources of biofuels, is that the raw materials come from the forest industry. No food is lost in the production of this compound. There is concern about the production of other biofuels that use edible crops as a biomass source.
The delignification process to remove insoluble fibers from wood produces a lot of waste called black liquor. This biomass waste can now be used as a source to produce DME at low cost. This process produces significantly fewer greenhouse gases than traditional diesel fuel production methods. If the production of biofuels does not meet the growing demand for DME, there are always industrial ways of production.
It is quite simple to modify a diesel engine to use DME as fuel. There are several advantages to this. This fuel can be run at much lower injection pressures, greatly simplifying the fuel injection equipment required. There are no particulate matter, carbon monoxide or sulfur emissions produced in an engine designed to use DME. This clean-burning fuel meets US, Japanese and European emission standards. With the combination of worldwide industrial, governmental and institutional interest in this fuel, it is expected to become widely used.
Dimethyl ether is also used to synthesize organic compounds, such as dimethyl sulfate. This chemical is an intermediate in the production of many other molecules. DME is also used to make acetic acid and as a propellant in aerosol cans.
The structure of dimethyl ether is CH3OCH3, and it is the simplest ether. Ethers are known to react with air to produce explosive oxygen compounds called peroxides. However, DME is less likely to react this way. However, it’s good lab practice to put the arrival date on a container of ether, so you don’t keep them around dangerously long.
The boiling point of dimethyl ether is -9° F (-23° C). It is a colorless gas with a small degree of solubility in water. It is generally stable, but is extremely flammable.
