Kinetics and optimization of dimethyl carbonate synthesis by transesterification using design of experiment

A comprehensive kinetic study has been conducted on dimethyl carbonate synthesis by transesterification reaction of ethylene carbonate with methanol. An alkali base metal (KOH) was used as catalyst in the synthesis of DMC, and its catalytic ability was investigated in terms of kinetics. The experiment was performed in a batch reactor at atmospheric pressure. The reaction orders, the activation energy and the rate constants were determined for both forward and backward reactions. The reaction order for forward and backward reactions was 0.87 and 2.15, and the activation energy was 12.73 and 29.28 kJ/mol, respectively. Using the general factor analysis in the design of experiments, we analyzed the main effects and interactions according to the MeOH/EC, reaction temperature and KOH concentration. DMC yield with various reaction conditions was presented for all ranges using surface and contour plot. Furthermore, the optimal conditions for DMC yield were determined using response surface method.