ie9b02887_si_001.pdf (486.51 kB)
Impact of the Water Removal Method on Tetraethyl Orthosilicate Direct Synthesis: Experiment and Process Assessment
journal contribution
posted on 2019-10-17, 14:42 authored by Thuy T. H. Nguyen, Norihisa Fukaya, Seong Jib Choi, Kazuhiko Sato, Jun-Chul Choi, Sho KataokaA direct
synthesis pathway of tetraethyl orthosilicate from silica
and ethanol was recently proposed. Although this pathway has many
advantages over the conventional one producing tetraethoxysilane (TEOS)
from metallurgical silicon, its potential can be further increased
by the effective removal of its byproducts. This study investigates
the removal of the water byproduct, which reduces the TEOS product
yield and enhances the loss of raw materials. Several inorganic dehydrating
agents were examined under different conditions, on the basis of which
a suitable TEOS synthesis process using the selected dehydrating agent
was designed and its optimal conditions were determined. The feasibility
of the designed process was evaluated in comparison with our previously
reported process using a molecular sieve as a water adsorbent and
the conventional process. The evaluation results confirmed that the
CaO process is more economically competitive and environmentally friendlier,
reducing 24% production cost and 40% greenhouse gas emissions of the
conventional process.