DOI: https://doi.org/10.9767/jcerp.20423

Improving Energy and Economic Efficiency in Dimethyl Ether Production through Heat Duty Reduction in a Two-Stage Methanol Dehydration Process

1Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitas Diponegoro, Jl. Prof. Sudarto, SH, Tembalang, Semarang, Indonesia

2Department Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Semarang, Indonesia

Received: 14 Jun 2025; Revised: 23 Jun 2025; Accepted: 24 Jun 2025; Available online: 29 Jun 2025; Published: 30 Jun 2025.
Editor(s): Istadi Istadi
Open Access Copyright (c) 2025 by Authors, Published by Universitas Diponegoro and BCREC Publishing Group
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Fulltext View|Download

Citation Format:
Cover Image
Abstract

This study investigates the optimization of a two-step dimethyl ether (DME) production process via methanol dehydration, with a focus on enhancing thermal and economic performance through strategic heat integration. A modified configuration was developed by redirecting residual heat from coolers to pump inlets and transferring thermal energy from the condenser of the secondary distillation column to the reboiler of the primary column. These internal heat recovery strategies significantly reduced external utility demand without compromising product purity or plant throughput. Simulation results demonstrate a reduction in total energy consumption from 4,466,363.8 kJ/h to 3,211,110 kJ/h, equivalent to a 31.03% decrease in thermal energy requirement. In parallel, the annual utility cost was reduced by 58.15%, and the annual operating cost decreased by 12.77%, yielding total savings of $407,304 per year. Importantly, the modified process maintained a DME purity exceeding 99% and preserved the original production capacity of 50,000 tons per year, confirming the feasibility of these improvements without compromising performance targets. Overall, the proposed retrofit offers a more energy-efficient and cost-effective pathway for industrial-scale DME production, serving as a model for sustainable process design in energy-intensive chemical systems. Copyright © 2025 by Authors, Published by Universitas Diponegoro and BCREC Publishing Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).

Keywords: Dimethyl ether (DME); Methanol dehydration; Heat integration; Energy efficiency; Process optimization

Article Metrics:

Article Info
Section: Original Research Articles
Language : EN
Recent articles
A Comprehensive Overview of The Principles, Design, Operation, and Optimization of a Three-Bed TSA Dryer for Hydrogen Gas Dehydration Improving Energy Efficiency with Reusage Outlet Stream of Heat Exchanger for Formaldehyde Production from Methanol Improving Yield Conversion with Triple Conversion Reactor for Styrene Production from Ethylbenzene Total Net Energy Assessment for Rule-of-Thumb Applications in Multicomponent Distillation Separation Strategy More recent articles
  1. Chai, M., Chen, Z., Nourozieh, H., Yang, M., Xu, J., Sun, Z., Li, Z. (2024). Perspectives of dimethyl ether (DME) as a transitional solvent for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Energy, 310, 133191. DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2024.133191
  2. Kumar, A., Kumar, V., Mehra, S., Valera, H. (2025). Microscopic Spray Characteristics of Dimethyl Ether and Diesel in Ambient Conditions. ASME Open Journal of Engineering, 4, 041005. DOI: 10.1115/1.4067680
  3. Bhattacharya, A., Basu, S. (2019). An investigation into the heat release and emissions from counterflow diffusion flames of methane/dimethyl ether/hydrogen blends in air. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 44(45), 22328–22346. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.06.190
  4. Azizi, Z., Rezaeimanesh, M., Tohidian, T., Rahimpour, M.R. (2014). Dimethyl ether: A review of technologies and production challenges. Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process Intensification, 82, 150–172. DOI: 10.1016/j.cep.2014.06.007
  5. Tyraskis, I., Capa, A., Skorikova, G., Sluijter, S. N., Boon, J. (2025). Performance optimization of sorption-enhanced DME synthesis (SEDMES) from capture d CO₂ and renewable hydrogen. Frontiers in Chemical Engineering, 7, 1521374. DOI: 10.3389/fceng.2025.1521374
  6. Wibowo, C.S., Anggarani, R., Rulianto, D., Aisyah, L. (2013). Analysis On Dimethyl Ether (Dme) Characteristics As A Liquid Petroleum Gas (Lpg) Fuel Substitution For Household Stove. Scientific Contributions Oil and Gas, 36(3), 123–129. DOI: 10.29017/scog.36.3.768
  7. Lebarbier, V.M., Dagle, R.A., Kovarik, L., Lizarazo Adarme, J.A., King, D.L., Palo, D.R. (2012). Synthesis of methanol and dimethyl ether from syngas over Pd/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalysts. Catalysis Science & Technology, 2(11), 2116–2127. DOI: 10.1039/C2CY20315D
  8. Xia, J., Mao, D., Zhang, B., Chen, Q., Tang, Y. (2004). One-step synthesis of dimethyl ether from syngas with Fe-modified zeolite ZSM-5 as dehydration catalyst. Catalysis Letters, 98(4), 235–241. DOI: 10.1023/B:CATL.0000042067.29579.27
  9. Alshbuki, E.H., Bey, M.M., Mohamed, A.A. (2020). Simulation Production of Dimethylether (DME) from Dehydration of Methanol Using Aspen Hysys. Scholars International Journal of Chemistry and Material Sciences, 03(02), 13–18. DOI: 10.36348/sijcms.2020.v03i02.002
  10. Mata, T.M., Smith, R.L., Young, D.M., Costa, C. A.V. (2003). Evaluating the environmental friendliness, economics and energy efficiency of chemical processes: Heat integration. Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy, 5(4), 302–309. DOI: 10.1007/s10098-003-0203-1
  11. Ezhov, A., Kottsov, S., Levin, I., Zhilyaeva, N., Galkin, R., Belostotsky, I., Volnina, E., Kipnis, M. (2022). Effective Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 Catalyst for Methanol Production: Synthesis, Activation, Catalytic Performance, and Regeneration. Catalysis Research, 2(3), 1. DOI: 10.21926/cr.2203027
  12. Ebrahimian, S., Bhattacharya, S. (2024). Direct CO₂ Hydrogenation over Bifunctional Catalysts to Produce Dimethyl Ether—A Review. Energies, 17(15), 3701. DOI: 10.3390/en17153701
  13. Diep, B.T., Wainwright, M.S. (1987). Thermodynamic equilibrium constants for the methanol-dimethyl ether-water system. Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data, 32(3), 330–333. DOI: 10.1021/je00049a015
  14. Caetano, R., Lemos, M. A., Lemos, F., Freire, F. (2014). Modeling and control of an exothermal reaction. Chemical Engineering Journal, 238, 93–99. DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2013.09.113
  15. Ogechi, O.V., Ikejiofor, O.A. (2022). A Review of The Essence of Stability Constants in The Thermodynamic Assessments of Chemical Compounds. International Journal of Anesthesiology and Practice, 1(1). DOI: 10.58489/2994-2624/002
  16. Kansha, Y., Ishizuka, M., Song, C., Tsutsumi, A. (2015). Process intensification for dimethyl ether production by self-heat recuperation. Energy, 90,122127. DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2015.05.037
  17. Sumeru, K., Sukri, M.F., Falahuddin, M.A., Setyawan, A. (2019). A review on sub-cooling in vapor compression refrigeration cycle for energy saving. Jurnal Teknologi (Sciences & Engineering), 81(5), 155–170. DOI: 10.11113/jt.v81.13707
  18. Kazemi, A., Rasti, Y., Mehrabani-Zeinabad, A., & Beheshti, M. (2018). Evaluation of a novel configuration of bottom flashing on dual distillation columns for saving energy. International Journal of Industrial Chemistry, 9(1), 75–84. DOI: 10.1007/s40090-017-0134-z
  19. Chmielarz, L. (2024). Dehydration of Methanol to Dimethyl Ether—Current State and Perspectives. Catalysts, 14(5), 308. DOI: 10.3390/catal14050308
  20. Seeley, C.C., Dhakal, S. (2021). Energy efficiency retrofits in commercial buildings: An environmental, financial, and technical analysis of case studies in Thailand. Energies, 14, 2571. DOI: 10.3390/en14092571

Last update:

No citation recorded.

Last update:

No citation recorded.