Preparing Sodium Methoxide from Sodium Hydroxide by Reaction Coupling with Separation Processes

Abstract

Preparing sodium methoxide by reacting sodium hydroxide with methanol was investigated. The chemical equilibrium constant was small. Removing water out of the reaction phase could drive the reaction to produce more sodium methoxide. The experiments were carried out at different temperatures and 1 atm in semi-batch reactor by liquid evaporating to remove water. The effects of initial sodium hydroxide concentration and liquid evaporating speed were discussed. A mathematical model coupling reaction with separation processes was built and the predicted results by the model were in good agreement with experiment results. The model provides useful information for industrial simulation.