DME (Dimethyl ether) is a clean, colorless gas that is easy to liquify and transport. Chemically speaking, DME Is the simplest ether compound, with a chemical formula of C2H6O. DME can be derived from many sources, including renewable materials for example biomass. See http://www.aboutdme.org/index.asp?bid=234
Considering these advantages, some scientists suggest that DME can be an alternative for diesel fuel in the future. See for example: http://www.cpi.umist.ac.uk/eminent/publicFiles/brno/MSU_Dimethyl_Ether.pdf.
Other scientist suggests that DME can be produced from natural gas. See for example: http://www.sae.org/events/gim/presentations/2013/greszler_anthony.pdf
So do you think that DME is a viable alternative to replace diesel fuel?
Thank you, Kari, for your answer. Yes perhaps logistics is one problem for distribution, btw, our national oil company begin to use DME since last year, I think, though perhaps not much in volume yet. Best wishes
I beleive DME has good properties as diesel fuel. It can be produced from renewable materials like biomass. The only problem is the need for the separate logistics as the normal boiling point is -24.3 oC, which means that it should be stored under pressure. As there are no aromatics in DME and it contains oxygen, the burning results should be very clean, e.g. little or no particulates in the exhaust gases. We (A. Outi I. Krause and Kari I. Keskinen) have written few pages (pp. 2877-2879) on its production in our chapter 13.10 "Etherification" in the "Handbook of Heterogeneous Catalysis", Second, Completely Revised and Enlarged Edition, (in 8 volumes), Editors: Erlt, G., Knözinger, H., Schüth, F., Weitkamp, J., WILEY-VCH, 2008.
Thank you, Kari, for your answer. Yes perhaps logistics is one problem for distribution, btw, our national oil company begin to use DME since last year, I think, though perhaps not much in volume yet. Best wishes
DME is an best alternative no doubt in it .even logistic can be overcomed by using the same facilities provided for gasoline with little added measure.
the main draw back is it contaminates the ground water level,as it is soluable in water and the water stinks
.Usage of DME is banned in US and all developing countries
Dear Sivakumat, thank you for your answer. Do you mean DME can contaminate ground water before or after being used as replacement for diesel?
We all know that even diesel fuel can also contaminate water. Best wishes
I am wondering that what Sivakumat said. I know that MTBE does dissolve in water in noticeable amounts and causes bad smell and taste. Therefore MTBE (and other possible gasoline ethers like TAME, ETBE) are banned in the USA also in some (not all) developing countries. It means that if MTBE containing gasoline has leaked or spilled on ground the MTBE will dissolve in the ground water, while the hydrocarbons not and therefore MTBE can be transported with groundwater in large areas. But I haven't read or heard that about DME. On the other hand DME is easily volatile (normal boiling point is -24.3 oC) and thus it will go to the atmosphere.
Thank you Kari, for your answer. So do you think that DME can contaminate the atmosphere because of low boiling point? Thanks
Yes I think so.
Nowadays, more and more attention is directed at the production of alternative environmentally friendly fuels thereby reducing dependency on crude oil and yielding associated improvements in air pollution mitigation.[1] There are numbers of the options available for example biogas, hydrogen or, dimethyl ether (DME), with the latter being one of the more promising alternatives. DME has been utilised in a broad range of applications and since the early 1990s has been considered an alternative for diesel vehicles [1]. Volvo announced in October 2014 that Volvo trucks modified North American alternative fuels Plan by progressing the production of DME-powered vehicles for the North America market [2].
DME is the simplest ether structure and the absence of a C-C bond means fewer undesired combustion by-products such as hydrocarbons or particulates are generated. As it is generally produced from clean gas streams (either directly or indirectly) it contains neither sulphur compounds nor aromatics, and is non-carcinogenic, non-teratogenic, non-mutagenic and non-toxic.[1, 3, 4]
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