Hydroperoxide Formation and Thermal Stability of Ethyl t-Butyl Ether Oxidation

A customer-designed mini closed pressure vessel test (MCPVT) consisting of a pressure sensor and a temperature sensor connected to recorder was applied to evaluate the isothermal stability along with the formation of hydroperoxide in the ethyl t-butyl ether (ETBE) oxidation process at low temperatures. A new type of hydroperoxide, named 1-tert-butoxy-ethyl hydroperoxide (TBEHP), was separated from ETBE oxidation products via column chromatography, which was further characterized by mass spectrometry (MS), 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The thermal characteristics of TBEHP were assessed via differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Results showed that the exothermic onset temperature (T0) and thermal decomposition heat (QDSC) of TBEHP were 99.12 °C and 1523.89 J·g–1, respectively. Moreover, a jet-stirred reactor (vessel volume: 500 mL) was used to evaluate the explosive risk of ETBE oxidation. The corresponding result indicated that detonatio...