Abstract In the paper, the development of Methanol-to-Olefin (MTO) process is outlined. According to the reaction mechanism and reaction behaviors of MTO, the applicability of several kinds reactor used in industrial MTO units was reviewed. It is believed that the combination of fluidized reactor and fluidized regenerator is appropriate for the MTO process because of the strong exothermic reaction and fast catalyst deactivation. The three year operating data of Shenhua Baotou MTO commercial plant (1.80×106 t/d) indicated that turbulence fluidized bed reactor is very suitable for the MTO process.
