Abstract The feasibility and reaction kinetics of ethylene glycol monobutylether (EGMBE) from ethoxylation of n-butanol with triethylamine (TEA) as catalyst were studied. Based on the established kinetic model of catalytic reaction, the reaction behavior of the continuous stirred tank reactor with a volume of 10 liters and a reflux condenser was investigated. The optimized operating parameters were obtained and the simulation results were compared with the experimental results. Under the optimized conditions, the conversion of EO reached about 99.2% and the selectivity of EGMBE was about 68.2%. Approximately 2.6% of EO was consumed by the Hoffman elimination and ethoxylation of N,N-diethylethanolamine side reactions. Studies have shown that the reactive rate of EO and the selectivity of EGMBE were lower in the presence of TEA compared with the conventional n-butanol sodium catalyst due to the existence of Hoffman elimination side reaction. The key to the economic feasibility of the process was the recovery of more valuable by-products.
