What is dimethyl ether used for? 

Perhaps you have read news reports about dimethyl ether being mixed with liquefied gas and causing safety accidents, so you have the impression that dimethyl ether is dangerous. In fact, dimethyl ether has a wide range of applications, with many unique uses in fuels, agriculture, medicine, and other fields.

1. Fuel

Dimethyl ether is also an ideal fuel for automobile engines, and it is also one of the main raw materials for the production of low carbon olefins in the future. Compared with diesel, dimethyl ether has the advantages of high cetane number, no pollution, good start at low temperature, dimethyl ether has low toxicity and low corrosiveness, and the emission of conventional harmful gases during combustion is lower than that of gasoline and diesel, which is a new type of energy and clean energy, which is conducive to environmental protection. Therefore, it became an alternative to gasoline and diesel; Compared with methanol, dimethyl ether has the advantages of easy gasification, strong safety, and no need to worry about the cold start of the car, while compared with the current rapid development of electric vehicles, dimethyl ether has the advantages of easy filling and strong endurance. In addition, dimethyl ether can be directly converted from coal or natural gas, and dimethyl ether can be produced by using high-sulfur and low-quality coal and coke oven gas, which can not only improve the comprehensive utilization rate of resources but also reduce environmental pollution. It has the characteristics of a wide range of raw materials, good combustion and environmental protection performance, and can replace petroleum products as gas. 

2. Agriculture

The wide application of dimethyl ether in agriculture is first manifested in the application of agricultural machinery and vehicle fuel. Dimethyl ether produces less soot after combustion, meets the needs of environmental protection, is not corrosive to metal, and has no special requirements for the material of the fuel system, which is an ideal alternative fuel for diesel. Dimethyl ether can reduce the cost of agricultural inputs and reduce the burden on farmers to a certain extent.

In addition, some experts have proposed the use of straw and other biomass chemical conversion into clean fuel dimethyl ether. After the crop is harvested, the treatment of straw has always been a problem, and the traditional method of burning straw will not only cause waste of resources, but also cause environmental pollution. If it is promoted in rural areas, it not only solves the environmental pollution caused by direct burning of rural straw, but also provides cheap clean energy dimethyl ether for rural areas, which has a very broad prospect.

3. Medicine

Dimethyl ether can be used as a solvent, refrigerant, etc. in the pharmaceutical field, as a non-toxic, non-irritating solvent, dimethyl ether is often used in the preparation of drug formulations and injections. It is able to effectively dissolve many drugs, helping to increase their bioavailability and absorption. High concentrations of dimethyl ether can also act as an anesthetic.

In short, the application range of dimethyl ether is very wide, and the advantages of dimethyl ether such as economy, environmental protection and safety have been widely recognized, and the development prospects are broad.

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