Abstract: Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) is a kind of important chemical raw material which can be used as gasoline additive to increase the octane number of gasoline. Butene-1 is the copolymer monomer of polyethylene plant which can be used to produce fine products such as Methyl Ethyl Ketone, Pentanal, Isodecanol, and so forth. It has a wide range of functions and applications. With the continuous development of MTBE/Butene-1 process technology and the increasing capacity of the plant and combining with the technological characteristics of two different sets of MTBE/ butene-1 plants, this paper makes in-depth comparison and summary in terms of the economy of reaction catalyst, the advantages of comprehensive energy consumption and the cleanness of chemical production. It analyzes the different advantages and potential development space of MTBE/ butene-1 technology. This provides reference and direction for the design and operation of the same plants in the same industry.

Key words: MTBE, butene-1, energy consumption, catalyst, methanol recovery