Formation kinetics of polyoxymethylene dimethyl ethers from methylal and trioxane with little water

Abstract Polyoxymethylene dimethyl ethers (CH3-O-(CH2O)n-CH3, PODEn, n > 1) can be added to diesel to reduce air pollution caused by incomplete combustion. Driven by this need, a cost-effective and efficient synthetic route is presented and investigated by this work for the production of PODEn, which are formed from methylal and trioxane with low water content (