A complete equilibrium stage model was developed for methyl tert-butyl ether （MTBE）synthesis by suspension catalytic distillation (SCD).The influence of the characteristic parameters for SCD

especially solid/liquid separator ratio φand bottom flow rate B

upon column performance was investigated by a rigorous bifurcation study.Bifurcation analysis results showed that superior column performance could be achieved under practical operation conditions because the upper bound of the multiplicity range for the solid/liquid separation ratio was very small.The parameter plane of input variables φ and B was divided into three sub-fields by limitation point curves

and the top right one was the acceptable operation region with high purity of product and high conversion of isobutene.