Synthesis of acetic acid from ethanol–water mixture over Cu/ZnO–ZrO2–Al2O3 catalyst Original Research Article

It was shown that acetic acid can be obtained from aqueous ethanol (6–40 mol%) solutions over Cu/ZnO–ZrO2–Al2O3 catalyst at 250–320 °C and atmospheric pressure. Selectivity of 80–90% and space-time yield of acetic acid up to 9 mmol gcat−1 h−1 at 60–80% ethanol conversion were obtained while processing 14–37 mol% aqueous ethanol solutions. Hydrogen was generated in an amount ~2 moles per 1 mole of acetic acid as a co-product.