Hydrogenation of ethyl acetate to ethanol over Cu/ZnO/MOx (MOx = SiO2, Al2O3, and ZrO2) catalysts

Abstract The Cu/ZnO/SiO 2 , Cu/ZnO/Al 2 O 3 , and Cu/ZnO/ZrO 2 catalysts prepared by the co-precipitation method were used for the catalytic hydrogenation of ethyl acetate to ethanol. The addition of ZnO in the Cu/ZnO/MO x catalysts improved their catalytic activities for the hydrogenation reaction. Small-sized copper crystallite and high surface acidity favored the catalytic hydrogenation of ethyl acetate to ethanol. The Cu/ZnO/Al 2 O 3 catalyst gave the ethanol selectivity of ca . 95% at the ethyl acetate conversion of ca . 80% when the reaction temperature was 280 °C. The reaction activation energy over Cu/ZnO/Al 2 O 3 catalyst was 115 kJ mol −1 , lower than those over the Cu/ZnO/SiO 2 and Cu/ZnO/ZrO 2 catalysts.