Highly effective synthesis of ethanol from CO2 on Fe, Cu-based novel catalysts

To synthesize ethanol more effectively from CO2, the Cu-Zn-Al-K mixed oxide catalyst was combined with the Fe-based catalyst. An F-T type Fe-Cu-Al-K mixed oxide catalyst, which has been developed already in our laboratory[1], converted CO2 to both ethanol and hydrocarbons, while the Cu-based catalyst converted CO2 to CO and methanol with high selectivity. Through the combination of these two catalysts, the three functions were harmonized; C-C bond growth, partial reduction of CO2 to CO, and OH insertion to the products. Furthermore, combination catalyst of Fe- and Cu-based ones was modified with both Pd and Ga to maintain the desirable reduced state of the metal oxides during the reaction. As the result, the space-time yield of ethanol was enhanced to 476 g/l· h at SV=20,000 h1.