One-stage synthesis of 1,1-diethoxyethane from ethanol using copper-containing catalysts

The conversion of ethanol on low-percentage copper-containing catalysts at temperatures of 300 oC and 350 oC was studied. γ-Al2O3, SiO2 and HZSM-5 were studied as the carrier of the active phase. It is shown that the main direction of ethanol conversion on low-percentage copper-containing catalysts is its dehydrogenation and subsequent conversion of the resulting products into 1,1-diethoxyethane. Among the studied catalysts (1 wt.% CuO/Al2O3, 1 wt.% CuO/SiO2 and 1 wt.% CuO/ HZSM-5 the most active in the production of 1,1-diethoxyethane was 1 wt.% CuO/Al2O3, modification of it with cerium oxide led to an increase in its activity in the formation of 1,1-diethoxyethane, at the reaction temperature of 350 oС, the yield of the target product was 27 vol.%. The results showed that the modification of CuO/Al2O3 leads to an increase in the catalytic activity of the sample.