Zr0.1/(Fe-Ce) as highly efficient catalyst for direct synthesis of diethyl carbonate from ethanol with fermentation tail gas as CO2 raw material

In the production process of bioethanol, stripping is usually required to improve the production efficiency of ethanol, and the generated CO2 fermentation gas direct emissions contribute to increased carbon. Herein, we prepared Zrx/(Fe-Ce) catalyst by co-precipitation method to catalyze CO2 and ethanol for production of diethyl carbonate (DEC). Compared with Fe-Ce catalysts, the introduction of Zr significantly improved the acid-base active sites and the oxygen vacancies on the catalyst surface, resulted in higher activity and selectivity of the catalysts. The ratio of Zr:(Fe-Ce) in the catalyst, reaction temperature, pressure and time were optimized, resulting a high DEC selectivity of 96.7% under the Zr0.1/(Fe-Ce) catalyst. Finally, we used the fermentation tail gas as CO2 source to react with ethanol for the formation of DEC, and obtained 56.0% selectivity of DEC. This study provides a new idea for the utilization of CO2 fermentation gas and the development of cleaner fuel production process.

Automated summary

Zrx/(Fe-Ce) catalyst was prepared by co-precipitation method to catalyze CO2 and ethanol for the production of diethyl carbonate (DEC). The introduction of Zr significantly improved the acid-base active sites and oxygen vacancies on the catalyst surface, resulting in higher activity and selectivity. Under optimized conditions, a high DEC selectivity of 96.7% was achieved using Zr0.1/(Fe-Ce) catalyst. Using fermentation tail gas as CO2 source, 56.0% selectivity of DEC was obtained. This study provides a new idea for the utilization of CO2 fermentation gas and the development of cleaner fuel production process.