EFFECTIVE SYNTHESIS OF ETHANOL FROM CO2 ON POLYFUNCTIONAL COMPOSITE CATALYSTS

Synthesis of ethanol by hydrogenation of carbon dioxide has been inves tigated by developing the novel composite catalysts. The three differe nt kinds of elementary reaction functions for ethanol synthesis were u ndertaken. The catalytic functions are partial reduction of CO2 to CO, C-C bond formation, and -OH group insertion. For this purpose, suppor ted Rh catalyst, Fe-based modified Fisher-Tropsch catalyst, and Cu-bas ed modified methanol synthesis catalyst were combined by different way s. As a result, high space-time yields of ethanol as high as 0.8-0.9 k g/l h were obtained. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserve d.