Partial oxidation of ethanol on Cu/Alumina/cordierite monolith

Ethanol partial oxidation was studied on CuO/γ-Al2O3 catalyst in a cordierite honeycomb support. The catalytic activity, selectivity and products distribution were evaluated in a temperature range of 260–620 °C, at space velocities of 17,000 and 30,000 h−1 and oxygen-to-ethanol ratio between 0.3 and 0.8. Ethanol conversion started above 300 °C and almost total conversion was achieved at 770 °C. At higher temperatures (570–770 °C) ethanol conversion increased which caused a modification in the reaction product distribution. Ethanol conversion remained constant with time on stream for 50 h under the same conditions of feed, temperature and oxygen-to-ethanol ratio.