【Frontiers in HaiChuan Technology】Progress achieved in DMO hydrogenation for ethanol synthesis at the Dahuajia Research Institute

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Progress achieved in the research on ethanol synthesis via DMO hydrogenation at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics Recently, the research team led by Researcher Sun Jian from the Group for Carbon Resources, Small Molecules, and Hydrogen Energy Utilization within the Department of Hydrogen Energy and Advanced Materials at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has made new progress in the study of synthesizing ethanol from syngas through hydrogenation using dimethyl oxalate (DMO). 　　The research team designed and synthesized an iron oxide catalyst that can generate magnetite and iron carbide in situ during the catalytic process. These compounds serve as the main active sites, driving the deep hydrogenation of DMO. As a result, the reaction conversion rate reaches 100%, while the selectivity for ethanol exceeds 90%. Moreover, the catalyst maintains good stability throughout the reaction. 　　It is reported that the hydrogenation of dimethyl oxalate can selectively produce high-value chemicals such as ethylene glycol, ethanol, methyl glycolate, and methyl acetate; it is one of the important pathways for converting syngas into oxygen-containing compounds. Among them, the reaction for synthesizing ethanol can provide a viable pathway for the clean utilization of coal resources and the diversified production of ethanol. However, traditional copper-based catalysts suffer from problems such as numerous by-products, low efficiency, harsh reaction conditions, and poor stability during the reaction process. 　　Sun Jian’s team has been dedicated for a long time to the conversion and utilization of small molecules derived from carbon-containing resources such as carbon dioxide and syngas, and has carried out systematic research on the hydrogenation of syngas using DMO or the direct synthesis of oxygen-containing compounds.