Studies on direct conversion of ethanol into ethylene oxide on zeolites

Abstract

In addition to the use as a biofuel, ethanol can also be used as a raw material for the production of chemicals of higher value, such as ethylene oxide. The development of chemicals from renewable materials as opposed to petrochemicals is of great environmental and economic interests. Thus, the search for new routes to produce these chemicals from an highly available renewable resource is of significant relevance to the biofuels industry. This research has focused on the development of new zeolite-supported metal catalysts for the production of ethylene oxide from ethanol.