Efficient hydrogenation of diethyl oxalate to mono-ethylene glycol using Cu/SiO 2 catalyst

The economics of the hydrogenation process is driven by the cost of hydrogen (H 2 ) and the amount of H 2 required for the process. Diethyl oxalate (DEO) hydrogenation to mono-ethylene glycol (MEG) is hitherto extensively studied at a very high H 2 to diethyl oxalate (H 2 /DEO) ratio. The objective of this study was to investigate DEO to MEG hydrogenation reaction at significantly lower values of H 2 /DEO ratio. The Cu/SiO 2 catalyst synthesized by the deposition-precipitation method was used in the present work. The characterization of this catalyst suggested high values of the surface area and pore volume and small pore diameter. The catalyst comprised well-dispersed and nano-sized particles. Upon reduction, the presence of Cu + and Cu 0 sites which are necessary for the reaction, was evident. The parametric study was performed at optimized conditions with an H 2 /DEO ratio as low as 25. DEO conversion was 84% and MEG selectivity was 62%.