Production of Methyl Acetate from Methanol in Vapor-Phase Tandem Reactions on Supported Copper–Nickel Catalysts

A method is proposed for the production of methyl acetate by combining vapor-phase reactions of methanol decomposition on a CuO-NiO-ZnO/Al2O3/cordierite catalyst and subsequent carbonylation on nickel–copper catalysts supported on BAU-A activated charcoal (AC) or cordierite. A yield of 21% methyl acetate was obtained on the catalyst containing 11% NiCl2 and 32% CuCl2 on AC.