WSU Researchers Develop Catalyst to Convert Ethanol into Valuable Chemicals

The new catalyst efficiently produces isobutene, a key chemical used in plastics, fuels, and other products.

Mar. 20, 2026 at 12:02am

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

Researchers at Washington State University have developed a catalyst that can efficiently convert abundant, renewable ethanol into valuable molecules needed for the production of plastics, fuels, and other everyday products. The catalyst uses single atoms of the rare-earth metal cerium positioned inside tiny pores of a crystalline zeolite material to facilitate the removal of oxygen and maximize the production of isobutene, a versatile chemical used in many products.

Why it matters

This discovery could help industry transition from using carbon-emitting fossil fuels to renewable sources like ethanol for the production of common products. The new catalyst addresses the inefficiencies of conventional catalysts that often cause competing reactions and waste carbon in the ethanol conversion process.

The details

The researchers dramatically improved the ethanol conversion process by precisely positioning single atoms of cerium inside the pores of a zeolite material. When cerium atoms are allowed to cluster together, it causes the reaction to veer off course and generate unwanted byproducts. But by confining individual cerium atoms within the zeolite pores, the catalyst facilitates the removal of oxygen and maximizes the production of isobutene, a key chemical used in plastics, fuels, and other products.

  • The research was published on March 20, 2026.

The players

Yong Wang

Regents Professor at Washington State University and co-author of the study.

Vannessa Caballero

Recent PhD graduate from the Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering at Washington State University and co-first author on the paper.

Wenda Hu

Postdoctoral researcher in the Voiland School at Washington State University and co-first author on the work.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)

Co-author on the research paper.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“Right now industry works with petrochemicals, but at some point, it is necessary to transition to renewable sources, and I think this kind of work helps us to better understand and approach using those renewables.”

— Vannessa Caballero, PhD graduate

“Making good catalysts is not very hard, but if you want to make them cost-effective and robust in a real reactor - that's very challenging. Controlling selectivity is very hard.”

— Wenda Hu, Postdoctoral researcher

“Converting biomass to useful chemicals is very important. In this work, we found that if we build the zeolite and then we put atoms with precision in this porous material, we can realize very selective and stable production of this useful chemical, isobutene, from biomass-derived chemicals. This discovery demonstrates that the size and placement of atoms inside a catalyst can determine the fate of every reaction step.”

— Wenda Hu, Postdoctoral researcher

“By harnessing atomic-level control to guide these complex reactions, we can provide solutions for economically viable approaches for the production of chemicals from non-fossil fuel-based feedstocks.”

— Yong Wang, Regents Professor

What’s next

The researchers are continuing to work on improving the catalysts, including looking at combining cerium with another metal to further enhance the reaction.

The takeaway

This discovery demonstrates how precisely controlling the size and placement of atoms within a catalyst can enable the efficient conversion of renewable ethanol into valuable chemicals, providing a potential pathway for industry to transition away from fossil fuel-based feedstocks for the production of common products.