Diethyl carbonate (DEC) is a versatile chemical with several commercial uses. The synthesis of DEC from carbon dioxide and ethanol is both environmentally friendly and can be integrated into the ethanol biorefinery. A thermodynamic evaluation was made to predict the amount of DEC produced at equilibrium at the reaction conditions used in this work. Zirconium oxide solids were prepared using sol-gel methodology and were loaded with Na, Mg or PO 4 −3 using the incipient wetness impregnation method. Catalytic tests were carried out in a 500 mL stainless steel Parr reactor at 423 K. The DEC yield decreased as the Na or Mg load increased, while increasing the yield of acetaldehyde. However, DEC yield and selectivity increased as the PO 4 −3 load increased, while the acetaldehyde yield decreased. Lower overall acid site density and lower than 2.8 µmol-CO 2 /m 2 basic site density resulted in a higher DEC yield. Keywords Ethanol • CO 2 • Diethyl carbonate • Zirconia List of symbols C p Specific heat (kJ mol −1 K −1) ∆ r C p Specific heat of the reaction (kJ mol −1 K −1) D BJH BJH desorption diameter (nm) ∆G o f,i Gibbs free energy of formation (kJ mol −1) ∆ r G o 298 Reaction Gibbs free energy at 298 K (kJ mol −1) ∆ r G o T Reaction Gibbs free energy at temperature T (kJ mol −1) ∆H o f,i Standard formation enthalpy (kJ mol −1) ∆ r H o 298 Reaction enthalpy at 298 K (kJ mol −1) ∆ r H o T Reaction enthalpy at temperature T (kJ mol −1) v i Stoichiometric coefficients K eq Reaction equilibrium constant (cm 3 mol −1) p v Pore volume (cm 3 g −1) R Universal gas constant (kJ mol −1 K −1) [EtOH] 0 Ethanol concentration in the liquid phase (mol L −1) S BET B.E.T. surface area (m 2 g −1) V l liquid Molar volume (cm 3) V g gas Molar volume (cm 3) V t Total pore volume (cm 3) Greek letters λ X-ray wavelength (nm) 2θ Incidence peak angle in XRD (o)