aliphatic esters , r &# 39 ; coor are produced by reacting the corresponding alcohol , roh having carbon numbers of the alkyl groups , r ′ and r , between 0 and 9 and 1 and 10 , respectively , with molecular oxygen in the presence of a dual functional catalyst comprising metal on acidic solid support . in particular , the process is used advantageously for production of ethyl acetate by conversion of ethanol . the reaction mixture from the reactor is separated through azeotropic distillation to recover the ethyl acetate as product and the by - product , acetaldehyde and acetic acid which could be recycled for further reaction . the process is characterized by high conversion of ethanol , high selectivity and high yield for ethyl acetate and low waste stream generation . the preferred catalyst is pd on zeolites which is active , selective , stable and regenerable .