Sustainable development is a worldwide concern. This work mainly focuses on the reuse of the combustion products of calcium carbide and the influence of different kinds of copper on the acetylene carbonylation reaction. A series of catalysts were prepared by heating the precursors under various atmospheres (air, hydrogen, and nitrogen). The X-ray diffraction and the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy have been analyzed regarding copper species composition and content in catalysts. The result of the Cu+-promoted reaction was in good agreement with the conducted density functional theory analysis, and we speculate that Cu+ promotes the transfer of electrons in the reaction. Transmission electron microscopy and elemental mapping evaluation confirmed the difference in Cu dispersion. Characterization of catalysts using temperature programmed desorption and pyridine Fourier-transform infrared revealed differences in their acidity. Acidity was found to be favorable for acetylene carbonylation. Selectivity and yield of the CuAlZn-LDO(N) catalyst at 225 °C were 73 and 70%, respectively, and the catalyst showed good stability over two consecutive cycles of reuse.
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