It was shown that acetic acid can be obtained from aqueous ethanol (6-40 mol%) solutions over Cu/ZnO-ZrO2-Al2O3 catalyst at 250-320 degrees C and atmospheric pressure. Selectivity of 80-90% and space-time yield of acetic acid up to 9 mmol g(cat)(-1) h(-1) at 60-80% ethanol conversion were obtained while processing 14-37 mol% aqueous ethanol solutions. Hydrogen was generated in an amount similar to 2 moles per 1 mole of acetic acid as a co-product. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.