Diethyl carbonate, an efficient oxygen-containing fuel additive was synthesized from dimethyl carbonate and ethanol using KF/Al2O3. The catalysts prepared with different KF loading were characterized using X-ray diffraction, BET surface area and basicity measurement analyses. The effects of different reaction parameters such as temperature, reactant ratio and amount of catalyst were optimized. Among the different alkali halides, 20 wt.% KF supported on alumina exhibited 61.6% diethyl carbonate selectivity with 96% dimethyl carbonate conversion under optimum reaction conditions. The plausible reaction mechanism is proposed based on the results obtained. The possibility of recycling the catalyst was ensured without appreciable loss in activity for four cycles. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.