Catalytic CO2 hydrogenation to ethanol utilizing radio frequency is very attractive due to higher selectivity (˜99%) to ethanol and yield of 0.000718 g/h or higher. A dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma reactor packed with a catalyst comprising of Cu/Zn/Al2O3 can be used for this purpose, which can be operated at approximately 100-200° C., 1-20 atm pressure and gas flow rates above 20 mL/min. The reactor can be made of a simple inert tube. The process is very attractive for a feasible industrial application. To scale up the process to industrial relevance, a multi-tubular reactor configuration is proposed.