The present work had the objective to study oxygen carriers (OCs) in chemical looping combustion (CLC) using ethanol as a fuel. Copper-based OCs in different mass concentrations and addition of 1% cerium were evaluated for their reactivity and the kinetic process, applying the shrinking core and nucleation models to obtain the kinetic constants. A thermodynamic study, regarding the equilibrium constant, was also carried out. The results showed that all Cu-based OCs reached maximum conversion, showing to be quite reactive and well described by the nucleation model. It was also verified that a lower content of metallic oxide promotes a higher rate of reaction. Regarding the CuO/Cu redox system, it was observed that high values of the equilibrium constant were obtained in the investigated temperatures, showing that an almost complete conversion of the fuels is possible.