Patent ID: 8710107

Claim:
A method of producing ethanol from methanol comprising: providing methanol; producing a first mixture comprising methyl acetate, hydrogen, methanol, acetic acid, and water, by reacting the methanol with carbon monoxide in the presence of a promoter and a metal catalyst comprising a metal selected from the group consisting of iridium, rhodium, iron, cobalt, nickel, ruthenium, palladium, osmium, and platinum; removing hydrogen from the first mixture to produce a second mixture comprising methyl acetate, methanol, acetic acid, water, and the promoter; separating the second mixture to produce a third mixture comprising methyl acetate and methanol and a fraction selected from the group consisting of a promoter fraction, an acetic acid fraction, and a water fraction; producing a fourth mixture comprising ethanol by reacting the third mixture with hydrogen in the presence of a hydrogenation catalyst.