Patent ID: 8853469

Claim:
A process for producing ethanol, comprising: hydrogenating acetic acid in the presence of a catalyst under conditions effective to produce a crude product comprising from 0 to 10 wt. % acetic acid, from 40 to 95 wt. % ethyl acetate and from 5 to 40 wt. % ethanol, wherein ethyl acetate is present in a greater weight amount than ethanol; introducing at least a portion of the crude product at an inlet to a distillation column and obtaining an overhead that is condensed and collected; maintaining conditions to biphasically separate the condensed and collected overhead into an organic phase comprising ethyl acetate and an aqueous phase; feeding the aqueous phase to the distillation column above the inlet of the crude product to extract ethanol from ethyl acetate; feeding a secondary crude product formed by hydrogenolyzing at least a portion of the organic phase to the distillation column below the inlet of the crude product; and recovering ethanol from a residue of the distillation column.