Phasing Reactor Product from Hydrogenating Acetic Acid Into Ethyl Acetate Feed to Produce Ethanol

A method of producing ethanol comprising:

• hydrogenating acetic acid in a first reactor in the presence of a first catalyst to form a hydrogenation product comprising ethyl acetate, water, and acetic acid;
• biphasically separating at least a portion of the hydrogenation product in a decanter into an organic phase comprising ethyl acetate and an aqueous phase comprising ethanol and water;
• and
• reacting at least a portion of the organic phase with hydrogen in a second reactor to produce ethanol;
• wherein at least 70% acetic acid is converted and further wherein less than 45% of the acetic acid is converted to ethanol.

A method of producing ethanol comprising:

• hydrogenating acetic acid in a first reactor in the presence of a first catalyst to form a hydrogenation product comprising ethyl acetate, water, and acetic acid;
• biphasically separating at least a portion of the hydrogenation product in a decanter into an organic phase comprising ethyl acetate and an aqueous phase comprising ethanol and water;
• separating at least a portion of the aqueous phase in a first distillation column to yield a first distillate comprising ethanol and ethyl acetate, and a first residue comprising water;
• and
• reacting at least a portion of the organic phase and at least portion of the first distillate with hydrogen in a second reactor to produce ethanol;
• wherein at least 70% acetic acid is converted and further wherein less than 45% of the acetic acid is converted to ethanol.