NOVELTY - Producing (p1) ethanol involves: hydrogenating acetic acid from an acetic acid feedstream in a reactor to produce a crude product stream comprising ethanol and acetic acid; reacting acetic acid and ethanol in a reactive distillation column; withdrawing an overhead stream comprising ethyl acetate and a bottom stream comprising ethanol and water; and recovering ethanol from the bottom stream.    USE - For producing ethanol (claimed) which is used in e.g. fuels, solvents, chemical feedstocks, pharmaceutical products, cleansers, sanitizers, and hydrogen transport or consumption; and also used as a processing solvent in manufacturing processes for medicinal products, food preparations, dyes, photochemicals and latex processing. The obtained ethanol may be blended with gasoline for motor vehicles such as automobiles, boats and small piston engine aircraft. In non-fuel applications, the obtained ethanol is used as a solvent for toiletry and cosmetic preparations, detergents, disinfectants, coatings, inks, and pharmaceuticals. Also the obtained ethanol is used as a chemical feedstock to make other chemicals such as vinegar, ethyl acrylate, ethyl acetate, ethylene, glycol ethers, ethylamines, aldehydes, and higher alcohols, especially butanol.    ADVANTAGE - The present method allows improved recovery of ethanol using less energy because acetic acid is removed in the distillate as ethyl acetate. Acetic acid in the crude product is preferably consumed in reactive distillation column, e.g. at least 15%, at least 30%, at least 40%, or at least 50% of the acetic acid is consumed. The esterification occurs within the column and in the liquid or vapor phase. In this manner, since less acetic acid will be contained in the resulting crude ethanol composition, the energy requirements for ethanol recovery may be advantageously reduced.    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - An INDEPENDENT CLAIM is included for producing (p2) ethanol involving: providing a crude ethanol product comprising ethanol, water, ethyl acetate, non-condensable gases, and acetic acid; removing non-condensable gases from the crude product to yield a liquid stream; reacting acetic acid and ethanol in the liquid stream in a reactive distillation column to produce an ester enriched stream comprising ethanol, water and ethyl acetate; and recovering ethanol from the ester enriched stream.