NOVELTY - Integrated process for producing ethanol from biomass, comprises: (a) introducing biomass and an oxygen stream to a gasifier and converting the biomass into a product gas; (b) compressing the product gas at a compression ratio; (c) directing a first portion of the compressed product gas to an alcohol synthesis reactor; (d) reacting carbon monoxide with the methanol; (e) reducing a first portion of the acetic acid with hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst; (f) esterifying a second portion of the acetic acid and the ethanol; and (g) reducing the ethyl acetate with hydrogen.    USE - The process is useful for preparing ethanol (claimed), carboxylic acid, esters, aldehydes, olefins and polymers. The ethanol is useful in a variety of applications, including fuels, solvents, chemical feedstocks, pharmaceutical products, cleansers, sanitizers, or hydrogenation transport. The anhydrous ethanol feedstock is useful as a chemical feedstock to make other chemicals such as vinegar, ethyl acetate, ethylene, glycol ethers, ethylamines, aldehydes, and higher alcohols, preferably butanol.    ADVANTAGE - The process provides ethanol with high yield (greater than 90 gallons per dry ton of biomass, e.g. greater 110 or greater 130) and without condensing the acetic acid and light ends or removing water in a cost-effective manner.    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - Integrated process for producing ethanol from biomass, comprises: either (a) introducing biomass and an oxygen stream to a gasifier and converting the biomass into a product gas, where the gasifier is operated at a pressure of at least 10 bar; (b) compressing the product gas at a compression ratio that is less than 3:1 to form a compressed product gas; (c) directing a first portion of the compressed product gas to an alcohol synthesis reactor to produce methanol; (d) reacting carbon monoxide with the methanol to produce acetic acid; (e) reducing a first portion of the acetic acid with hydrogen to produce ethanol in the presence of a catalyst having a selectivity to ethanol that is greater than 50%; (f) esterifying a second portion of the acetic acid and the ethanol to produce ethyl acetate; and (g) reducing the ethyl acetate with hydrogen to produce ethanol, provided that at least times more ethanol is produced by reducing the ethyl acetate than is formed by reducing the acetic acid, and where none of the ethanol produced by reducing the ethyl acetate is esterified with acetic acid or (a)-(e) steps as above per se, (f1) esterifying a second portion of the acetic acid and the methanol to produce methyl acetate; and (g1) reducing the methyl acetate with hydrogen to produce methanol and ethanol, where methanol produced by reducing the methyl acetate is recycled to at least one of step (d1) or step (f1).