Four Clear Lake-area inventors among team patenting new process to make ethanol

Ultimate Clear Lake
by Andrew Benedict-Nelson, published January 7, 2011 4:17 pm

Four inventors in the Clear Lake area are among a team receiving a U.S. patent for a new way of producing ethanol on an industrial scale.

According to the patent, the inventors unexpectedly discovered that ethanol can be produced from acetic acid through a process using a catalyst made of platinum and tin. Acetic acid is the compound that gives vinegar its taste; it is also used in a wide variety of industrial processes.

Ethanol, often produced from sugar or corn, is an increasingly common alternative to oil gasoline that is also added to gas at many stations.

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