Ethyl Acetate Patents: Leaders, Trends & White Space 2026
- Concentrated at the top. The five leading assignees together hold 31.6% of all 212 records in scope, and the ten leading assignees hold 48.1% — a long tail of single- or few-filing entrants fills the rest.
- Filing has cooled since 2020. Activity peaked at 12 filings in 2020, fell to 1 at the 2022 midpoint, and none of the tracked leading assignees logged a filing in the most recent year — though publication lag means the last year or two is always undercounted.
- Separation, not just reaction, is contested ground. B01D separation processes appear in 14.2% of records and C08G, C11C, C09D and C09J downstream-use classes each sit under 7%, pointing to specific under-claimed branches rather than a saturated field.
What this landscape covers
This landscape tracks 212 published records filed between 2015 and mid-2026 that describe ethyl acetate and related ester solvent production: esterification of acetic acid and ethanol, reactive distillation routes, acid-catalysed processes, water-removal steps, and purity work aimed at coatings and adhesives end-uses. The scope is defined by title/abstract terms combined with IPC classes C07C67, C07C69 and B01D3, so it captures both the core reaction chemistry and the downstream separation equipment used to reach commercial purity.
Because a single patent family can span several jurisdictions, the family-level assignee ranking below is the fairer read on who actually controls claim space, while the raw filing-office counts show where applicants chose to seek protection.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 212-record dataset: how filing activity moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses the records fall into.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Filings ran at 6 in 2017, rose to a peak of 12 in 2020, then dropped sharply — the 2022 midpoint shows just 1 filing. The most recent year is partial by definition, since publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, but the multi-year decline predates that lag effect.
IPC subclass composition
C07C acyclic and carbocyclic compounds dominates at 95.3% of the 212 records, as expected given the search scope. B01J catalysis-related processes (34.9%) and C07B general organic methods (20.8%) are the next largest, while B01D separation processes (14.2%) and smaller downstream classes — C08G condensation polymers, C11C fatty acids, C09D coatings and C09J adhesives, each under 7% — mark narrower, more specific claim territory.
Shares are the percentage of the 212 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Ethyl Acetate and Ester Solvent Production with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about ethyl acetate and ester solvent production and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe most-cited records in this space
US20030013908A1 — Process improvement for continuous ethyl acetate production
The application discloses an improved continuous process for producing ethyl acetate: contacting acetic acid and ethanol in a reaction zone with an acid catalyst, distilling and condensing the vapors into an organic phase rich in ethyl acetate and an aqueous phase rich in water, separating the phases, and further distilling each to reach a purified ethyl acetate product plus a low-organic water stream. The improvement directs the recovered organic phase from the first distillation back to the reaction zone, with an alternate embodiment routing part of that stream through a membrane separation unit.Filed by Celanese International Corporation; published 2003-01-16.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US6768021B2 | Process improvement for continuous ethyl acetate production | 196 |
| 2 | US20030013908A1 | Process improvement for continuous ethyl acetate production | 108 |
| 3 | US5770761A | Process for ethyl acetate production | 42 |
| 4 | CN101134725A | 连续酯化生产己二酸二甲酯的方法及设备 | 39 |
| 5 | US4241216A | Phthalic acid diester preparation with waste stream purification and recycle | 38 |
| 6 | US5877345A | Process for producing butyl acrylate | 35 |
| 7 | EP0779268A1 | Process for producing alkyl acrylate | 35 |
| 8 | CN103030777A | 桐油基聚氨酯树脂及其制备方法 | 33 |
| 9 | WO2009106550A1 | Method for the production of (METH)acrylates of c10 alcohol mixtures | 29 |
| 10 | EP0900778A1 | Process for the preparation of esters of ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acids and their use | 25 |
Citation counts are drawn from a searched corpus and favour older filings; treat them as a signal of influence rather than of current commercial relevance.
Patent titles are shown in the language they were filed in, not translated, so that each record stays verifiable against the original filing — a translated title will not match in Eureka or in any national register. Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Reading the concentration, trend and citation figures together points to where claim space is occupied and where it is not.
The core reaction is well staked out
Just over three in ten records sit with the five leading assignees, and close to half sit with the ten leading assignees. New esterification or reactive-distillation filings from a standing start are likely to run into dense prior art from established chemical majors.
Filing has cooled from its 2020 peak
The tracked leading assignees show no filings in the most recent year, and the 2022 midpoint recorded only 1 filing overall. Some of this reflects the normal 18-month lag between filing and publication, but the multi-year downward trend from the 2020 peak looks structural rather than a reporting artefact.
Separation and purification are a distinct claim layer
Roughly one record in seven touches B01D separation processes such as distillation and membrane steps, distinct from the core C07C reaction chemistry. This is where purity-for-coatings and water-removal claims tend to live, and it draws a smaller but still meaningful set of filers.
Influence is concentrated in a handful of older filings
The most-cited records in this dataset are continuous-process improvements from the early 2000s, still drawing heavy citation traffic. That pattern is typical of a searched corpus favouring older filings — it signals foundational influence, not that the underlying process is still the newest way to build a plant.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to ethyl acetate and ester solvent production, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who holds the claim space
The assignee ranking spans 98 companies built from all 212 records in scope — not a top-50 or top-100 cut, the full ranking the dataset returns.
One clear leader, then a fast drop-off
The leading assignee holds 19 of the 212 records, well ahead of fifth place at 8 and tenth place at 7. The gap between first and fifth suggests a single major applicant built out broad coverage early, while the rest of the top ten cluster closely together.
A wide field of small filers below the leaders
Beyond the top ten, which together hold 48.1% of the 212 records, the remaining 88 ranked assignees split the other half — largely specialty chemical firms, regional manufacturers and individual inventors filing once or twice.
US and European offices dominate filing choice
The United States (42) and the European Patent Office (36) receive the most filings, followed by China (25), India (15), WIPO/PCT (15) and Canada (11). That spread indicates applicants are pursuing protection across the main industrial coatings and solvent markets rather than concentrating on a single jurisdiction.
Co-filing is limited and regionally clustered
Only 10 co-assignee pairs appear in the dataset, with the strongest links involving a Chinese national oil company filing jointly with individual inventors on three records each. Collaboration outside that cluster is sparse, suggesting most applicants develop and file independently.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Union Carbide Chemicals & Plastics Technology LLC | 0 | — |
| BASF SE | 0 | — |
| GreenYug LLC | 0 | — |
| ExxonMobil Chemical Patents Inc. | 0 | — |
| PetroChina Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Novozymes A/S | 0 | — |
| Eastman Chemical Company | 0 | — |
| Rohm and Haas Company | 0 | — |
Where to take this next
The dataset points to a mature core reaction with narrower openings in separation and downstream-use claims.
Check freedom-to-operate against the leading assignee's family
With 19 records concentrated in one leading assignee and a further cluster in the top ten, any new esterification or reactive-distillation filing should be checked against that family before drafting claims.
Run a freedom-to-operate search →Explore the under-claimed separation and end-use branches
B01D separation processes and downstream classes like coatings and adhesives carry lower filing density than the core C07C chemistry, leaving room for narrowly drafted process or purity claims.
Map white space in Eureka →Track whether filing activity resumes
Filing fell sharply from its 2020 peak and shows no recent activity among tracked leaders, though publication lag means the last year or two is likely undercounted. Re-checking in a year will clarify whether this is a genuine slowdown or a reporting gap.
Set up a monitoring alert →Common questions about this landscape
The dataset ranks 98 assignees by family count, with the leading assignee holding 19 of the 212 records in scope, well ahead of fifth place at 8 and tenth place at 7. Together the five leading assignees hold 31.6% of all records, and the ten leading assignees hold 48.1%. That leaves roughly half the field spread across a long tail of companies filing only a handful of times each, so a newcomer's competitive check should focus first on the top ten rather than assuming one dominant player controls everything.
Filing activity peaked at 12 records in 2020 and had fallen to just 1 by the 2022 midpoint, with none of the tracked leading assignees showing a filing in the most recent year. Some of that drop reflects the normal 18-month lag between when a patent is filed and when it publishes, so the most recent one to two years will always look thinner than they eventually turn out to be. Even accounting for that lag, the multi-year decline from the 2020 peak suggests filing interest in this specific process space has genuinely cooled rather than simply not yet appearing in the data.
US20030013908A1, filed by Celanese International Corporation, covers a continuous ethyl acetate production process where acetic acid and ethanol react over an acid catalyst, the vapors are distilled and condensed into organic- and water-rich phases, and — the key improvement — the recovered organic phase from the first distillation is recycled back into the reaction zone. An alternate embodiment routes part of that recycle stream through a membrane separation unit instead. It is one of the most-cited records in this dataset, with 108 citations, reflecting its influence on how continuous esterification recycle loops are designed even though it published over two decades ago.
The core reaction chemistry under C07C is heavily claimed, appearing in 95.3% of the 212 records in scope, but several adjacent branches carry much lower filing density: B01D separation processes sit at 14.2%, and downstream classes covering coatings (C09D), adhesives (C09J), fatty-acid esters (C11C) and condensation polymers (C08G) each account for under 7% of records. Enzymatic catalysis routes and membrane-assisted water removal in particular show thinner coverage relative to conventional acid-catalysed reactive distillation, making them reasonable areas to explore for narrowly drafted process or purity claims.
The United States receives the most filings in this dataset at 42, followed by the European Patent Office at 36, China at 25, and India and WIPO/PCT each at 15, with Canada at 11. This spread suggests applicants are pursuing protection across the major industrial markets for coatings, adhesives and solvent end-uses rather than concentrating filings in a single country, so a competitor clearance search should not be limited to just one office.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.