E-Mail IMAGE: An electron microscope images shows copper nanocubes used by Rice University engineers to catalyze the transformation of carbon monoxide into acetic acid. view more Credit: Wang Group/Senftle Group/Rice University HOUSTON - (Jan. 11, 2021) - A sweet new process is making sour more practical. Rice University engineers are turning carbon monoxide directly into acetic acid -- the widely used chemical agent that gives vinegar its tang -- with a continuous catalytic reactor that can use renewable electricity efficiently to turn out a highly purified product. The electrochemical process by the labs of chemical and biomolecular engineers Haotian Wang and Thomas Senftle of Rice's Brown School of Engineering resolves issues with previous attempts to reduce carbon monoxide (CO) into acetic acid. Those processes required additional steps to purify the product.