Process for dehydrogenation of sterols to produce .DELTA..sup.4 -3-ketosteroids (II)
AssigneeEastman Kodak Company
InventorsCharles H. Foster, Donald R. Nelan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
This invention relates to the dehydrogenation of a 3-.beta.-hydroxy steroid or a mixture of soy sterols to form the corresponding mixture of .DELTA..sup.4 -3-keto derivatives of phytosterols, the improvement which comprises dehydrogenation of the steroid or mixture of sterols using a supported nickel catalyst and carrying out the dehydrogenation in the presence of at least two chemically different hydrogen acceptors. One such process uses a supported nickel catalyst and a dialkyl ketone, such as methyl ethyl ketone, and an olefin, such as 1-hexene, as the two different hydrogen acceptors.
Claims13
A process which comprises dehydrogenating a 3-.beta.-hydroxy steroid or a mixture of soy sterols to form the corresponding .DELTA..sup.4 -3-keto derivatives, the improvement which comprises dehydrogenating said steroid or mixture of soy sterols using a supported nickel catalyst in the presence of a dialkyl ketone and a 1-olefin.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.