Raney nickel alloy expanded mesh hydrogenation catalysts

A method for hydrogenating an aromatic ring compound of the type ##STR4## wherein K is either benzene or naphthalene, R.sub.1 is a hydrogen atom or an aliphatic chain containing from about 1 to about 9 carbon atoms or a phenyl radical, R.sub.2 is a hydrogen atom or an aliphatic chain containing from about 1 to about 3 carbon atoms, and R.sub.3 and R.sub.4 are hydrogen atoms, or hydroxy, groups which comprises:

• (a) admixing hydrogen with said compound to form a mixture;
• (b) preheating said mixture and passing it through a catalyst, said catalyst comprising a plurality of metallic mesh plates, each of said plate comprising a selected nickel alloy monolithic substrate mesh core structure and a Raney metal alloy surface layer integral with and derived from said core structure, wherein said surface layer is predominantly derived from an adherent Ni.sub.x M.sub.1-x Al.sub.3 Beta phase structured crystalline precursory layer, where M is a catalytic activator selected from the group consisting of molybdenum, titanium, tantalum, ruthenium or mixtures thereof, and where x, the fraction of nickel in the combined weight of Ni and M, is within the range of from about 0.80 to about 0.95, whereby said mixture exothermally reacts to form a reaction product when contacted with said catalyst;
• and
• (c) recovering said reaction product.

In a reactor of claim 32 wherein an aromatic ring compound of the type ##STR5## wherein K is either benzene or napththalene, R.sub.1 is a hydrogen atom or an aliphatic chain containing from about 1 to about 9 carbon atoms or a phenyl radical, R.sub.2 is a hydrogen atom or an aliphatic chain containing from about 1 to about 3 carbon atoms, and R.sub.3 and R.sub.4 are hydrogen atoms, hydroxy or nitro groups is hydrogenated in the presence of a catalyst, said catalyst comprising a structure comprised of a Raney metal alloy surface layer integral with and derived from a selected nickel alloy monolithic substrate mesh structure, wherein said surface layer is predominantly derived from an adherent Ni.sub.x M.sub.1-x Al.sub.3 Beta phase structured crystalline precursory layer, where M is a catalytic activator selected from the group consisting of molybdenum, titanium, tantalum, ruthenium or mixtures thereof, and where x, the fraction of nickel in the combined weight of Ni and M, is within the range of from about 0.80 to about 0.95, said reactor comprising a reaction chamber containing a plurality of said mesh structures, means for feeding a mixture of hydrogen and said aromatic compound into said reactor to contact said mesh structure at a temperature and pressure sufficient to cause said hydrogenation reaction to occur, and means for withdrawing the reaction product from said reactor.