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US 6,479,713 B1Granted
Hydrogenolysis of 5-carbon sugars, sugar alcohols, and other methods and compositions for reactions involving hydrogen
AssigneeBattelle Memorial Institute
InventorsTodd A. Werpy, John G. Frye, Jr., Alan H. Zacher, Dennis J. Miller
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Abstract
Methods and compositions for reactions of hydrogen over a Re-containing catalyst with compositions containing a 5-carbon sugar, sugar alcohol, or lactic acid are described. It has been surprisingly discovered that reaction with hydrogen over a Re-containing multimetallic catalyst resulted in superior conversion and selectivity to desired products such as propylene glycol. A process for the synthesis of PG from lactate or lactic acid is also described.
Claims7
A hydrogenolysis method comprising:
- reacting a composition with hydrogen, at a temperature of at least 120° C., and in the presence of a solid catalyst, to convert said composition comprising a component selected from the group consisting of a 5 carbon sugar, a 5 carbon sugar alcohol, and lactic acid to propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, glycerol or any combination thereof;
- and
- wherein the solid catalyst comprises a rhenium-containing multimetallic catalyst.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.