Hydrogenation catalyst with improved textural properties

A process for hydrogenation of a carbon monoxide feed, comprising the steps of:

• providing a catalyst system comprising a catalyst support and a catalytically active metal phase on the catalyst support, wherein the catalyst support comprises substantially spherical particles having siloxane bonds of a substantially homogenous mixture of refractory inorganic oxide and refractory inorganic carbide, the support having a solid surface area of at least about 65 m2/g, a particle size of at least about 0.1 mm, a pore volume of at least bout 0.2 cc/g, and an average pore diameter of at least about 150 Å, and the catalytically active metal phase comprising at least one first metal selected from Group 4 of the periodic table of elements, and at least one second metal selected from the group consisting of Groups 8, 9 and 10 of the periodic table of elements;
• providing a carbon monoxide feed;
• and
• exposing the feed to the catalyst at hydrogenation conditions so as to convert the feed into a product comprising CH4, CO2 and C2+.