Hydrogenation processes

A process for hydrogenating one or more benzenepolycarboxylic acids comprising:

• (a) contacting one or more benzenepolycarboxylic acids with a source of hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst comprising one or more catalytically active metal sites located on a catalyst support, under hydrogenation conditions, whereby said one or more benzenepolycarboxylic acids are hydrogenated to provide a product;
• (b) recovering said product;
• wherein at least one of said catalytically active metal sites has been obtained via the partial decomposition on said catalyst support of a complex of a Transition Group VIII metal and a compound selected from the group consisting of (i) amino acids and (ii) aliphatic amines having one or more hydroxyl groups, partial decomposition having been carried out such that new vibration bands appear in the infra red spectrum of the complex at between 2100-2200 cm−1 and (a) having been carried out in the presence of hydrogen or (b) being followed by treatment with hydrogen;
• wherein said Transition Group VIII metal is selected from the group consisting of platinum, rhodium, palladium, cobalt, nickel, ruthenium and a mixture of two or more thereof;
• and
• wherein at least one of said support materials are selected from the group consisting of silica, MCM-41, MCM-48 and MCM-50.

A process comprising:

• (a) contacting one or more benzenepolycarboxylic acids or a mixture of one or more benzenepolycarboxylic acids with a source of hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst comprising one or more catalytically active metal sites located on a catalyst support, under hydrogenation conditions, whereby at least one of said one or more benzenepolycarboxylic acids or a mixture of one or more benzenepolycarboxylic acids are hydrogenated to provide a product;
• (b) recovering said product;
• wherein at least one of said catalytically active metal sites has been obtained via the partial decomposition on said catalyst support of a complex of a Transition Group VIII metal and a compound selected from the group consisting of (i) amino acids and (ii) a compound represented by the formula:
• NR1R2R3
• wherein R1 and R2 are independently hydrogen, or R1, R2 and R3 independently are one or more of the following groups:
• C1-C50-alkyl, C3-C50-cycloalkyl, aromatic, C1-C50-alkyl substituted aromatic, C1-C50-hydroxyalkyl, amino- and/or hydroxyl-substituted C1-C50-alkyl, C2-C50-alkoxyalkyl, C3-C50-dialkylaminoalkyl, C2-C50-alkylaminoalkyl, C1-C50-alkyl substituted heterocyclic and aromatic heterocyclic compounds, and C1-C50-alkylene moieties substituted with one or more aromatic groups, optionally, R1 and R2 may form, with the nitrogen atom, a nitrogen-containing heterocycle, aromatic heterocycle, alkyl substituted heterocycle, or alkyl substituted aromatic heterocycle;
• partial decomposition having been carried out such that new vibration bands appear in the infra red spectrum of the complex at between 2100-2200 cm−1 and (a) having been carried out in the presence of hydrogen or (b) being followed by treatment with hydrogen.