The present invention relates to methods for hydrogenation of carbohydrates and hydrogenolysis of higher polyhydric alcohols, and to a new hydrogenation catalyst which is useful for producing lower polyhydric alcohols from renewable materials, such as in particular carbohydrates and higher polyhydric alcohols.
In the present description, the term "higher polyhydric alcohols" means products such as sorbitol, mannitol and xylitol derived from catalytic hydrogenation of carbohydrates (and in particular of glucose, fructose and their mixtures).
The term "lower polyhydric alcohols" means polyalcohols having a maximum of 6 carbon atoms and a maximum of 3 hydroxyl groups, in particular ethanediol, propylene glycol, butanediol and glycerol.
The invention also relates to a method for preparing the new catalyst.