| 摘要 |
The present invention provides a process for catalytically hydrogenating unsaturated phytosterol compounds. The catalyst used for such hydrogenation is an alumina-supported transition metal selected from the group consisting of nickel, palladium, platinum, ruthenium, rhodium and mixtures thereof. The process involves the following steps.Admixing a solvent, the alumina-supported transition metal catalyst and a material that contains at least one unsaturated phytosterol compound and hydrogenating said admixture for a time and at a temperature and pressure sufficient to cause the hydrogenation of the material that contains at least one of said unsaturated phytosterol compounds; separating said alumina-supported transition metal catalyst from said mixture; admixing with a new solvent a material that contains at least one unsaturated phytosterol compound and hydrogenating said admixture for a time and at a temperature and pressure sufficient to cause the hydrogenation of the material that contains at least one unsaturated phytosterol compound; and separating the alumina-supported transition metal catalyst from the hydrogenated mixture. Such separated catalyst may be used again for subsequent hydrogenations of materials that contain phytosterol compounds.The hydrogenation process disclosed herein can also be applied to the hydrogenation of fatty acids derived from unsaturated phytosterols, e.g., tall oil, vegetable oil and their distillation products.
|
