Catalyst regeneration

摘要

The present invention relates to the regeneration of a supported molybdenum catalyst which has been used for the epimerisation of a saccharide. The preferred epimerisation is the conversion of glucose to mannose. The catalyst is regenerated by using an oxidising agent such as a peroxide. The regeneration step can be repeated several times. A further extension of the useful lifetime of the catalyst is obtained by including one or more washing steps.