Process for the preparation of ethylene glycol

摘要

A process for the preparation of ethylene glycol by the vapor phase catalytic hydrogenation of at least one of di(lower alkyl) oxalate and lower alkyl glycolate in the presence of a hydrogenation catalyst comprising a carrier, which catalyst is suitable for the hydrogenation of alkyl oxalate and alkyl glycolate to ethylene glycol, wherein the improvement lies in preparing the catalyst by contacting the carrier with a cooper ammonium carbonate complex medium and reducing the catalytically-active copper moiety to its active copper form.