Preparation of hydrogenated compounds using noble metal Raney catalysts

Abstract: A method for preparing alcohol, lactone or ether, wherein a compound having a carbonyloxy group is reacted with hydrogen in the presence of a noble metal Raney catalyst to reduce this carbonyloxy group into a methyleneoxy (-CH 2 -O-) group. The noble metal is preferably ruthenium and optionally the catalyst also contains other (transition metal or noble metal) elements.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to methods for the preparation of hydrogenated compounds using noble metal Raney catalysts which can efficiently hydrogenate carbonyloxy portions of organic compounds under conditions milder than conventional methods. DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART Hydrogenation of carboxylic acids and their esters Many methods have been known in which compounds having a carbonyloxy group (-CO-O-) are reacted with hydrogen to produce corresponding alcohols or the like. For example, as a method for hydrogenating carboxylic acids, a method using a rhenium oxide catalyst is disclosed in J. Org. Chem. 24, 1847 (1959). This method involves a reaction which must be carried out for a long time at high pressures and whose product contains many by-products. Use of cobalt-yttrium-palladium catalysts in hydrogenation of lauric acid into lauryl alcohol is known (Japanese Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 4-36140 (JP-B-04-036140)). However, the method uses severe reaction conditions, i.e., a temperature of 225°C and a hydrogen pressure of 250 kg/cm 2 . As methods of hydrogenation of carboxylic acid esters, there have been known a method in which the ester group of a cyclohexane dicarboxylic ester is hydrogenated with a copper-chromium catalyst at a reaction temperature of 220°C at a reaction pressure of 150 kg/cm 2 as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 52-242 (JP-A-52-000242), a method in which the benzene skeleton of dimethyl terephthalate is hydrogenated, followed by hydrogenation of the ester portion of the product-with a copper-chromium catalyst (CuO-Cr 2 O 3 -BaO) at a reaction temperature of 120-220°C at a reaction pressure of 300 Bar as disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,030,771, and so on. These reactions each must be carried out under severe conditions. Further, there is known a method in which a catalyst containing ruthenium and tin carried on titania is used for hydrogenating dimethyl 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate at a temperature of 270-280°C at a pressure of 90-100 kg/cm 2 to obtain 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 6-228028. The reaction conditions used in this method is also severe. Also, there is known a method in which a catalyst containing ruthenium and tin carried on titania is used for hydrogenating dimethyl dimerate at a temperature of 250°C at a pressure of 100 kg/cm 2 into an alcohol as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 6-228027. Also, the reaction conditions used are severe and unsatisfactory. Many prior art references have been known on the use of Raney catalysts as a catalyst for the hydrogenation of compounds having a carbonyloxy group. For example, there are known use of Raney nickel, Raney rhenium, and Raney copper catalysts (Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 5-345735), use of Raney nickel catalyst (Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 55-40685), and so on. As examples of use of noble metal catalysts, there are disclosed hydrogenation reactions in the presence of compound (alloy) catalysts comprising at least one noble metal selected from noble metal elements belonging to the period 5 or 6 in the groups VIII, IX, and X and an alloy of such noble metal with other metal(s) (Japanese Patent Publication (Kohyo) Nos. 1-503459 and 3-500657). However, the former Raney catalysts do not suggest the noble metal Raney catalysts. In addition, the latter noble metal-other metal alloy catalysts are carried type catalysts. In either of the cases, a problem arises in that high reaction temperatures and high reaction pressures are used. Catalyst systems thus far known need severe reaction conditions such as high temperatures and high pressures as described above and show low conversion or low selection and, hence, there is a keen need for development of a method which can efficiently produce alcohols or the like from carbonyloxy group-containing compounds. Also, a method is needed which can efficiently perform hydrogenation of the rings and the carbonyloxy groups simultaneously in one step in hydrogenation reaction of aromatic compounds having a carbonyloxy group. As described above, upon hydrogenating carbonyloxy portions (carboxylic acids and esters), and ring portions and at the same time carbonyloxy groups, the conventional reaction conditions are disadvantageous since in most cases high temperatures and high hydrogen pressures are necessary and, particularly, extremely long reaction times are needed when low hydrogen pressures are used. When hydrogen reactions are carried out on an industrial scale, among reaction conditions, some conditions; particularly hydrogen pressure, are very important factors upon designing reaction installment. However, the conventional hydrogenation catalysts are disadvantageous from practical viewpoints since they need usually high hydrogen pressures and relatively high temperatures for hydrogenation, so that development of catalysts which can catalyze hydrogenation reactions at low temperatures and low hydrogen pressures. An object of this invention is to provide a method for preparing alcohols or the like from compounds having a carbonyloxy group with a catalyst which can efficiently hydrogenate compounds having a carbonyloxy group in their molecule into corresponding alcohols or the like at high conversion and selectivity under reaction temperature and reaction pressure conditions milder than the conventional methods. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the following methods for preparing hydrogenated compounds: Method for preparing alcohol, lactone, or ether, in which a compound having a carbonyloxy group in the molecule is reacted with hydrogen in the presence of a noble metal Raney catalyst to reduce the carbonyloxy group into a methyleneoxy (-CH 2 -O-) group; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, this invention will be described in greater detail. The noble metal Raney catalysts used in this invention include noble metal catalysts obtained by producing alloys of acid- or alkali-soluble metals such as aluminum, silicon, zinc, magnesium, etc. with alkali- or acid-insoluble-noble metals are prepared and then eluting the alkali- or acid-soluble metals from the alloys. More specifically, Raney ruthenium, Raney rhodium, Raney palladium, Raney osmium, Raney iridium, Raney platinum, and their modifications (modified noble metal Raney catalysts). Particularly preferred are Raney ruthenium catalysts. Modified Raney catalysts as used herein refer to catalysts which comprise one of the above-described noble metal Raney catalyst and one or more other elements, more specifically, noble metal Raney catalyst which contain one or more elements belonging to the 3rd to 15th groups in the periodic table. Examples of such additional elements include chromium, manganese, tin, cobalt, iron, nickel, rhenium, silicon, zinc, silver, boron, vanadium, lead, indium, niobium, gold, molybdenum, tungsten, scandium, titanium, antimony, lanthanum, etc. In this invention, noble metal Raney catalysts and modified noble metal Raney catalysts can be used in combination with each other. Here, a general method for preparing the noble metal Raney catalysts will be described taking Raney ruthenium as an example. Noble metal Raney catalysts other than Raney ruthenium (hereafter, sometimes abbreviated as "R-Ru") can be prepared similarly. For Raney catalysts, usually Al is used as the alkali- or acid-soluble metal. This is not only because Al is most cheap and is economically advantageous but also because Al is easy to process and handle as well as highly safe. In the case of R-Ru catalysts, Al is usually used for the same reason but the alkali- or acid-soluble metal which can be used is not limited thereto. R-Ru catalysts are prepared by the following method. First, when the alkali- or acid-soluble metal is Al, for example, Ru or Ru and one or more other metals is or are molten into 15-90% by weight of Al to produce an alloy mainly composed of Al and Ru (hereafter, abbreviated as "R-Ru alloy"). The R-Ru alloy thus obtained is then ground so as to have a suitable particle size or molten R-Ru alloy is quenched and solidified by gas atomizing to obtain fine particles. The fine particles are developed with alkali or acid. Suitable composition of R-Ru alloy comprises 10-85% by weight of Ru and 90-15% by weight of Al, and preferably a composition of about 50% by weight of Ru and about 50% by weight can be used advantageously. For preparing the R-Ru alloy, Ru and Al powders are mixed and pressure molded to form pellets, which are then sintered or melted at high temperatures. The pellets can be melted easily in an arc melting furnace under inert gas stream (e.g., argon, helium gas, etc.) to produce R-Ru alloy. Usually, the R-Ru alloy must be divided into fine particles before development. As the dividing method, there can be used a mechanical pulverization method, a gas atomizing method, and the like. As the fine particles of R-Ru alloy which can be used in the methods of the invention, there can be used advantageously those fine particles produced by "high frequency induction melting gas atomizing method" exemplified in Industrial Rare Metals No. 108, page 31 (1994), those fine particles obtained by atomizing molten alloy in an inert gas as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 59-14084 and Japanese Utility Model Publication (Kokoku) No. 59-29928. R-Ru alloy fine particles obtained by grinding or the like can be developed by suspending them in an aqueous caustic alkali solution. As the caustic alkali, there can be used metal hydroxides such as hydroxides of Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, etc. Of these, sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide may be used preferably. Further, sodium hydroxide can be used advantageously from economical viewpoints. The amount of the caustic alkali to be used is determined taking into consideration the amount of Al in the R-Ru alloy, and the concentration of caustic alkali is preferably in the range of 2 to 40% by weight, and the developing temperature is in the range of room temperature to 120°C. The developing time may vary depending on the amount of Al in the R-Ru alloy, particle size of the crushed alloy,. concentration of caustic alkali and the like but usually it is advantageous to develop for 1 hour or longer. After the development, the catalyst is washed with water so that the caustic alkali in the catalyst can be removed as much as possible. In this manner, fine particles of R-Ru catalyst can be obtained. In industrial applications, the R-Ru catalysts can be prepared, for example, by the following procedure: 1) Preparation and crushing of R-Ru alloy Al and Ru are molten in a weight proportion of 50/50 to produce an alloy. The alloy ingot is crushed and fine particles of the alloy that pass 100 mesh are recovered. 2) Developing An aqueous 10-35% by weight sodium hydroxide solution is charged in a developer tank and retained at 90°C while stirring. The above-described alloy powder is charged so that the temperature inside the developer tank can be kept at 90 to 95°C with removing heat by use of a cooling coil equipped with the developer. After the total amount of the alloy powder is charged, the temperature inside the tank is kept to 90°C for a certain period of time for aging before the development is completed. The development involves generation of hydrogen and is a vigorous exothermic reaction and, hence, control of temperature is important. 3) Washing with water After the development, the reaction mixture is left to stand so that the developed catalyst can precipitate sufficiently and then the supernatant is decanted. Thereafter, deionized water deoxygenated in advance is added to the residue and the mixture is stirred at room temperature, followed by leaving the mixture to stand. This gradient washing step is repeated 5 to 10 times. Finally; the supernatant is discarded to obtain a developed catalyst dipped in water. When the R-Ru catalyst according to an example of this invention is used in hydrogenation reactions, it shows high activity particularly at low temperatures and at low hydrogen pressures. The reason for this is not clear. However, taking into consideration how the Raney catalysts are produced, the high activity is supposed to be attributable to high density of active sites derived from Ru metal. Raney Ni catalysts are well known as a hydrogenation. catalyst for intramolecular aromatic moieties, and modified Raney nickel catalysts obtained by addition of a small amount of Ru to the Raney Ni catalysts are also disclosed in the prior art references. In the references, there are disclosed the following compounds as examples of the compounds to be hydrogenated. (1) Nitrophenol (Izv. Akad. Nauk SSSR, Scr. Khim., Vol. 17 (No. 4), pages 49-58 (1967); (2) Nitrophenol (Ktol. Vosstanv. Gidrirov. Zhidk, Faze, pages 80-84 (1970); (3) Heterocyclic amines, aromatic amines, aromatic carboxylic acids (Issled. Obla. Getero tsikil. Soedin., pages 5-14 (1971); (4) Phenol (Zh. Prikl. Khim. (Leningrad), Vol. 46 (No. 12), pages 2707-2711 (1973)); (5) Nitrobenzenes, hydroxynitrobenzens (Zh. Obsch. Khim., Vol. 48 (No. 2), pages 385-390 (1978)); The R-Ru catalysts differ from the Ru-modified Raney Ni catalysts in the following points and are not suggested by the above-described prior art references. i) The catalysts of this invention are R-Ru catalysts and active sites effective for hydrogenation are supposed to be in the form of metallic Ru. However, in the modified Raney Ni catalysts, the active sites effective for hydrogenation are considered to be in the form of metallic Ni. Although it is unclear how the added Ru is combined, the Ru added plays a role of increasing the function of Ni as by coordinating with metallic Ni. ii) Reportedly, the amount of Ru added to Raney Ni is within the range of 0.01 to 20% by weight. However, in the case of R-Ru catalysts, the amount of Ru is preferably at least 50% by weight, and more preferably at least 70% by weight. Modified noble metal Raney catalysts Modified noble metal Raney catalysts used in this invention can be prepared by one of the following two methods, i.e., alloying method and addition method. Upon preparing noble metal Raney alloy, the alloying method simultaneously adds one or more other metals for modification in addition to major noble metal element to obtain alloys. The amount of the other metal(s) is not limited particularly but generally is within the range of 0.1 to 50% by weight, preferably 5 to 30% by weight of the major noble metal element. On the other hand, the one or more other metal elements may be added upon development of the noble metal Raney alloy with an alkali or acid by adding an alkali- or acid-soluble metal salt as a modifier so that the metal salt can coexist, or after the alloy is developed with an alkali or acid by the modifier metal salt. It is also possible to add the modifier metal salt during hydrogenation reaction. Hydrogenation of compounds having oxycarbonyl group Among the compounds having an oxycarbonyl group, i.e., compounds to be hydrogenated by this invention, carboxylic acids may be monocarboxylic acids or polycarboxylic acids. As the monocarboxylic acids, there can be used any one of aliphatic carboxylic acids, aromatic carbbxylic acids, aromatic-aliphatic carboxylic acids, and alicyclic carboxylic acids. The polycarboxylic acids include aliphatic polycarboxylic acids, alicyclic polycarboxylic acids, and aromatic polycarboxylic acids. Aromatic carboxylic acid esters may be aliphatic alcohol esters of the above-described carboxylic acids and carboxylic anhydride may be anhydrides corresponding to the above-described carboxylic acids. More specifically, examples of the aliphatic carboxylic acids include acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, capronic acid, caprylic acid, pivalic acid, capric acid, lauric acid, stearic acid, isobutyric acid, etc.; examples of polycarboxylic acids include oxalic acid, malonic acid, maleic acid, succinic acid, glutaric acid, adipic acid, etc.; examples of aliphatic carboxylic acids include aliphatic carboxylic acids such as crotonic acid, etc.; examples of aromatic polycarboxylic acids include benzoic acid, o-chlorobenzoic acid, m-chlorobenzoic acid, p-chlorobenzoic acid, m-fluorobenzoic acid, p-fluorobenzoic acid, toluylic acid, m-hydroxybenzoic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, phthalic acid, terephthalic acid, isophthalic acid, naphthalenedicarboxylic acid, phenoxybenzoic acid, etc.; examples of the alicyclic carboxylic acids include cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid, etc. However, this invention is not limited thereto. As the carboxylic acid esters, there can be used lower alcohol esters, such as methyl ester, ethyl ester, and propyl ester, as well as higher alcohol esters, such as lauryl alcohol ester, of the above-described carboxylic acids. Also, there can be cited polyhydric alcohol esters, such as ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, and glycerol, of the above-described carboxylic-acids. Furthermore, cyclic esters, such as γ-butyrolactone and ε-caprolactone, of the above-described carboxylic acids can also be used. As the carboxylic anhydrides, there can be cited anhydrides corresponding to the above-described carboxylic acids, such as maleic anhydride, succinic anhydride, phthalic anhydride, and the like. However, other anhydrides of the above-described carboxylic acids may also be used. The hydrogen pressure in the hydrogenation reaction may be usually 1 to 200 kg/cm 2 , preferably 5 to 100 kg/cm 2 . Suitable reaction temperature is within the range of room temperature to 300°C, preferably 40 to 250°C, and more preferably 50 to 180°C. The reaction time may vary widely depending on the reaction conditions, the reactivity of the compounds having an oxycarbonyl group but is a sufficient time for completing the reaction, which is usually within the range of about 1 to about 24 hours. The amount of the catalyst used in the reaction is desirably within the range of 0.1 to 100 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the starting material for the reaction. However, the amount of the catalyst may be selected freely as far as practically acceptable reaction rate can be obtained depending on various conditions including the reaction temperature and hydrogen pressure. The type of reaction may be of a liquid phase suspension bed type or of a liquid phase fixed bed type, or of a gas phase reaction. In the case where the hydrogenation reaction is practiced in a liquid phase, the reaction may proceed using the compounds to be hydrogenated without dilution with a solvent when they are liquid or molten at room temperature or higher temperatures, which is also advantageous from economical viewpoints. However, taking into consideration removal of reaction heat, separation and purification of products, and so on, usually the method in which the compounds to be hydrogenated are diluted with a solvent is preferred. The solvent is not limited particularly and any solvent that is usually used as a solvent in reduction reactions may be used as far it can dissolve the starting materials. Specific examples of such solvents include dioxane, tetrahydrofuran, cyclohexane, methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, isopropanol, n-butanol, cyclohexanol, ethylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,6-hexanediol, ethylene glycol methyl ether, ethylene glycol ethyl ether, ethylene glycol dimethyl ether, diethylene glycol diethyl ether, triethylene glycol methyl ether, triethylene glycol ethyl ether, triethylene glycol dimethyl ether, triethylene glycol diethyl ether, cyclohexanedimethanol, and the like. As a preferred example, when the compounds to be hydrogenated or the resulting products are water-soluble, a preferred solvent is a water containing organic solvent or water. Generally, organic solvents containing appropriate amounts water or water itself are used alone as the solvent, hydrogenation rates and selectivities increase. Hydrogenation of compounds having an oxycarbonyl group by the method of this invention can be classified into several reaction types depending on the kind of the oxycarbonyl group, as below: (A) Generation of a corresponding alcohol from the carboxylic acid; -COOH → -CH 2 OH (B) Generation of a cyclic ether and a diol from the lactone; (C) Generation of an alcohol from a carboxylic acid ester; -CO-O-R → CH 2 OH + HOR (D) Generation of an alcohol from a carboxylic acid anhydride; -CO-O-CO-R → -CH 2 OH + HOCH 2 R (E) Generation of a cyclic ether, a lactone and a diol from the cyclic carboxylic anhydride; In this invention, in the case of aromatic carboxylic acids, hydrogenation of aromatic nucleus can be performed simultaneously with hydrogenation of the carboxyl group. For example, when terephthalic acid is hydrogenated, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol is obtained with Raney ruthenium and molybdenum-tin-modified Raney ruthenium used together at a hydrogen pressure of up to 50 kg/cm 2 at a temperature of 60 to 160°C (cf. Example 27 hereinbelow). It is confirmed that generally speaking, when the same compound having an oxycarbonyl group is used, the reaction conditions used for preparing a compound having a methyleneoxy group (-CH 2 -O-) with the noble Raney catalyst of this invention are different from the hydrogenation conditions with conventional Raney catalyst or carried type catalyst in that the catalyst of this invention works well at much lower hydrogen pressures or much lower reaction temperatures or requires much shorter reaction time than the conventional catalysts. When compounds having an oxycarbonyl group are hydrogenated to. produce compounds having a methyleneoxy group, use of the noble Raney catalysts of this invention results in conversion and selectivity higher than the conventional catalysts, so that the noble metal Raney catalysts of this invention reveal to be excellent. The pressure upon hydrogenation reaction according to this invention is suitably 1 to 100 kg/cm2 as partial pressure of hydrogen. Sufficient result can be obtained particularly at a low pressure of several kg/cm 2 to 35 kg/cm 2 . The reaction time depends on the reaction temperature, pressure, the kind of the catalyst used, the reactivity of the compound to be hydrogenated, and the like but is not limited particularly as far as it is long enough for the objective reaction to be completed. Usually, the reaction time is about 1 to about 24 hours. The amount of catalyst used in the reaction is preferably 0.1 to 100 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the starting material for the reaction. However, it may be selected freely within the range where practically acceptable reaction rates can be obtained in accordance with various conditions including the reaction temperature or hydrogen pressure. Hydrogen used in this invention does not have to be highly pure gas but may contain inert gases that do not affect the hydrogenation reaction significantly. DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereafter, examples of methods for preparing hydrogenated compounds are disclosed. However, this invention should not be construed as being limited thereto. Example 1 1-1: Preparation of Raney ruthenium catalyst An alloy of Ru/Au=1/1 by weight was prepared from metallic Ru and Al by a button arc melting method in argon stream. The resulting R-Ru alloy was crushed and a fraction which passed 100 mesh was collected. 40 g of the R-Ru alloy powder was developed with 320 g of an aqueous 17% by weight sodium hydroxide solution. The developing temperature was set to 90°C and the alloy powder was charged into the aqueous sodium hydroxide solution over 20 minutes. Thereafter, the mixture was kept at that temperature for 2 hours. These procedures were carried out in the atmosphere of nitrogen gas. After the development was completed, deaerated water was used for washing the alloy powder repeatedly by gradient method until the washings had a pH of 9.5. The R-Ru catalyst after the development was dipped in deaerated water for storage. 1-2: Hydrogenation of 1,4-diaminomethylbenzene (reference only) A 100 ml autoclave made of stainless steel (SUS-316) equipped with a stirrer, a thermometer, and a small sintered stainless steel filter for extracting the reaction mixture after completion of the reaction was provided. The inside of the autoclave was purged with nitrogen gas and then 2.0 g of the R-Ru catalyst was charged therein. 30 g of deoxygenated deionized water, 6.03 g of 1,4-diaminomethylbenzene and 2.85 g of NaOH were charged. The charging operations were performed with preventing the materials to be charged from contacting air as far as possible. Then, after the nitrogen gas in the gas phase in the autoclave was sufficiently purged with hydrogen gas, the hydrogen pressure was set to 10 kg/cm 2 G at room temperature. While stirring well at room temperature, hydrogenation reaction was started. while monitoring the hydrogen gas absorption rate, hydrogen gas was supplied from gas bomb when a hydrogen pressure of 5 kg/cm 2 was reached to increase the hydrogen pressure to 10 kg/cm 2 . Further, when a decrease in the hydrogen gas absorption rate was observed as compared with the initial hydrogen gas absorption rate, the reaction mixture was gradually heated. This reaction operation was repeated until absorption of hydrogen gas stopped. Consequently, the temperature was increased from room temperature to 62°C, and the hydrogenation reactions was completed in a reaction time of 5.5 hours. The reactions results were as follows. 1,4-Diaminomethylbenzene conversion was 100%, and yield of 1,4-diaminomethylcyclo-hexane of 90.4% by mole while yield of secondary amine was 0.6% by mole. Example 14 14-1: Preparation of addition method tin-modified Raney ruthenium catalyst In a 500 ml 4-necked glass flask was charged 315.6 g of aqueous 17% by weight sodium hydroxide solution under nitrogen gas atmosphere. To this was added 7.92 g of Na 2 SnO 3 ·3H 2 O while stirring. The mixture was dissolved at room temperature. Fine powder (40 g) of Raney ruthenium alloy (aluminum : ruthenium = 50 : 50) which passed 100 mesh was added gradually over 30 minutes, which procedure involved abrupt heat generation and foaming. Hence, the flask was cooled on an ice bath to keep the temperature at 50 to 60°C. The mixture was stirred for continuous 15 minutes from the initiation of the addition until foaming stopped. Thereafter, the flask was dipped in an oil bath at 90°C and stirring was continued for 2 hours. After the flask was cooled down to room temperature, deionized water purged with nitrogen was added to make 500 ml. After it was stirred, the mixture was decanted. Further, deionized water purged with nitrogen was added to make 500 ml, and the mixture was decanted after it was stirred. Then, the catalyst was transferred into a 300 ml vertical glass vessel having an inlet port for a liquid on the bottom and an outlet port for extracting a liquid on the top and deionized water purged with nitrogen was supplied from below at a rate of 2.5 liters/hour for 2 hours while stirring gently so that all the catalyst could float slowly and the liquid was extracted continuously from above to effect washing. As a result of the washing, pH value of the liquid decreased from 11.5 to 9.6. By the above-described procedure was obtained tin-modified Raney ruthenium catalyst. After development, the Raney ruthenium contained 92% of ruthenium and 8% of aluminum. The atomic ratio of tin/ruthenium of the tin-modified Raney ruthenium catalyst obtained by the procedure was 0.15. 14-2: Hydrogenation of adipic acid In a 100 ml autoclave made of SUS316 were charged 27.9 g of dioxane and 3.1 g of water as a reaction solvent, and then 2.33 g of adipic acid. After the inside of the autoclave was purged with nitrogen, 1.0 g of the addition method tin-modified Raney ruthenium catalyst was added under nitrogen atmosphere. Then hydrogen gas was introduced into the autoclave until the inner pressure reached 50 kg/cm 2 . The temperature was elevated until the inner temperature of the autoclave reached 160°C and the reaction was carried out for 6 hours with stirring. After cooling down to room temperature, the pressure was returned to normal pressure, and the reaction mixture was taken out of the autoclave for analysis by liquid column chromatography. As a result, adipic acid conversion was 100%, yield of 1,6-hexanediol based on adipic acid was 78%, and yield of hydroxycaproic acid, which is an intermediate of hydrogenation, based on adipic acid was 16%. Comparative Example 1 Reaction was performed in the same manner as in Example 14 except that the catalyst of Example 14 was replaced by a catalyst comprising 5% of ruthenium and 10% of tin carried on alumina. As a result, adipic acid conversion was 35%, yield of 1,6-hexanediol based on adipic acid was 1%, and yield of hydroxycaproic acid, an intermediate of hydrogenation, based on adipic acid was 30%. Example 15 15-1: Preparation of alloy method rhenium-modified Raney palladium catalyst In the same manner as the preparation of Raney ruthenium alloy was prepared an alloy consisting of rhenium, palladium, and aluminum. The atomic ratio of rhenium metal to palladium metal was 0.1 : 1. The resulting alloy was developed with sodium hydroxide by the conventional method to obtain an alloy method rhenium-modified Raney palladium catalyst. 15-2: Hydrogenation of adipic acid In a 100 ml autoclave made of SUS316 were charged 27.9 g of dioxane and 3.1 g of water as a reaction solvent, and then 2.33 g of adipic acid. After the inside of the autoclave was purged with nitrogen, 1.0 g of the alloy method rhenium-modified Raney palladium catalyst was added under nitrogen atmosphere. Then hydrogen gas was introduced into the autoclave until the inner pressure reached 50 kg/cm 2 . The temperature was elevated until the inner temperature of the autoclave reached 210°C and the reaction was carried out for 3 hours with stirring. After cooling down to room temperature, the pressure was returned to normal pressure, and the reaction mixture was taken out of the autoclave for analysis by liquid column chromatography. As a result, adipic acid conversion was 100%, yield of 1,6-hexanediol based on adipic acid was 37%, and yield of hydroxycaproic acid, which is an intermediate of hydrogenation, based on adipic acid was 48%. Comparative Example 2 Reaction was performed in the same manner as in Example 15 except that the catalyst of Example 15 was replaced by a catalyst comprising 5% of palladium and 1% of rhenium carried on silica. As a result, adipic acid conversion was 64%, yield of 1,6-hexanediol based on adipic acid was 14%, and yield of hydroxycaproic acid, an intermediate of hydrogenation, based on adipic acid was 37%. Example 16 16-1: Preparation of addition method tin-molybdenum-modified Raney ruthenium catalyst The same procedure as in Example 14 was repeated except that 7.0 g of (NH 4 ) 6 Mo 7 O 24 ·4H 2 O was added to Na 2 SnO 3 ·3H 2 O in the preparation of the addition method tin-modified Raney ruthenium catalyst in Example 14. 16-2: Hydrogenation of adipic acid In a 100 ml autoclave made of SUS316 were charged 31 g of water as a reaction solvent and then 2.33 g of adipic acid. After the inside of the autoclave was purged with nitrogen, 1.0 g of the alloy method rhenium-modified Raney palladium catalyst was added under nitrogen atmosphere. Then hydrogen gas was introduced into the autoclave until the inner pressure reached 50 kg/cm 2 . The temperature was elevated until the inner temperature of the autoclave reached 140°C and the reaction was carried out for 2 hours with stirring. After cooling down to room temperature, the pressure was returned to normal pressure, and the reaction mixture was taken out of the autoclave for analysis by liquid column chromatography. As a result, adipic acid conversion was 99% and yield of 1,6-hexanediol based on adipic acid was 96%. In addition, 3% of 1-hexanol was by produced. Example 17 Hydrogenation of benzoic acid In a 100 ml autoclave made of SUS316 were charged 27.9 g of dioxane and 3.1 g of water as a reaction solvent, and then 2.33 g of benzoic acid. After the inside of the autoclave was purged with nitrogen, 1.0 g of the R-Ru catalyst obtained in Example 1 was added under nitrogen atmosphere. Then, hydrogen gas was introduced into the autoclave until the inner pressure reached 50 kg/cm 2 . The temperature was elevated until the inner temperature of the autoclave reached 120°C and the reaction was carried out for 2 hours with stirring. After cooling down to room temperature, the pressure was returned to normal pressure, and the reaction mixture was taken out of the autoclave for analysis by liquid column chromatography. As a result, benzoic acid conversion was 100%, yield of cyclohexane-methanol based on benzoic acid was 22%, and yield of cyclohexanecarboxylic acid, which is an intermediate of hydrogenation, based on benzoic acid was 77%. Example 18 Hydrogenation of terephthalic acid In a 100 ml autoclave made of SUS316 were charged 27.9 g of dioxane and 3.1 g of water as a reaction solvent, and then 2.33 g of terephthalic acid. After the inside of the autoclave was purged with nitrogen, 1.0 g of the addition method tin-modified Raney ruthenium catalyst prepared in the same manner as in Example 14 was added under nitrogen atmosphere. Then hydrogen gas was introduced into the autoclave until the inner pressure reached 50 kg/cm 2 . The temperature was elevated until the inner temperature of the autoclave reached 160°C and the reaction was carried out for 3 hours with stirring. After cooling down to room temperature, the pressure was returned to normal pressure, and the reaction mixture was taken out of the autoclave for analysis by liquid column chromatography. As a result, terephthalic acid conversion was 100%, yield of cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid, which is a compound obtained by hydrogenation of the aromatic ring of terephthalic acid, based on terephthalic acid was 30%, and yield of 4-hydroxymethyl-cyclohexanecarboxylic acid, which is a compound obtained by one of the carboxylic groups of cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid was hydrogenated, based on terephthalic acid was 54% while yield of 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, which is a compound obtained by hydrogenation of the two carboxylic groups of cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid, based on terephthalic acid was 12%. Example 19 Hydrogenation of 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid In a 100 ml autoclave made of SUS316 were charged 27.9 g of dioxane and 3.1 g of water as a reaction solvent, and then 2.41 g of 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid. After the inside of the autoclave was purged with nitrogen, 1.0 g of the addition method tin-modified Raney ruthenium catalyst prepared in the same manner as in Example 14 was added under nitrogen atmosphere. Then hydrogen gas was introduced into the autoclave until the inner pressure reached 50 kg/cm 2 . The temperature was elevated until the inner temperature of the autoclave reached 160°C and the reaction was carried out for 3 hours with stirring. After cooling down to room temperature, the pressure was returned to normal pressure, and the reaction mixture was taken out of the autoclave. Cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid was analyzed by liquid column chromatography while the product was analyzed by gas chromatography. As a result, 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid conversion was 100%, yield of cyclohexanedimethanol based on 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid was 94.1%. Example 20 Hydrogenation of maleic anhydride In a 100 ml autoclave made of SUS316 were charged 27.9 g of dioxane and 3.1 g of water as a reaction solvent, and then 2.33 g of maleic anhydride. After the inside of the autoclave was purged with nitrogen, 1.0 g of the addition method tin-modified Raney ruthenium catalyst prepared in the same manner as in Example 14 was added under nitrogen atmosphere. Then hydrogen gas was introduced into the autoclave until the inner pressure reached 50 kg/cm 2 . The temperature was elevated until the inner temperature of the autoclave reached 160°C and the reaction was carried out for 3 hours with stirring. After cooling down to room temperature, the pressure was returned to normal pressure; and the reaction mixture was taken out of the autoclave for analysis by liquid column chromatography. As a result, yield of γ-butyrolactone was 62%, that of 1,4-butanediol was 12% and that of tetrahydrofuran was 0.4%, based on maleic anhydride. Example 21 to 25 Preparation of addition method various metal-modified Raney ruthenium and hydrogenation of adipic acid Upon development of the R-Ru alloy, one of Pb(OAc) 2 ·3H 2 O, In(NO 3 ) 3 ·3H 2 O, Nb(OC 2 H 5 ) 5 , (NH 4 ) 6 Mo 24 ·4H 2 O, and (NH 4 ) 10 W 12 O 41 ·5H 2 O was allowed to coexist to produce lead-modified Raney ruthenium, indium-modified Raney ruthenium, niobium-modified Raney ruthenium, molybdenum-modified Raney ruthenium, and tungsten-modified Raney ruthenium catalysts in the same manner as the addition method tin-modified Raney ruthenium catalyst. In a 100 ml autoclave made of SUS316 were charged 27.9 g of dioxane and 3.1 g of water as a reaction solvent, and then 2.33 g of adipic acid. After the inside of the autoclave was purged with nitrogen, 1.0 g of each of the addition method lead-modified Raney ruthenium, indium-modified Raney ruthenium, niobium-modified Raney ruthenium, molybdenum-modified Raney ruthenium, and tungsten-modified Raney ruthenium catalysts was added under nitrogen atmosphere. Then hydrogen gas was introduced into the autoclave until the inner pressure reached 50 kg/cm 2 . The inner temperature of the autoclave was set to the temperature described in Table 1 and reaction was performed for a predetermined time. After cooling down to room temperature, the pressure was returned to normal pressure, and the reaction mixture was taken out of the autoclave for analysis by liquid column chromatography. Table 1 shows conversion (%) based on adipic acid, yield of 1,6-hexanediol (HDO) and yield of hydroxycaproic acid (HCA). Example 26 Hydrogenation of dimethyl adipate In a 100 ml autoclave made of SUS316 were charged 27.9 g of dioxane and 3.1 g of water as a reaction solvent, and then 2.33 g of dimethyl adipate. After the inside of the autoclave was purged with nitrogen, 1.0 g of the addition method tin-modified Raney ruthenium catalyst prepared in the same manner as in Example 14 was added under nitrogen atmosphere. Then hydrogen gas was introduced into the autoclave until the inner pressure reached 50 kg/cm 2 . The temperature was elevated until the inner temperature of the autoclave reached 160°C and the reaction was carried out for 6 hours with stirring. After cooling down to room temperature, the pressure was returned to normal pressure, and the reaction mixture was taken out of the autoclave for analysis by liquid column chromatography. As a result, dimethyl adipate conversion was 47%, yield of 1,6-hexanediol based on dimethyl adipate was 18%, and yield of hydroxycaproic acid methyl ester, which is an intermediate of hydrogenation, based on dimethyl adipate was 25%. Example 27 Hydrogenation of terephthalic acid In a 100 ml autoclave made of SUS316 were charged 27.9 g of dioxane and 3.1 g of water as a reaction solvent, and then 2.33 g of terephthalic acid. After the inside of the autoclave was purged with nitrogen, 0.05 g of R-Ru catalyst and 0.95 g of the addition method molybdenum-tin-modified Raney ruthenium catalyst prepared in the same manner as in Example 16 was added under nitrogen atmosphere. Then hydrogen gas was introduced into the autoclave until the inner pressure reached 50 kg/cm 2 . The temperature was elevated until the inner temperature of the autoclave reached 60°C and the reaction mixture was stirred for 6 hours. Then, the inner temperature was elevated to 160°C and the reaction was continued for 4 hours with stirring. After cooling down to room temperature, the pressure was returned to normal pressure, and the reaction mixture was taken out of the autoclave for analysis by liquid column chromatography. As a result, terephthalic acid conversion was 100%, yield of cyclohexanedimethanol, which is a compound obtained by hydrogenation of the aromatic ring and the carboxyl groups of terephthalic acid, based on terephthalic acid was 70.5%.

Claims: A method for preparing alcohol, lactone or ether, wherein a compound having a carbonyloxy group in the molecule is reacted with hydrogen in the presence of a noble metal Raney catalyst to reduce said carbonyloxy group into a methyleneoxy (-CH 2 -O-) group. The method according to claim 1, wherein said noble metal is ruthenium. The method according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said Raney catalyst additionally comprises one or more other metal elements. The method according to claim 3, wherein said Raney ruthenium catalyst is a mixture of a Raney ruthenium catalyst and a Raney ruthenium catalyst which additionally comprises one or more other metal elements.

Inventors: HIRAYAMA SHUUJI, ISHIMURA YOSHIMASA, MARUMO KUNIOMI, MIURA MOTOO, MONZEN HIROYUKI, MORIKAWA KOUHEI, NAITO TAKETOSHI, NOZAWA TSUTOMU, SUYAMA YUSEKI, HIRAYAMA, SHUUJI, ISHIMURA, YOSHIMASA, MARUMO, KUNIOMI, MIURA, MOTOO, MONZEN, HIROYUKI, MORIKAWA, KOUHEI, NAITO, TAKETOSHI, NOZAWA, TSUTOMU, SUYAMA, YUSEKI, Hirayama, Shuuji c/oChemical Research Lab., Ishimura, Yoshimasa c/oChemical Research Lab., Marumo, Kuniomi c/oChemical Research Lab., Miura, Motoo c/oChemical Research Lab., Monzen, Hiroyuki c/oChemical Research Lab., Morikawa, Kouhei c/oChemical Research Lab., Naito, Taketoshi c/oChemical Research Lab., Nozawa, Tsutomu c/oChemical Research Lab., Suyama, Yuseki c/oChemical Research Lab.
Applicants: SHOWA DENKO KK, SHOWA DENKO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Application year: 1996
Main classification: B01J25
IPC codes: C07C67, B01J25, C07C51