Patent ID: 7988919

Claim:
A laboratory scale continuous flow hydrogenation process for hydrogenating a sample in a pressure range below supercritical pressure values, comprising the steps of: (i) supplying at least a solvent of the sample to be hydrogenated by means of a feed pump ( 102 ; 202 ) into a flow path; (ii) feeding hydrogen into said flow path through a valve ( 120 ; 220 ) on a section located after the sample supplying position of said flow path; (iii) leading dissolved sample in the presence of a catalyst through a hydrogenation reactor ( 110 ; 210 , 310 - 1 , . . . , 310 - m ), wherein said reactor being inserted into a section of the flow path located after the hydrogen feeding position; (iv) maintaining the pressure of the reaction in a given pressure range by means of a pressure-adjusting unit ( 112 ; 212 ) inserted into the flow path after the hydrogenation reactor ( 110 ; 210 , 310 - 1 , . . . , 310 - m ), said pressure adjusting unit being capable of tuning said pressure in a quasi-continuous manner; (v) collecting a hydrogenate formed within the hydrogenation reactor ( 110 ; 210 , 310 - 1 , . . . , 310 - m ) in a product receptacle ( 114 ; 214 ) connected to the end of the flow path, wherein during said step (i) creating a base solution from said solvent and providing a flow of said base solution with said pump ( 102 ; 202 ) having a substantially constant volume rate, and adding said sample into said flow path; and in said step (iv) setting the upper value of the pressure range by the pressure-adjusting unit ( 112 ; 212 ) simultaneously with the base solution of step (i) flowing through the reactor ( 110 ; 210 , 310 - 1 , . . . , 310 - m ) to a value that falls below supercritical pressure values of the base solution.