Patent ID: 8198486

Claim:
A method of generating an oxygenated compound, the method comprising the steps of: a. contacting a first catalytic material comprising one or more Group VIII metals with a first portion of an aqueous feedstock solution comprising water and at least one water-soluble oxygenated hydrocarbon having two or more carbon atoms under conditions sufficient to produce hydrogen; and b. reacting the hydrogen with a second portion of the aqueous feedstock solution over a second catalytic material, the second catalytic material different than the first catalytic material and comprising a bi-functional catalyst selected from the group consisting of tungstated zirconia, titania zirconia, sulfated zirconia, acidic alumina, silica-alumina, heterpolyacids, and combinations thereof, under conditions sufficient to produce a reaction product comprising one or more oxygenated compounds selected from the group consisting of a diol, a ketone, an aldehyde, a carboxylic acid and an alcohol.