Patent ID: 7064239

Claim:
A process for preparing 1,6-hexanediol comprising catalytically dimerizing acrylic esters and catalytically hydrogenating the hexenedioic diesters obtained in this way to 1,6-hexanediol by: a) dimerizing C 1 - to C 8 -acrylic esters in the presence of at least one rhodium compound to give mixtures of predominantly 2- and 3-hexenedioic diesters; b) hydrogenating the resulting dimerizing effluent in the presence of chromium-free catalysts comprising predominantly copper as the hydrogenation component; and c) purifying the crude 1,6-hexanediol obtained in this way by fractional distillation; wherein the 1,6-hexanediol so prepared has a purity of at least 99.5% by weight.