Patent ID: 8637715

Claim:
A process for producing of ethanol comprising: contacting a feed stream containing acetic acid and hydrogen at an elevated temperature with a hydrogenating catalyst comprising platinum, tin, and at least one secondary noble metal on a support material, wherein the secondary noble metal is present in an amount less than the amount of the platinum or tin and is selected from the group consisting of rhodium, palladium, gold and iridium; wherein the support material further comprises a support modifier selected from the group consisting of (i) alkaline earth metal oxides, (ii) alkali metal oxides, (iii) alkaline earth metal metasilicates, (iv) alkali metal metasilicates, (v) Group IIB metal oxides, (vi) Group IIB metal metasilicates, (vii) Group IIIB metal oxides, (viii) Group IIIB metal metasilicates, and mixtures thereof.