Patent ID: 7847129

Claim:
A method for thermally dehydrogenating an alcohol selected from the group consisting of methanol and ethanol to give the corresponding aldehydes in the gas phase, wherein dehydrogenation is effected by bringing the alcohol at a temperature ranging from 150° C. to 450° C. into contact with a catalytically active composition comprising an active component of the formula: Pd a Bi b Y c Z d , where Y is selected from the group consisting of Co, Rh, Pt, Ag, and Au; Z is selected from the group consisting of Na, Cs, Mg, Ca, Ba, V, Cr, W, Fe, Ni, Cu, and Sb; where the indices a, b, c and d give the mass ratios of the respective elements to one another, where a=0.1-3, b=0.1-3, c=0.01-3, d=0-1.