Patent ID: 7635790

Claim:
A process for preparing ethylene amines and ethanolamines comprising hydrogenatively aminating monoethylene glycol with ammonia in the presence of a heterogeneous catalyst, wherein said heterogeneous catalyst comprises an active composition comprising ruthenium and cobalt and is in the form of a shaped catalyst body, wherein said shaped catalyst body has a diameter of less than 3 mm when it is spherical or rod-shaped, a height of less than 3 mm when it is pellet-shaped, and an equivalent diameter L=1/a′ of less than 0.70 mm when it is any other geometry, wherein a′ is the external surface area per unit volume (mm s 2 /mm p 3 ): a ′ = Ap Vp wherein A p is the external surface area of the shaped catalyst body (mm s 2 ) and V p is the volume of the shaped catalyst body (mm p 3 ), with the proviso that said active composition comprises no further metal of group VIII and no metal of group IB.