Patent ID: 7968704

Claim:
A method for the production of polyalcohols in the form of sugar alcohols from the group sorbitol and/or mannitol and optionally further C 6 and/or C 4 and/or C 3 and/or C 2 polyols, the method comprising the step of: continuously reacting at least one mono-, di-, oligo- and/or polysaccharide containing at least one glucose and/or at least one fructose unit in the presence of a hydrogenating catalyst being ruthenium (Ru) and/or ruthenium oxide in aqueous phase, at elevated temperature and elevated pressure with hydrogen, to obtaining the polyols, wherein the temperature is between 120° and 280° C., the pressure at least 150 bar, and a dwell time of the reactants during catalytic hydrogenation is at most 400 s, the temperature, pressure and dwell time being adjusted to effect at least 98% educt conversion.