| abstract |
The invention concerns a process for preparing 1,4-butanediol by continuous catalytic hydrogenation of 1,4-butinediol in that 1,4-butinediol is reacted with hydrogen in the liquid continuous phase in the presence of a heterogeneous hydrogenation catalyst at temperatures of between 20 and 300 DEG C, a pressure of between 1 and 200 bar and values of the liquid-side mass transfer coefficients kLa, relative to the volume, of between 0.1 s<-1> and 1s<-1>, a) with a catalyst suspended in the reaction medium, wherein, when a packed bubble column is used, it is operated in the upwards mode and at a ratio of the amount of gas leaving the reaction vessel to the amount fed thereto of between 0.99:1 and 0.4:1, or b) is guided upwards in parallel flow through a fixed bed reactor operated in the circulating gas mode, the ratio between the amount of gas fed to the reaction vessel and the amount of gas leaving the latter being maintained between 0.99:1 and 0.4:1. |