Hydrogenation reactions are widely used in the chemical industry for edible/inedible oils and fats, alcohols, amines, esters, purification reactions, aromatics, and for a number of derivative products, including diols, acids, furans, and lactones. When examined more closely, what becomes clearer (outside of the food industry and feedstock purifications) is that the bulk of production is centered on alcohols/amines (fatty vs. synthetic) for the surfactant, soap, and cosmetics industry or the variety of feedstocks and intermediates supporting or competing in the nylon industry, e.g. cyclohexane, KA oil then caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) cyclohexylamine, etc.

Our previous report in this area, completed in December of 1991, did not cover (in-depth) the oils and fats hydrogenation segment, but due to changes in cis versus trans production and changes in the catalytic processing, we have stronger reasons to include a more in-depth analysis this time. In a recent industry survey by TCGR , it was revealed that most endusers were using less catalyst per ton of product as compared to 10-15 years ago and had some interesting reasons as to why!

Other noteworthy trends to be evaluated include:

• Progress on the shift, noted in our report in 1991, away from aromatic feedstocks to alkane/olefin feedstocks.
  
  
• Evolution of the "battle" between synthetic vs. fatty aminos/alcohols and adoption of milder catalytic processes developed by Davy and others.
  
  
• Emerging C4 feedstock technologies affecting important intermediates such as maleic anhydrite, BDO and THF, including implications on derivatives such as PBT.

This updated report will take the findings of our last analysis and re-measure them, as well as examine many new changes.