The present invention provides a process for the production of 1,4-BDO and THF from furan, said process comprising: (i) contacting furan with hydrogen and water in a reactor in the presence of a catalytic composition, wherein the furan and water are contacted in the presence of a solvent, said solvent being selected from one or more of THF, 1,4-BDO and NBA, and converting at least a portion of said furan to 1,4-BDO and THF; (ii) producing a reactor product stream comprising gases, water, THF, 1,4-BDO and furan; (iii) separating gases from the reactor product stream; (iv) then separating at least a portion of each of the THF and 1,4-BDO from said reactor product stream; and (v) recycling the remainder of the reactor product stream, comprising water, optionally furan, and at least one of THF, 1,4-BDO and NBA, to the reactor.

Methods for preparing a variety of ladderane precursors, ladderane compounds and ladderane lipids are provided. Also provided are methods of preparing a liposome from the ladderane lipids disclosed herein, and compositions thereof. Aspects of the invention include encapsulated one or more cargo moieties in the liposome or compositions thereof and use of the subject liposome compositions as vehicles in drug delivery, imaging, diagnostics and other medical applications. Aspects of the methods disclosed herein include administering a liposomal composition comprising a pharmaceutical agent to a subject under conditions sufficient to deliver the composition to a site of interest in the subject, and release the pharmaceutical agent from the liposomal composition.

Methods for preparing a variety of ladderane precursors, ladderane compounds and ladderane lipids are provided. Also provided are methods of preparing a liposome from the ladderane lipids disclosed herein, and compositions thereof. Aspects of the invention include encapsulated one or more cargo moieties in the liposome or compositions thereof and use of the subject liposome compositions as vehicles in drug delivery, imaging, diagnostics and other medical applications. Aspects of the methods disclosed herein include administering a liposomal composition comprising a pharmaceutical agent to a subject under conditions sufficient to deliver the composition to a site of interest in the subject, and release the pharmaceutical agent from the liposomal composition.

The present invention relates to supported metal catalysts, wherein the catalysts are modified by at least one amine, a method for the preparation thereof and hydrogenation processes utilising the supported metal catalysts.

Described herein is a process for preparing butane-1,4-diol by catalytic hydrogenation of butyne-1,4-diol in a reaction zone with hydrogen in the presence of a heterogeneous hydrogenation catalyst, in which the content of at least one gas selected from CO and CH.sub.4 in the offgas stream is measured and the content of the gas measured in the offgas stream is used for closed-loop control of the hydrogenation.

Described herein is a process for preparing butane-1,4-diol by catalytic hydrogenation of butyne-1,4-diol in a reaction zone with hydrogen in the presence of a heterogeneous hydrogenation catalyst, in which the content of at least one gas selected from CO and CH.sub.4 in the offgas stream is measured and the content of the gas measured in the offgas stream is used for closed-loop control of the hydrogenation.

A halide compound having one or more carbon-carbon unsaturated bonds is catalytically reduced with substantially no dehalogenation to produce a reduced halide compound in which at least one of the one or more unsaturated bonds is reduced. Specifically provided is a method for producing a reduced halide compound including steps of: reacting a nickel compound, a zinc compound, and a borohydride compound in a solvent to obtain a reduction catalyst; and subjecting a halide compound having one or more carbon-carbon unsaturated bonds to catalytic reduction in the presence of the reduction catalyst to reduce at least one of the one or more carbon-carbon unsaturated bonds to thereby obtain a reduced halide compound.

The present invention relates to a process for enriching enantiomers from an enantiomer mixture by a fractionating melt crystallization in a melt crystallization apparatus. The invention specifically relates to a process for producing an enantiomer-enriched chiral terpene, in particular of D/L-Isopulegol. The process comprises: i) a crystallization step to obtain a crystallizate and a mother melt and removal of the mother melt from the crystallizate to afford a mother melt fraction; ii) sweating of the crystallizate obtained in step i) to afford a molten sweating fraction and iii) subsequent melting of the sweated crystallizate to afford a molten crystallizate fraction,
wherein the optical rotation at least of the sweating fraction is determined online using a polarimeter and the changeover from step ii) to step iii) is controlled online by means of at least one control unit.

The present invention relates to a process for enriching enantiomers from an enantiomer mixture by a fractionating melt crystallization in a melt crystallization apparatus. The invention specifically relates to a process for producing an enantiomer-enriched chiral terpene, in particular of D/L-Isopulegol. The process comprises: i) a crystallization step to obtain a crystallizate and a mother melt and removal of the mother melt from the crystallizate to afford a mother melt fraction; ii) sweating of the crystallizate obtained in step i) to afford a molten sweating fraction and iii) subsequent melting of the sweated crystallizate to afford a molten crystallizate fraction,
wherein the optical rotation at least of the sweating fraction is determined online using a polarimeter and the changeover from step ii) to step iii) is controlled online by means of at least one control unit.

A process for activating a fixed catalyst bed is disclosed. The fixed catalyst bed includes monolithic shaped catalyst bodies or include monolithic shaped catalyst bodies including at a first metal selected from Ni, Fe, Co, Cu, Cr, Pt, Ag, Au and Pd, and a second component selected from Al, Zn and Si. The fixed catalyst bed, for activation, is treated with an aqueous base having a strength of not more than 3.5% by weight. The base is selected from alkali metal hydroxides, alkaline earth metal hydroxides and mixtures thereof. The fixed catalyst bed has a temperature gradient during the activation and the temperature differential between the coldest point in the fixed catalyst bed and the warmest point in the fixed catalyst bed is kept at not more than 50 K.