PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF MIBC AND/OR IBHK PLUS TMN USING COPPER-BASED CATALYSTS

MIBC and/or a mixture of IBHK and TMN is produced from MIBK by a process comprising the step of contacting MIBK with hydrogen under condensation/hydrogenation/dehydration reactive conditions and in the presence of a catalytic amount of a Cu-based condensation/hydrogenation/dehydration catalyst. The relative amounts of MIBC and the mixture of IBHK and TMN are controlled by the reaction temperature, a lower temperature, e.g., 130 C., favoring MIBC alone, and a higher temperature, e.g., 200 C., favoring a mixture of MIBC and IBHK plus TMN.