Abstract: The present invention relates to a process for hydrogenation of a glycerol ester, comprising treating a composition which comprises a glycerol ester with a base and a transition metal catalyst in the presence of molecular hydrogen, wherein the base is present in at least 7 wt % based upon the total weight of said composition and wherein the catalyst is present in less than or equal to 0.05 wt % based upon the total weight of said composition.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a process for hydrogenation of an ester-containing substrate, comprising treating an ester-containing substrate with a base and a transition metal catalyst in the presence of molecular hydrogen, wherein the base is present in at least 30 mol % based upon the total amount of ester-containing substrate and wherein the substrate/catalyst loading is greater than or equal to 10,000/1.