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Within WP4 the hydrogenation catalyst was evaluated on its stability and recyclability, in order to translate the developed lab-scale revalorisation strategy for phthalate plasticizers to the upscaled and continuous process equivalent. To that end, the Ru-catalyst was employed in five consecutive batch experiments under relevant hydrogenation conditions.

The catalytic system demonstrated competent to transform all phthalate molecules into the desired cyclohexane dicarboxylate esters within similar reaction times across the recycling experiments, which proves the stability and recyclability of the catalyst. In other words, following this validation, the catalyst stands ready for application in the continuous and upscaled plasticizer process.