Hydrodechlorination of organic chlorides and hydrogenation of an unsaturated hydrocarbon were performed in a solution of 2-propanol/methanol (99:1, v/v) containing NaOH in the presence of a supported palladium catalyst (Pd/C, Pd/TiO2, or Pd/Al2O3) at 30-40 degrees C. p-Chloroanisole, 2-chloronaphthalene, and (2-chloroethyl)benzene were successfully dechlorinated to anisole, naphthalene, and ethylbenzene, respectively. For all combinations of the substrates and the catalysts, the reaction rates were much higher (> 3 times) than those in the absence of 1% methanol, indicating that the catalytic reactions were greatly enhanced by the addition of a small amount of methanol. However, the dechlorination rate of 1-chlorodecane, which has no aromatic ring, was not enhanced by the addition of 1% methanol. The hydrogenation of 1,1-diplienylethylene to 1,1-diplienylethane was also enhanced by the addition of 1% methanol to an alkaline 2-propanol solution. These catalytic reactions did not require H-2 gas and a high operating temperature, because the hydrogen from the alcohol Solvent Molecules was efficiently transferred to the organic Compounds over the Pd catalysts even at 30 degrees C. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.