Hydrogenation experiments of 2-butyne-1,4-diol, catalysed by carbon-supported palladium, have been performed in a batch reactor using high pressurised carbon dioxide as reaction solvent. Carbon dioxide pressure was kept to a constant value of 18 MPa. The influence of the hydrogen pressure, varying from 0.2 to 0.8 MPa, on the conversion rate was investigated. Under these conditions, the reactive media is monophasic. Finally, we fitted our experimental results with a simple reaction kinetic model. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.