The hydrogenolysis of sorbitol (15% aqueous solution) was carried out at 60 bar pressure at 220 °C in a stirred batch reactor using Ni-NaY (2, 4, 6 wt.% Ni) with and without added Pt(1 wt.%). 1,2-Propanediol was the major product over Ni-NaY and glycerol was the main product over Pt(1 wt.%)-NaY. The addition of 1 wt.% Pt to the Ni-catalysts had only a marginal effect on conversion and selectivity of the catalysts. Addition of Ca(OH)2 as the promoter to both Ni and Pt catalysts increased the conversion significantly without any significant effect on selectivity. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.