An exothermic chemical reaction in which hydrogen reacts with carbon dioxide at high temperatures and pressures, when a catalyst (usually nickel) is present, to form methane and water:
A similar hydrogenation process is employed commercially to convert unsaturated vegetable oils into margarine.
The process is named after Paul Sabatier (1854–1941) and Jean-Baptiste Senderens (1856–1937), who developed it in 1897.