Method of producing gel-type inorganic oxide catalysts

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR PRODUCING IMPROVED GEL-TYPE OXIDE CATALYSTS SUITBLE FOR USE IN HIGH TEMPERATURE CATALYTIC HYDROCARBON CONVERSION PROCESSES WHICH COMPRISES MIXING AN AQUEOUS SOLUTION OF AN INORGANIC COMPOUND CAPABLE OF YIELDING A HYDROUS OXIDE GEL WHEN PRECIPITATED, AND AN AQUEOUS DISPERSION OF A WATER-DISPERSABLE ORGANIC MATERIAL HAVING A MOLECULAR WEIGHT WITHIN THE RANGE OF 1X103 TO 1X107, SAID ORGANIC MATERIAL BEING PRESENT IN AN AMOUNT WITHIN THE RANGE OF 3% TO 30% BY WEIGHT BASED UPON THE CONTENT OF SAID INORGANIC COMPOUND IN SAID MIXTURE CALCULATED AS ANHYDROUS OXIDE, SAID ORGANIC MATERIAL BEING PRESENT IN INSUFFICIENT CONCENTRATION TO FORM AN ORGANIC GEL, ADDING A PRECIPITANT TO SAID MIXTURE TO PRECIPITATE SAID HYDROUS OXIDE GEL CONTAINING WATER SOLUBLE SALTS FORMED DURING THE PRECIPITATION, WASHING SAID HYDROUS OXIDE GEL TO REMOVE SAID WATER SOLUBLE SALTS, THE HYDROUS OXIDE GEL FORMING THE EXTERNAL PHASE AND THE ORGANIC MATERIAL BEING PRESENT AS AN INTERNALLY DISPERSED, NON-GEL PHASE, THEN SUBJECTING THE WASHED HYDROUS OXIDE GEL TO AN INITIAL DRYING STEP CONSISTING OF HEATING AT A TEMPERATURE OF AT LEAST ABOUT 150* F. BUT BELOW A TEMPERATURE AT WHICH SUBSTANTIAL DECOMPOSITION OF THE ORGANIC MATERIAL OCCURS, SUFFICIENT TO ESTABLISH TO LATTICE STRUCTURE OF THE INORGANIC OXIDE AND TO PREVENT FORMATION OF AN ORGANIC GEL STRUCTURE WHILE THE INORGANIC OXIDE LATTICE STRUCTURE IS BEING ESTABLISHED, AND THEN CALCINING THE DEHYDRATED OXIDE GEL TO DECOMPOSE AND REMOVE THE ORGANIC MATERIAL, THEREBY TO PRODUCE A STABLE, HIGHLY POROUS, HIGH SURFACE AREA CATALYST.