Process for preparation of sintered metallic oxide catalyst pellets

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR PREPARING SINTERED COBALT OXIDE CATALYST PELLETS HAVING A DENSITY BETWEEN 1.75 AND 3.25 GRAMS PER CUBIC CENTIMETER CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF THE STEPS OF (A) DRY MULLING A MIXTURE OF COBALT OZXIDES IN ABSENCE OF WATER WITH FROM 1 PERCENT TO 5 PERCENT BY WEIGHT OF AN ORGANIC LUBRICATING SINTERING AID MATERIAL TO FORM A SUBSTANTIALLY HOMOGENEOUS MASS HAVING A DENSITY OF AT LEAST 1 GRAM PER CUBIC CENTIMETER; (B) PELLETING THE MULLED MIXTURE OF METALLIC OXIDES AND LUBRICATING SINTERING AID MATERIAL; AND (C) HEATING THE RESULTING PELLETS IN AN OXYGEN-CONTAINING ATMOSPHERE AT A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN 500*C. AND 1300*C. FOR A PERIOD OF 1 TO 10 HOURS WHEREBY SINTERED METALLIC OXIDE CATALYST PELLETS HAVING A DENSITY BETWEEN 1.75 AND 3.25 GRAMS PER CUBIC CENTIMETER ARE OBTAINED.