Catalyst manufacture

Claim 2

A process in accordance with claim 1, wherein the salty gelatinous precipitate is dried to a moisture level between 55 and 83 weight percent water before or during the forming step ''''b.''''

Claim 3

A process for manufacturing catalysts in the form of shaped solid particles which comprises partially drying a salty gelatinous precipitate to a moisture level between about 50 to 85 weight percent, extruding the partially dried salt-containing gelatinous precipitate to form a salt-containing extrudate shape which can be washed free of salt without losing its shape, washing salt from the salt-containing extrudate shape, and drying and calcining the washed extrudate shape.

Claim 4

A process according to claim 4, wherein said gelatinous precipitate comprises finely divided hydrous oxides of at least three elements selected from the group consisting of magnesium, aluminum, silicon, tin, titanium, zirconium, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, iron, cobalt, nickel, platinum, palladium, manganese, rhenium, molybdenum, tungsten, chromium, vanadium, copper, silver and gold, at least one of said elements forming a porous oxide carrier of high surface area when the hydrous oxide thereof is dried and calcined.

Claim 6

The method of claim 6 wherein said slurry is formed at a pH of from about 6 to about 8.

Claim 7

The method of claim 6, wherein the separated mass of gelatinous precipitates is subdivided into cohesive particles containing more than 85 weight percent water as occluded ionic aqueous medium and then partially dried.

Claim 8

The method of claim 8, wherein said cohesive particles, after partially drying, are recombined and resubdivided into new cohesive particles which are further dried to the water content desired in the gelatinous precipitates for extruding to form the extrudate shapes which are to be washed.

Claim 9

The method of claim 9 wherein said further drying of resubdivided new cohesive particles adjusts the water content in the gelatinous precipitates extruded to in the range of 65-80 weight percent.

Claim 11

The method of claim 11, wherein said slurry of gelatinous precipitates is formed by preparing acidic aqueous solutions or sols of compounds of at least said three elements, combining said solutions or sols, and precipitating said gelatinous precipitates to form said slurry by adding slowly an aqueous solution of a base sufficient to adjust the pH in the resulting body of aqueous liquid into the range of 6-8.

Claim 12

A process for manufacturing multicomponent catalyst in the form of shaped particles, said catalyst comprising at least three essential components including (1) a porous inorganic oxide carrier or high surface area formed from an element selected from the group consisting of aluminum, silicon, titanium, and zirconium, (2) a specific reaction catalyzer formed from a metal element selected from the group consisting of iron, nickel, cobalt, platinum, palladium, manganese, rhenium, molybdenum, tungsten, chromium, vanadium, copper, silver, and gold, and (3) a promoter or modifier formed from a different element selected from the group consisting of magnesium, aluminum, silicon, tin, titanium, zirconium, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, iron, cobalt, nickel, platinum, palladium, manganese, rhenium, molybdenum, tungsten, chromium, vanadium, copper, silver, and gold, wherein the improvement comprises: A. forming aqueous solutions or sols of compounds of at least three elements from which at least the essential components of the desired catalyst can be formed; B. combining said solutions or sols and precipitating in the resulting body of aqueous liquid a dispersed hydrogel or gelatinous precipitate comprising compounds of at least said elements for forming said essential components; C. separating from said body of liquid a mass in the form of cohesive pieces of said gelatinous precipitate, each said piece containing an occluded portion of liquid, containing salt-forming anions and cations derived from said solutions or sols; D. prior to washing said mass to reduce the salt content thereof: (1) partially drying said mass of cohesive pieces to remove a portion of the water present in said occluded liquid and thereby obtain a mass of cohesive pieces with a moisture level between about 50 and 85 weight percent, (2) mechanically working together the partially dried mass of cohesive pieces, and forming the worked mass into new cohesive pieces prior to further reduction in the water content thereof, (3) further drying the mass of new cohesive pieces to remove an additional portion of said water, and (4) mechanically working together and extruding said further dried and worked mass into shaped particles; E. washing said shaped particles to reduce the salt content thereof; and F. drying and calcining said washed particles.

Claim 13

A catalytic hydroconversion process comprising contacting a hydrocarbon feed in the presence of hydrogen and at hydroconversion conditions of elevated temperature and pressure with macroparticles of catalyst prepared by a process comprising extruding a partially dried salt-containing gelatinous precipitate containing between about 50 and 85 weight percent moisture to form a salt-containing extrudate sHape, then washing out salt from the extrudate shape, and then drying and calcining the washed extrudate shape.

Claim 14

In a catalytic hydroconversion process comprising passing a hydrocarbonaceous feed and hydrogen through a fixed bed of solid catalyst particles in a reaction zone at hydroconversion conditions of elevated temperature and pressure, and recovering from the reaction zone effluent a hydrocarbon oil lower boiling than said feed, said catalyst containing a hydrogenation-dehydrogenation promoter component formed from an element of Group VIII, a porous inorganic oxide carrier component formed from an element selected from the group consisting of aluminum, silicon, zirconium, and titanium, and at least one other component formed from a different element of Groups IB, IIA, IIIA, IVA, IVB, VA, VB. VIB, VIIB, and VIII; the improvement for obtaining increased hydroconversion activity and stability which comprises employing as said catalyst hard, glassy, extrusion-shaped particles with a ratio of length to diameter of from one to three, said particles exhibiting conchoidal fracture when broken characteristic of a solid xerogel and further resembling a xerogel by the characteristic absence of microscopically evident substructure, having a particle density of at least 1.4 g/cc, a side crushing strength of at least 30 pounds, a surface area above 300 m2/g, and a pore volume of 0.25-0.40 cc/g, and wherein said catalyst particles are prepared by a process comprising extruding a partially dried salt-containing gelatinous precipitate containing between about 50 and 85 weight percent moisture to form a salt-containing extrudate shape, then washing out salt from the extrudate shape, and then drying and calcining the washed extrudate shape.