The present invention concerns combinations of a water repellent alkyl ketene dimer as a component (I) and a water repellent metal alcoholate as a component (II) that are strongly synergistic in repelling water from water absorbing surfaces, resulting in a surprisingly long water droplet absorption time. The combinations of the invention can be applied to the surface of any material that has water absorbing properties such as, but not limited to, wood, woven and non-woven sheeting materials, paper, building materials, gypsum board, and leather.

A green construction element forming a vertical surface of the construction, the element including a porous concrete element and a coating on at least one of the surfaces of the porous concrete, directly in contact with the surface, the coating, which is favourable to the development of plants, including a plant or a seed of the plant, and the porous concrete having a porosity of between 10% and 40% in the hardened state thereof, before application of the coating, so as to be able to render the vertical surface of the construction green.

A green construction element forming a vertical surface of the construction, the element including a porous concrete element and a coating on at least one of the surfaces of the porous concrete, directly in contact with the surface, the coating, which is favourable to the development of plants, including a plant or a seed of the plant, and the porous concrete having a porosity of between 10% and 40% in the hardened state thereof, before application of the coating, so as to be able to render the vertical surface of the construction green.

Methods are disclosed for producing an organic functionalized solid inorganic substrate, a surface of the inorganic substrate comprising a hydroxide and/or an oxide comprising an element M, the element M being a metal or a metalloid. The method includes drying the surface; optionally removing protons from the surface; and contacting the surface with an organometallic reagent comprising at least one organic functional moiety, thereby obtaining the organic functionalized inorganic substrate, the at least one organic functional moiety being attached to the element M of the hydroxide and/or the oxide by means of a direct M-C bond. The drying step includes contacting the surface with a flow comprising an inert gas. The organic functionalized inorganic substrate obtained by the method may be used as a membrane, a catalyst, a sorbent, a sensor or an electronic component, or as a substrate in filtration, adsorption, chromatography and/or separation processes.

Disclosed is a process for producing a RBSiC member that has a large size and a complicated shape and possesses ceramic properties. The process is Selective Laser Sintering process which includes providing a raw material containing silicon carbide particles and a binder, forming a thin layer of the raw material, and sintering the thin layer by irradiating a desired area in the thin layer with laser to form a sintered thin layer, repeating the step of forming the sintered thin layer to obtain a green body, impregnating the green body with a carbon source and curing the green body impregnated with the carbon source to give a cured body, carbonizing an organic compound component in the cured body to give a fired body, and infiltrating the fired body with silicon and subjecting the fired body to reaction sintering to give a RBSiC member, wherein the fired body contains 8% to 30% by weight of carbon.

Disclosed is a process for producing a RBSiC member that has a large size and a complicated shape and possesses ceramic properties. The process is Selective Laser Sintering process which includes providing a raw material containing silicon carbide particles and a binder, forming a thin layer of the raw material, and sintering the thin layer by irradiating a desired area in the thin layer with laser to form a sintered thin layer, repeating the step of forming the sintered thin layer to obtain a green body, impregnating the green body with a carbon source and curing the green body impregnated with the carbon source to give a cured body, carbonizing an organic compound component in the cured body to give a fired body, and infiltrating the fired body with silicon and subjecting the fired body to reaction sintering to give a RBSiC member, wherein the fired body contains 8% to 30% by weight of carbon.

The present invention relates to a porous aggregate, comprising Al.sub.2O.sub.3, SiO.sub.2 and optionally Fe.sub.2O.sub.3, having a d.sub.50 of equivalent pore diameter between 1 ?m or more and 50 ?m or below and a total porosity between 20% and 60%, for use in the formation of monolithic refractories. Also part of the invention is a method of formation for said aggregates, their use in the formation of monolithic refractories and monolithic refractories comprising such aggregates.

The present invention relates to a porous aggregate, comprising Al.sub.2O.sub.3, SiO.sub.2 and optionally Fe.sub.2O.sub.3, having a d.sub.50 of equivalent pore diameter between 1 ?m or more and 50 ?m or below and a total porosity between 20% and 60%, for use in the formation of monolithic refractories. Also part of the invention is a method of formation for said aggregates, their use in the formation of monolithic refractories and monolithic refractories comprising such aggregates.

The invention relates to a colouring composition, preferably an ink for ink jet printing, comprising: (A) 3.0-15.0% by weight of Ti in the form of a titanium compound obtained by a process comprising: (i) reacting at least one titanium alkoxide with water and, optionally, at least one alcohol, thereby obtaining a reaction mixture; (ii) adding glycolic acid in a Ti:acid molar ratio comprised between 1:0.8 and 1:2.0, thereby generating a mixture of water and alcohol comprising an intermediate titanium compound; (iii) optionally, but preferably, removing part of the mixture comprising water and alcohol; (iv) adding at least one compound of formula N(R2).sub.3 with a Ti:N(R2).sub.3 molar ratio comprised between 1:0.20 and 1:1.50; and (v) completely eliminating the alcohol; (B) 0.2-2.5% by weight of Cr and/or Ni in the form of at least one water-soluble organic compound of Cr and/or Ni; (C) up to 100% by weight of at least one solvent selected from the group consisting of water, organic solvents miscible with water and mixtures thereof, wherein the quantities (A), (B) and (C) refer to the overall weight of the colouring composition.

The invention relates to a colouring composition, preferably an ink for ink jet printing, comprising: (A) 3.0-15.0% by weight of Ti in the form of a titanium compound obtained by a process comprising: (i) reacting at least one titanium alkoxide with water and, optionally, at least one alcohol, thereby obtaining a reaction mixture; (ii) adding glycolic acid in a Ti:acid molar ratio comprised between 1:0.8 and 1:2.0, thereby generating a mixture of water and alcohol comprising an intermediate titanium compound; (iii) optionally, but preferably, removing part of the mixture comprising water and alcohol; (iv) adding at least one compound of formula N(R2).sub.3 with a Ti:N(R2).sub.3 molar ratio comprised between 1:0.20 and 1:1.50; and (v) completely eliminating the alcohol; (B) 0.2-2.5% by weight of Cr and/or Ni in the form of at least one water-soluble organic compound of Cr and/or Ni; (C) up to 100% by weight of at least one solvent selected from the group consisting of water, organic solvents miscible with water and mixtures thereof, wherein the quantities (A), (B) and (C) refer to the overall weight of the colouring composition.