A catalyst for methanation reaction and a method for preparing methane are provided. The catalyst for methanation reaction includes a core, a shell encapsulating the core, and an active metal. The core includes cerium dioxide (CeO.sub.2), the shell includes zirconium dioxide (ZrO.sub.2), and the active metal is in particle form and is disposed on an outer surface of the shell layer.

A process for preparing a catalyst comprising nickel and copper, comprising the following steps: impregnating the porous support with a volume of a butanol solution of between 0.2 and 0.8 times the total pore volume of the support; maturing the impregnated porous support for 0.5 to 40 hours; impregnating the matured impregnated support with a solution comprising a precursor of the nickel active phase; impregnating the support with a solution containing a copper precursor and a nickel precursor.

A process for preparing a catalyst comprising an active phase based on nickel and an alumina support, which process comprises the following steps: a) said support is impregnated with a volume V1 of a butanol solution of between 0.2 and 0.8 times the total pore volume TPV of said support in order to obtain an impregnated support; b) the impregnated support obtained at the end of step a) is left to mature for 0.5 to 40 hours; c) the matured impregnated support obtained at the end of step b) is impregnated with a solution comprising at least one precursor of the nickel active phase in order to obtain a catalyst precursor; d) the catalyst precursor obtained at the end of step c) is dried at a temperature below 250° C.

Disclosed is a method of producing an estolide having high structural stability, including: a) preparing a fatty acid mixture from biomass-derived oil; b) separating the fatty acid mixture into a C16 fatty acid and a C18 fatty acid; c) converting the C18 fatty acid into a C18 or C17 linear internal olefin; and d) subjecting the C18 or C17 linear internal olefin and the C16 fatty acid to an estolide reaction, thus obtaining an estolide.

The invention is concerned with the oligomerization of supercritical ethene. An essential aspect of the invention is that of mixing ethene with an inert medium and setting the conditions in the reaction such that both ethene and inert medium are supercritical. This is because the solubility for ethene in the inert medium is greater in the supercritical state, such that more ethene is dissolved in the supercritical inert medium than in a liquid solvent. The process regime in the supercritical state therefore enables the use of a much higher proportion of ethene in a homogeneous mixture of ethene and inert medium than is possible on the basis of the thermodynamic solubility restriction in a purely liquid hydrocarbon stream. In this way, the space-time yield is distinctly enhanced. Since a greater amount of ethene can be passed into the reactor, it is possible as a result to better exploit the apparatus volume compared to a liquid phase process. The inert medium used may, for example, be isobutane.

A process is provided for the production of linear saturated alkanes from one or more primary alcohols, wherein the carbon chain of the one or more primary alcohols has one carbon atom more than the alkane, including conducting reductive dehydroxymethylation of one or more primary fatty alcohols containing 8 to 24 carbon atoms, at a temperature ranging from 100 to 300° C. and pressures from 1 to 250 bar in the presence of hydrogen and a catalyst, and removing water formed during the reaction.

A three step method for the conversion of ethanol into fuels that can be utilized as full-performance military jet or diesel fuels. Embodiments of the invention further describe methods for the selective conversion of ethanol to full performance saturated hydrocarbon fuels that are suitable for both jet and diesel propulsion.

Methods and apparatuses are provided for producing hydrocarbons. A method for producing hydrocarbons may include two or more reactors having a distributed aromatic rich feed and hydrogen system. Using this configuration, the aromatic rich feed and hydrogen streams are split equally to all reactors wherein each reactor contains a catalyst. The outlet from the last reactor may include a recycle that may be injected into the inlet of the first reactor.

Surface hydroxyl groups on porous and nonporous metal oxides, such as silica gel and alumina, were metalated with catalyst precursors, such as complexes of earth abundant metals (e.g., Fe, Co, Cr, Ni, Cu, Mn and Mg). The metalated metal oxide catalysts provide a versatile family of recyclable and reusable single-site solid catalysts for catalyzing a variety of organic transformations. The catalysts can also be integrated into a flow reactor or a supercritical fluid reactor.

A process for isomerizing an aromatic cut containing at least one aromatic compound containing eight carbon atoms per molecule is described, comprising bringing said cut into contact with at least one catalyst comprising at least one metal from group VIII of the periodic classification of the elements, at least one zeolitic support comprising a zeolite selected from zeolites with structure type EUO and MOR, used alone or as a mixture, and at least one matrix, such that the specific surface area of the matrix in the zeolitic support of said catalyst is in the range 5 to 200 m.sup.2/g.