A honeycomb structure including: a honeycomb structure body having porous partition walls which define a plurality of cells extending from an inflow end face to an outflow end face to form through channels for a fluid, and a first circumferential wall which is disposed in at least a part of a circumference of the partition walls, and a second circumferential wall disposed to surround an outer side of the honeycomb structure body, wherein the honeycomb structure body does not have an interface between the partition walls and the first circumferential wall, and in a face perpendicular to an extending direction of the cells, a maximum thickness of the first circumferential wall is from 0.1 to 0.3 mm.

A precursor mixture for producing a porous body, wherein the precursor mixture comprises: (i) at least one milled alpha alumina powder having a particle size of 0.1 to 6 microns, (ii) non-silicate powder that functions as a binder of the alpha alumina powders, and (iii) at least one burnout material having a particle size of 1-10 microns and a decomposition temperature of less than 550° C., with the proviso that a burnout material having a decomposition temperature of 550° C. or greater is excluded from the precursor mixture.

A precursor mixture for producing a porous body, wherein the precursor mixture comprises: (i) at least one milled alpha alumina powder having a particle size of 0.1 to 6 microns, (ii) non-silicate powder that functions as a binder of the alpha alumina powders, and (iii) at least one burnout material having a particle size of 1-10 microns and a decomposition temperature of less than 550° C., with the proviso that a burnout material having a decomposition temperature of 550° C. or greater is excluded from the precursor mixture.

A ceramic filter having a pillar-shaped honeycomb structure, wherein when observing a plurality of pores from a surface of partition walls with a laser microscope and plotting an equivalent circle diameter (μm) of each pore on an X-axis and a pore depth (μm) of each pore on a Y-axis on a two-dimensional coordinate system, a slope of a regression line (y/x) obtained by a least squares method in a range of 20≤x≤40 is 0 to 0.20, an average value of the pore depth of the plurality of pores is 2.5 μm to 5.0 μm, and a number density of the plurality of pores is 600/mm.sup.2 to 2450/mm.sup.2.

A ceramic filter having a pillar-shaped honeycomb structure, wherein when observing a plurality of pores from a surface of partition walls with a laser microscope and plotting an equivalent circle diameter (μm) of each pore on an X-axis and a pore depth (μm) of each pore on a Y-axis on a two-dimensional coordinate system, a slope of a regression line (y/x) obtained by a least squares method in a range of 20≤x≤40 is 0 to 0.20, an average value of the pore depth of the plurality of pores is 2.5 μm to 5.0 μm, and a number density of the plurality of pores is 600/mm.sup.2 to 2450/mm.sup.2.

A ceramic aerogel includes a porous framework including interconnected double-paned wall structures of a ceramic material, wherein each double-paned wall structure includes a pair of walls spaced apart by a gap.

A ceramic aerogel includes a porous framework including interconnected double-paned wall structures of a ceramic material, wherein each double-paned wall structure includes a pair of walls spaced apart by a gap.

A process for producing a porous alpha-alumina catalyst support, comprising i) preparing a precursor material comprising, based on inorganic solids content, at least 50 wt.-% of a transition alumina having a loose bulk density of at most 600 g/L, a pore volume of at least 0.6 mL/g and a median pore diameter of at least 15 nm; and at most 30 wt.-% of an alumina hydrate; ii) forming the precursor material into shaped bodies; and iii) calcining the shaped bodies to obtain the porous alpha-alumina catalyst support. The catalyst support has a high overall pore volume, thus allowing for impregnation with a high amount of silver, while keeping its surface area sufficiently large so as to provide optimal dispersion of catalytically active species, in particular metal species. The invention further relates to a shaped catalyst body for producing ethylene oxide by gas-phase oxidation of ethylene, comprising at least 15 wt.-% of silver, relative to the total weight of the catalyst, deposited on a porous alpha-alumina catalyst support obtained in the process described above. The invention also relates to a process for preparing a shaped catalyst body as described above comprising impregnating a porous alpha-alumina catalyst support obtained in the process described above with a silver impregnation solution, preferably under reduced pressure; and optionally subjecting the impregnated porous alumina support to drying; and b) subjecting the impregnated porous alpha-alumina support to a heat treatment; wherein steps a) and b) are optionally repeated. The invention further relates to a process for producing ethylene oxide by gas-phase oxidation of ethylene, comprising reacting ethylene and oxygen in the presence of a shaped catalyst body as described above.

A process for producing a porous alpha-alumina catalyst support, comprising i) preparing a precursor material comprising, based on inorganic solids content, at least 50 wt.-% of a transition alumina having a loose bulk density of at most 600 g/L, a pore volume of at least 0.6 mL/g and a median pore diameter of at least 15 nm; and at most 30 wt.-% of an alumina hydrate; ii) forming the precursor material into shaped bodies; and iii) calcining the shaped bodies to obtain the porous alpha-alumina catalyst support. The catalyst support has a high overall pore volume, thus allowing for impregnation with a high amount of silver, while keeping its surface area sufficiently large so as to provide optimal dispersion of catalytically active species, in particular metal species. The invention further relates to a shaped catalyst body for producing ethylene oxide by gas-phase oxidation of ethylene, comprising at least 15 wt.-% of silver, relative to the total weight of the catalyst, deposited on a porous alpha-alumina catalyst support obtained in the process described above. The invention also relates to a process for preparing a shaped catalyst body as described above comprising impregnating a porous alpha-alumina catalyst support obtained in the process described above with a silver impregnation solution, preferably under reduced pressure; and optionally subjecting the impregnated porous alumina support to drying; and b) subjecting the impregnated porous alpha-alumina support to a heat treatment; wherein steps a) and b) are optionally repeated. The invention further relates to a process for producing ethylene oxide by gas-phase oxidation of ethylene, comprising reacting ethylene and oxygen in the presence of a shaped catalyst body as described above.

An exhaust gas purification filter includes a cell assembly including cells and a partition wall, seal members, and a skin member. The partition wall has a porosity of 50% to 70%. The skin member has a thickness T of 0.3 mm to 1.0 mm. The partition wall includes crossing portions, each cell has at least one part of an outer periphery defined by a corresponding one of the crossing portions, the at least one part of the outer periphery is rounded to have a value of radius of curvature R being 0.02 mm to 0.6 mm A degree of distortion δ being a degree of change in the external dimensions of the filter in axial direction, is greater than 0 and is 1.5 mm or less. A value of a structural variable X, expressed by Equation 1 below, is 0.05 to 6, X=T×R/δ . . . Equation 1.