A process for the vapour phase chemical dehydration of ethanol in a reactor in the presence of a supported hetero-polyacid catalyst, said process comprising a step of contacting the ethanol with the heteropolyacid catalyst, wherein the heteropoly acid catalyst comprises a partially neutralised silicotungstic acid salt, wherein the partially neutralised silicotungstic acid salt has from 30% to 70% of the hydrogen atoms replaced with cations selected from the group consisting of alkali metal cations, alkaline earth metal cations, transition metal cations, ammonium cations, and mixtures thereof; but with the proviso that the alkali metal cation is not lithium; and wherein, after attaining steady-state performance of the catalyst, said process is operated continuously with the same supported heteropolyacid catalyst for at least 150 hours, without any regeneration of the catalyst.

Processes for upgrading a hydrocarbon. The process can include (I) contacting a hydrocarbon-containing feed with a catalyst that can include a Group 8-10 element or a compound thereof disposed on a support to effect one or more of dehydrogenation, dehydroaromatization, and dehydrocyclization of at least a portion of the hydrocarbon-containing feed to produce a coked catalyst and an effluent. The process can also include (II) contacting at least a portion of the coked catalyst with an oxidant to effect combustion of at least a portion of the coke to produce a regenerated catalyst. The process can also include (III) contacting an additional quantity of the hydrocarbon-containing feed with at least a portion of the regenerated catalyst. A cycle time from the contacting the hydrocarbon-containing feed with the catalyst in step (I) to the contacting the additional hydrocarbon-containing feed with the regenerated catalyst in step (III) can be ≤5 hours.

An organic reductant, in particular an organo silicon reductant suitable for activating supported catalysts of the type MO.sub.nE.sub.m, wherein E is S and/or Se, in particular MO.sub.n, wherein M is W, Mo or Re, is described as well as its use in metathesis reactions. The reduced catalysts are able to metathesize olefins at low temperatures and are therefore also suitable for metathesis of functionalized olefins.

Provided is a method for easily and safely removing, from a reactor, a catalyst used in a reaction that is performed using hydrogen fluoride in the presence of the catalyst. In a reaction performed in a reactor containing at least hydrogen fluoride and a catalyst, the catalyst is removed through a process comprising a heating step of performing heat-treatment so that the ambient temperature of the reactor is 80° C. or more after completion of the reaction, and a purge step of flowing inert gas into the reactor to discharge the hydrogen fluoride to the outside of the reactor after completion of the reaction.

A process includes reacting a feed stream containing ethanol and optionally acetaldehyde in a dehydration reactor in the presence of a dehydration catalyst system having a Group 4 or Group 5 metal oxide and a support. The process includes obtaining a product stream containing butadiene from the dehydration reactor. Another process includes reacting a feed stream containing ethanol and optionally acetaldehyde in a dehydration reactor in the presence of a dehydration catalyst system containing a tungsten oxide supported on a zeolite or a tantalum oxide supported on a zeolite. The process includes obtaining a product stream containing butadiene from the dehydration reactor.

Increase propane dehydrogenation activity of a partially deactivated dehydrogenation catalyst by heating the partially deactivated catalyst to a temperature of at least 660° C., conditioning the heated catalyst in an oxygen-containing atmosphere and, optionally, stripping molecular oxygen from the conditioned catalyst.

The present invention relates to novel fused imidazo pyrazole derivatives of formula (I), and formula (II), and methods for preparation thereof, in the presence of a chitosan-Al.sub.2O.sub.3 nanocomposite film. The invention also relates to pharmaceutical compositions comprising compounds of the invention as active ingredients as well as the use of compounds of the invention for antimicrobial action.

##STR00001##

The invention concerns a synthesis process of a compound of the following formula (I) or one of the salts thereof,

##STR00001## wherein R represents a COOH, CH.sub.2OH or CHO group, comprising the step according to which the but-3-ene-1,2-diol (BDO) is subjected to an oxidation in the presence of a catalyst, said catalyst comprising an active phase based on at least one noble metal selected from palladium, gold, silver, platinum, rhodium, osmium, ruthenium and iridium, and a support containing alkaline sites.

The invention also concerns the application of this reaction to the preparation of bioavailable compounds of methionine used, in particular, in animal nutrition.

A fluidized reforming process comprising a two stage fluidized reforming reactor is described. A naphtha stream flows upward through the two fluidized stages and contacts the catalyst forming a product stream and spent catalyst. The spent catalyst is separated from the product stream and the naphtha feed stream. Some of the spent catalyst is regenerated by contact with an oxygen-containing regeneration fluid to heat and reactivate the catalyst. The heated, regenerated catalyst forms at least a port of the catalyst stream for the process. A process for cyclizing paraffins or isomerizing cyclopentanes is also described. The process uses a chloride-free Pt/Ga-containing catalyst to form a cyclic aliphatic hydrocarbon or isomerizing a cyclopentane in the presence of the chloride-free Pt/Ga-containing catalyst to form a cyclohexane.

This invention relates to a catalyst used in a carbonylation of methanol using carbon monoxide to acetic acid, and more particularly to a heterogeneous catalyst represented by Rh/WxC (where x is an integer of 1 or 2) in which a complex of a rhodium compound and 3-benzoylpyridine is fixed on a support of tungsten carbide.