A composition of matter wherein the composition comprises a siliceous substrate having silanols on the surface and a polymer selected from the group consisting essentially of a water soluble polymer, a water soluble copolymer, an alcohol soluble polymer, an alcohol soluble copolymer, and combinations of such polymers, wherein the polymer is chemically bonded to the siliceous substrate by a silane linking material having the general formula

O.sub.3/2SiQY

that is derived from an alkoxy-functional silane having the general formula

(RO).sub.3SiQX

and processes for preparing the crosslinked polymer that is chemically bonded to the surface of the siliceous substrate.

A sorbent bed may comprise a sorbent support comprising at least one of a carbon material, a polymeric material, or alumina, wherein the sorbent support comprises a plurality of pores; and an impregnant configured to absorb ammonia disposed within the plurality of pores in the sorbent support, wherein the sorbent bed comprises between 20% and 60% by weight impregnant.

The method serves for producing a horizontal through flow adsorber with two adsorbents which contains two immediately adjacent packings in a horizontal or vertical container. Between the two packings there is a vertical interface. In a step (a) a vertical dividing wall is positioned on the bottom of the adsorption bed and then on each side of the dividing wall one of the two adsorbents is charged up to a first height that does not exceed the upper edge of the separating ring. In the following step (b) the vertical dividing wall is displaced upwardly until the lower edge thereof is still placed in the existing packing. Then, on each side of the dividing wall one of the two adsorbents is charged up to a second height that does not exceed the upper edge of the displaced dividing wall. Finally, step (b) is repeated until a predetermined filling height is achieved. According to the invention, the vertical dividing wall is composed of at least three dividing wall modules (6.01) that extend only over a part of the length or of the periphery of the vertical dividing wall and are movable in a vertical direction independently of one another.

The invention concerns particles which may include a catalytically active component, in the form of a three-dimensional ellipsoidal shape having three major axes at least two of which axes are of different lengths. Beds of such particles are useful for forming particle beds through which a fluid may flow.

In one proposed application provided by the present invention, and as shown in FIG. 2, CO.sub.2 is captured from a dirty flue gas in a fluid bed Turboscrubber to be recycled rapidly to a fluid bed Turbostripper where it is desorbed into a clean air stream for introduction to a horticultural glass-house for enhancement of fruit, vegetable or other crop growth. In a further application of the present invention as shown in FIG. 3, CO.sub.2 enriched saltwater is circulated through a tank (7), to feed Algae thereby allowing fast photosynthesis to occur in, for example, the production of bio fuels. Alternatively, if the Algae suspension is sufficiently robust, it can be pumped around a Turboscrubber (2) and the Algae tank (7) in order to keep it in constant contact with the CO.sub.2 enriched aqueous solution.

The present invention provides novel chromatographic materials, e.g., for chromatographic separations, processes for their preparation and separations devices containing the chromatographic materials. The chromatographic materials of the invention have controlled porosity and comprise a chromatographic core material and one or more layers of chromatographic surface materials which each independently provide an average pore diameter, an average pore volume, or a specific surface area such that the combined layers form a chromatographic material having a predetermined or desired pattern of porosity from the core material to the outermost surface. The materials are useful for HPLC separations, normal-phase separations, reversed-phase separations, chiral separations, HILIC separations, SFC separations, affinity separations, perfusive separations, partially perfusive separations, and SEC separations.

A filtration device including a fluid-impermeable housing having a gas inlet and outlet, and containing within the housing first filter media particles of an extended surface area substrate and containing at least one metal impregnant, and second filter media particles of an extended surface area zirconium hydroxide substrate and zinc (hydr)oxide. The device may be used in atmospheres containing various harmful gases, and may provide particularly useful improvements in NO.sub.x breakthrough times compared to a device containing only the first filter media particles or only the second filter media particles.

A method for separating natural gas liquids (NGLs) from a hydrocarbon gas mixture containing natural gas liquids and methane, comprising the steps of: i) providing a bed of adsorbent selective for NGLs over methane; ii) passing a hydrocarbon gas mixture containing methane and NGL through the bed of adsorbent to at least partially remove NGLs from the gas mixture to produce: (a) NGL-loaded adsorbent and (b) NGL-depleted hydrocarbon gas mixture; iii) recovering the NGL-depleted hydrocarbon gas mixture; iv) regenerating the NGL-loaded adsorbent by at least partially removing NGLs from the adsorbent; and v) sequentially repeating steps (ii) and (iii) using regenerated adsorbent from step (iv).

An adsorption process for xenon recovery from a cryogenic liquid or gas stream is described wherein a bed of adsorbent is contacted with the aforementioned xenon containing liquid or gas stream and adsorbs the xenon selectively from this fluid stream. The adsorption bed is operated to at least near full breakthrough with xenon to enable a deep rejection of other stream components, prior to regeneration using the temperature swing method. Operating the adsorption bed to near full breakthrough with xenon, prior to regeneration, enables production of a high purity product from the adsorption bed and further enables oxygen to be used safely as a purge gas, even in cases where hydrocarbons are co-present in the feed stream.

A method for producing a sulphided copper sorbent includes the steps of: (i) contacting a sorbent precursor material containing one or more sulphidable copper compounds, with a sulphiding gas stream including hydrogen sulphide to form a sulphided sulphur-containing sorbent material, and (ii) subjecting the sulphided sulphur-containing sorbent material to a heating step in which it is heated to a temperature above that used in the sulphiding step and ?110? C., under an inert gas selected from nitrogen, argon, helium, carbon dioxide, methane, and mixtures thereof, the inert gas optionally including hydrogen sulphide. The method provides sulphided copper sorbents that have reduced levels of elemental sulphur.