Claimed herein is a method of applying amorphous Co—SiOx to activate PMS and produce SO.sub.4..sup.− due to the formation of Co(II)-O.sub.v, pairs via the substitution of Si by Co. The inherent Co significantly change the electronic structure of O and Si atoms in the Co—SiOx via final state effects and increase the conductivity in terms of more effective electron transfers. The claimed method using Co—SiOx functions as a more effective oxidative catalyst for the faster degradation of pollutants. The simplicity of the synthetic procedures indicates that the conductive Co—SiOx could be used for the activation of PMS and other electrochemical applications on a wider scale.

Systems and methods are provided for hydroconversion of a heavy oil feed under slurry hydroprocessing conditions and/or solvent assisted hydroprocessing conditions. The systems and methods for slurry hydroconversion can include the use of a configuration that can allow for improved separation of catalyst particles from the slurry hydroprocessing effluent. In addition to allowing for improved catalyst recycle, an amount of fines in the slurry hydroconversion effluent can be reduced or minimized. This can facilitate further processing or handling of any “pitch” generated during the slurry hydroconversion. The systems and methods for solvent assisted hydroprocessing can include processing of a heavy oil feed in conjunction with a high solvency dispersive power crude.

The present invention provides a catalyst, comprising molybdenum; one or more first elements selected from a Group V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, and XI metal (e.g., silver, cobalt, nickel, copper, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium, palladium, niobium, and manganese); one or more second elements selected from sulfur, carbon, oxygen, phosphorus, nitrogen, and selenium; and optionally, one or more Group IA metals, wherein the molybdenum is present in an amount of 10-50 wt. % of the total amount of the one or more first elements, the molybdenum, the one or more second elements, and the Group IA metal, and methods of using said catalyst in the production of ethanol from carbon dioxide.

A silica-alumina based composite material for making hydroprocessing catalysts, is disclosed. The silica-alumina composite material generally comprises at least two silica-aluminas, the first being a modified first silica-alumina, and the second being a second silica-alumina that is unmodified or modified. The first silica-alumina is modified to comprise silica and alumina domains and a silica-alumina interphase. The second silica-alumina may also be modified at the same time or separately to comprise silica and alumina domains and a silica-alumina interphase. The first silica-alumina and the second silica-alumina differ in one or more physical and/or chemical characteristics, e.g., the ratio of silica to alumina, surface area, pore size, pore volume, silica domain size, or alumina domain size. The invention can be used for making catalyst base materials and catalysts useful for upgrading hydrocarbon feedstocks to produce fuels, lubricants, chemicals and other hydrocarbonaceous compositions.

The present invention relates to granulated particles with improved attrition and a method for producing granulated particles by fluidized bed granulation of inorganic particles wherein particles of reduced particle size are fed into a fluldized-bed granulation reactor thereby producing granulated particles with improved attrition.

A method of producing a porous carbon is provided that can change type of functional groups, amount of functional groups, or ratio of functional groups while inhibiting its pore structure from changing. A method of producing a porous carbon includes: a first step of carbonizing a material containing a carbon source and a template source, to prepare a carbonized product; and a second step of immersing the carbonized product into a template removing solution, to remove a template from the carbonized product, and the method is characterized by changing at least two or more of the following conditions: type of the material, ratio of the carbon source and the template source, size of the template, and type of the template removal solution, to thereby control type, amount, or ratio of functional groups that are present in the porous carbon.

A system for removing methane oxidation catalyst (MOC) poisons from an exhaust gas including a methane abatement unit that may receive the exhaust gas having methane (CH.sub.4)and the MOC poisons. The methane abatement unit includes a guard bed that may remove the MOC poisons from the exhaust gas and may generate an intermediate exhaust gas having the CH.sub.4 and devoid of the MOC poisons. The guard bed includes a MOC poisons capturing component having a first transition metal oxide, an aluminum oxide (Al.sub.2O.sub.3) support material, and a dolomite-derived support material. The methane abatement unit also includes a MOC bed fluidly coupled to and positioned downstream from the guard bed. The MOC bed includes a MOC and may remove CH.sub.4 from the intermediate exhaust gas to generate a treated exhaust gas having less than approximately 200 parts per million volume (ppmv) CH.sub.4.

A method for producing a three-dimensional porous transition alumina catalyst monolith of stacked catalyst fibers, comprising: a) Preparing a paste in a liquid diluent of hydroxide precursor particles and/or oxyhydroxide precursor particles of transition alumina particles, all particles in the suspension having a number average particle size in the range of from 0.05 to 700 μm, b) extruding the paste nozzle(s) to form fibers, and depositing the extruded fibers to form a three-dimensional porous catalyst monolith precursor, c) drying the precursor to remove the liquid diluent, d) performing a temperature treatment of the dried porous catalyst monolith precursor to form the transition alumina catalyst monolith, wherein no temperature treatment of the porous catalyst monolith precursor or porous catalyst monolith at temperatures above 1000° C. is performed and wherein no further catalytically active metals, metal oxides or metal compounds are applied to the surface.

The present invention relates to an alumina with a particular pore profile and good thermal stability. This alumina is also characterized in that it has a high bulk density. The alumina has, after calcining in air at 1100° C. for 5 hours: a pore volume in the range of pores with a size of between 5 nm and 100 nm which is between 0.50 and 0.75 mL/g, more particularly between 0.50 and 0.70 mL/g; and a pore volume in the range of pores with a size of between 100 nm and 1000 nm which is less than or equal to 0.20 mL/g, more particularly less than or equal to 0.15 mL/g, or even less than or equal to 0.10 mL/g.

The present invention relates to an alumina with a particular pore profile and good thermal stability. This alumina is also characterized in that it has a high bulk density. The alumina has, after calcining in air at 1100° C. for 5 hours: a pore volume in the range of pores with a size of between 5 nm and 100 nm which is between 0.50 and 0.75 mL/g, more particularly between 0.50 and 0.70 mL/g; and a pore volume in the range of pores with a size of between 100 nm and 1000 nm which is less than or equal to 0.20 mL/g, more particularly less than or equal to 0.15 mL/g, or even less than or equal to 0.10 mL/g.