The present invention provides a process for the preparation of ethene by vapour phase chemical dehydration of a feed comprising ethanol and optionally water and/or ethoxyethane, said process comprising contacting a dried supported heteropoly acid catalyst in a reactor with the feed-stream having feed temperature of at least 200° C.; wherein the pressure inside the reactor is at least 0.80 MPa but less than 1.80 MPa; and before the supported heteropolyacid catalyst is contacted with the feed-stream having a feed temperature of at least 200° C., the process is initiated by: (i) drying a supported heteropolyacid catalyst in a reactor under a stream of inert gas having a feed temperature of from above 100° C. to 200° C.; and (ii) contacting the dried supported heteropolyacid catalyst with an ethanol-containing vapour stream having a feed temperature of from above 100° C. to 160° C.

The present invention provides a process for the preparation of ethene by vapour phase chemical dehydration of a feed comprising ethanol and optionally water and/or ethoxyethane, said process comprising contacting a dried supported heteropoly acid catalyst in a reactor with the feed-stream having feed temperature of at least 200° C.; wherein the pressure inside the reactor is at least 0.80 MPa but less than 1.80 MPa; and before the supported heteropolyacid catalyst is contacted with the feed-stream having a feed temperature of at least 200° C., the process is initiated by: (i) drying a supported heteropolyacid catalyst in a reactor under a stream of inert gas having a feed temperature of from above 100° C. to 200° C.; and (ii) contacting the dried supported heteropolyacid catalyst with an ethanol-containing vapour stream having a feed temperature of from above 100° C. to 160° C.

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.

Retro-aldol processes are disclosed that use very low concentrations of retro-aldol catalyst in combination with hydrogenation catalyst of certain activities, sizes and spatial dispersions to obtain the high selectivities to ethylene glycol.

Retro-aldol processes are disclosed that use very low concentrations of retro-aldol catalyst in combination with hydrogenation catalyst of certain activities, sizes and spatial dispersions to obtain the high selectivities to ethylene glycol.

According to various aspects and exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, ultra-small catalyst particles having extremely high reactivity may be synthesized in single-atom or single-molecule state. When the ultra-small-sized single-atom or single-molecule catalyst is used, the use of metal raw materials can be minimized and, at the same time, catalytic activity may be maximized through maximized reactivity of the single-atom or single-molecule catalyst.

According to various aspects and exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, ultra-small catalyst particles having extremely high reactivity may be synthesized in single-atom or single-molecule state. When the ultra-small-sized single-atom or single-molecule catalyst is used, the use of metal raw materials can be minimized and, at the same time, catalytic activity may be maximized through maximized reactivity of the single-atom or single-molecule catalyst.

A novel method for catalytic dehydration of glycerol to acrolein is provided. A fixed bed reactor is used, which is placed in a microwave unit. The feedstock is introduced into the fixed bed reactor after being preheated and gasified. Continuous glycerol dehydration occurs in the presence of a microwave-absorbing catalyst in the fixed bed reactor to form acrolein. The microwave-absorbing catalyst is composed of an active component loaded on a core-shell structure which consists of microwave absorbent coated by an oxide. The uniformity of microwave heating can reduce the formation of hot spot during the reaction and hence improve the catalyst stability. The process and operation is simple, and the unit can steadily run for a long time.

A novel method for catalytic dehydration of glycerol to acrolein is provided. A fixed bed reactor is used, which is placed in a microwave unit. The feedstock is introduced into the fixed bed reactor after being preheated and gasified. Continuous glycerol dehydration occurs in the presence of a microwave-absorbing catalyst in the fixed bed reactor to form acrolein. The microwave-absorbing catalyst is composed of an active component loaded on a core-shell structure which consists of microwave absorbent coated by an oxide. The uniformity of microwave heating can reduce the formation of hot spot during the reaction and hence improve the catalyst stability. The process and operation is simple, and the unit can steadily run for a long time.

A member for a metal oxide nanofiber based gas sensor can include a metal nanoparticle catalyst and can be formed to be functionalized by binding the metal nanoparticle catalyst and an alkali or alkaline earth metal through electrospinning and heat treatment processes. The member can detect a trace amount of a gas with high selectivity and ultra-high sensitivity by uniformly binding the alkali or alkaline earth metal and the metal nanoparticle catalyst through electrospinning and high-temperature heat treatment.