A supported oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) catalyst comprising a support and an OCM catalytic composition characterized by the general formula A.sub.aZ.sub.bE.sub.cD.sub.dO.sub.x; wherein A is an alkaline earth metal; wherein Z is a first rare earth element; wherein E is a second rare earth element; wherein D is a redox agent or a third rare earth element; wherein the first rare earth element, the second rare earth element, and the third rare earth element, when present, are not the same; wherein a is 1.0; wherein b is from about 0.1 to about 10.0; wherein c is from about 0.1 to about 10.0; wherein d is from about 0 to about 10.0; and wherein x balances the oxidation states.

A method of using biopolymer to synthesize titanium-containing silicon oxide material and applications thereof are disclosed. The method comprises steps: mixing a titanium source, a silicon source, an acid source, a base source, a biopolymer and a solvent to form an aqueous solution, and letting the aqueous solution react to form a semi-product; performing aging, solid-liquid separation and drying of the semi-product to obtain a dried solid; and performing calcination or extraction of the dried solid to obtain a titanium-containing silicon oxide material with a high specific surface area. The present invention adopts a biopolymer as the templating agent, which makes the fabrication process of titanium-containing silicon oxide material more environment-friendly. After calcination or extraction, the product still has superior catalytic activity, able to catalyze epoxidation of olefins and favorable for the production of epoxide.

An oligomerization catalyst, oligomer products, methods for making and using same. The catalyst can include a supported nickel phosphate compound. The catalyst is stable at oligomerization temperatures of 500 C. or higher and particularly useful for making oligomer products containing C4 to C26 olefins having a boiling point in the range of 170 C. to 360 C.

Disclosed is a supported catalyst for the preparation of vinyl acetate monomer, a process for preparing the supported catalyst in tablet or pellet form, and a catalytic process for the manufacturing vinyl acetate using the supported catalyst. Specifically, it is shown that catalyst performance shows a strong dependence on the crush strength of the tableted or pelletized alumina support used in the process to make the catalyst, and that the crush strength of the catalyst is closely related to the porosity of the support. Catalyst activity and selectivity can be enhanced by tailoring the crush strength of the support.

A method of using biopolymer to synthesize titanium-containing silicon oxide material and applications thereof are disclosed. The method comprises steps: mixing a titanium source, a silicon source, an acid source, a base source, a biopolymer and a solvent to form an aqueous solution, and letting the aqueous solution react to form a semi-product; performing aging, solid-liquid separation and drying of the semi-product to obtain a dried solid; and performing calcination or extraction of the dried solid to obtain a titanium-containing silicon oxide material with a high specific surface area. The present invention adopts a biopolymer as the templating agent, which makes the fabrication process of titanium-containing silicon oxide material more environment-friendly. After calcination or extraction, the product still has superior catalytic activity, able to catalyze epoxidation of olefins and favorable for the production of epoxide.

A unique process and catalyst is described that operates efficiently for the direct production of a high cetane diesel type fuel or diesel type blending stock from stochiometric mixtures of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. This invention allows for, but is not limited to, the economical and efficient production high quality diesel type fuels from small or distributed fuel production plants that have an annual production capacity of less than 10,000 barrels of product per day, by eliminating traditional wax upgrading processes. This catalytic process is ideal for distributed diesel fuel production plants such as gas to liquids production and other applications that require optimized economics based on supporting distributed feedstock resources.

A hierarchical catalyst composition comprising a continuous or particulate macroporous scaffold in which is incorporated mesoporous aggregates of magnetic nanoparticles, wherein an enzyme is embedded in mesopores of the mesoporous aggregates of magnetic nanoparticles. Methods for synthesizing the hierarchical catalyst composition are also described. Also described are processes that use the recoverable hierarchical catalyst composition for depolymerizing lignin remediation of water contaminated with aromatic substances, polymerizing monomers by a free-radical mechanism, epoxidation of alkenes, halogenation of phenols, inhibiting growth and function of microorganisms in a solution, and carbon dioxide conversion to methanol. Further described are methods for increasing the space time yield and/or total turnover number of a liquid-phase chemical reaction that includes magnetic particles to facilitate the chemical reaction, the method comprising subjecting the chemical reaction to a plurality of magnetic fields of selected magnetic strength, relative position in the chemical reaction, and relative motion.

Described herein is a scalable, economic, energy and time efficient method for the synthesis of a crystalline uniform nanoporous oxide material by utilizing colloidal particles in solution combustion synthesis. By removing colloids from nanocomposite via chemical etching crystalline uniform porous oxide is prepared with tailored porosity. The produced oxides have high specific surface area, high pore volume, uniform pore structure and high crystallinity. Properties of the oxide can be tuned by the concentration and size of colloids added, which affects the porous structure (mesopore diameter, pore wall thickness, surface area, and pore volume). In principle, this method can be applied to synthesize different high porosity crystalline metal oxides and nanocomposites.

A catalytic proppant and methods for making and using same are disclosed herein. The catalytic proppant can include a proppant support containing silica and alumina. The proppant support can have a macropore concentration of about 15% to about 45%, a mesopore concentration of about 20% to 50%, and a micropore concentration of about 8% to about 30% based on the total pore volume of the proppant support. The proppant support can also have a surface area of about 0.5 m.sup.2/g to about 50 m.sup.2/g. The catalytic proppant can have a long term permeability at 7,500 psi of at least about 10 D in accordance with ISO 13503-5.

The invention relates to nanoporous gold nanoparticle catalysts formed by exposure of nanoporous gold to ozone at elevated temperatures, as well as methods for production of esters and other compounds.