The present invention relates to a method of making a monolith having a plurality of channels extending therethrough, the method comprising,

providing a suspension of polymer-coated particles in a first solvent;

extruding the suspension from a primary orifice, while passing one or more second solvents from a plurality of secondary orifices arranged within the first orifice, into a third solvent, whereby a monolith precursor is formed from the polymer and particles,

and sintering the monolith precursor to form a monolith.

Guanidine-functionalized particles and methods of making and using such particles.

Provided are: titanium oxide fine particles having small primary particle diameters and small agglomerated particle diameters; and a method for producing titanium oxide fine particles. The BET diameters of the titanium oxide fine particles are 1-50 nm; the agglomerated particle diameters thereof are 1-200 nm; and the (agglomerated particle diameter)/(BET diameter) ratio is 1-40. Titanium (oxy)chloride is hydrolyzed in an aqueous solvent, while controlling the pH range and the temperature range. Preferably, titanium (oxy)chloride is subjected to a primary hydrolysis in an aqueous solvent, and a secondary hydrolysis is subsequently carried out, while adding titanium (oxy)chloride thereto.

The invention concerns a process for the preparation of an amorphous mesoporous and macroporous alumina, comprising at least one step for dissolving an acidic precursor of aluminium, a step for adjusting the pH by adding at least one basic precursor to the suspension obtained in step a), a step for co-precipitation of the suspension obtained at the end of step b) by adding at least one basic precursor and at least one acidic precursor to the suspension, a filtration step, a drying step, a shaping step and a heat treatment step.

The invention also concerns an amorphous mesoporous and macroporous alumina with a bimodal pore structure having: a specific surface area S.sub.BET of more than 100 m.sup.2/g; a median mesopore diameter, by volume determined by mercury intrusion porosimetry, of 18 nm or more; a median macropore diameter, by volume determined by mercury intrusion porosimetry, in the range 100 to 1200 nm, limits included; a mesopore volume, as measured by mercury intrusion porosimetry, of 0.7 mL/g or more; and a total pore volume, as measured by mercury porosimetry, of 0.8 mL/g or more.

The present invention provides a method for making a porous silica aerogel composite membrane. The porous silicon oxide aerogel composite membrane includes a porous aluminum oxide membrane having a plurality of macro pores with an average diameter larger than 50 nm and a porous silica aerogel membrane formed on at least one side of the porous aluminum oxide membrane and the macro pores of surface layers of the porous aluminum oxide membrane where the porous silica aerogel membrane has a plurality of meso pores with an average diameter of 250 nm and is derived from methyltrimethoxysilane precursor by a sol-gel synthetic method.

Provided is a powdered tobermorite-type calcium silicate-based material capable of demonstrating high oil absorption. The powdered tobermorite-type calcium silicate-based material is characterized in that (1) a molar ratio of SiO.sub.2/CaO in the material is 1.5 or more, and (2) a cumulative pore volume having a pore size of 3.6 nm to 200 nm in the material is 0.9 cc/g or more, and a cumulative pore volume having a pore size of 3.6 nm to 5000 nm is 2.6 cc/g or more.

The present invention provides an adsorbent for removal of con-carbon and contaminant metals in feed, said adsorbent composition consisting of clay in the range of 30-70 wt. % and silica in the range of 70-30 wt. %, wherein the adsorbent has a pore volume in the range of 0.25-0.45 cc/gm; a pore size in the range of 20 to 2000 and a bi-modal pore size distribution characteristics, with a maximum of about 32% of the adsorbent having a pore size in the range of 20-200 and a minimum of about 68% of the adsorbent having a pore size in the range of 200-2000 . The present invention also provides a process for preparing the said adsorbent.

The present invention provides a method for making a porous silica aerogel composite membrane. The porous silicon oxide aerogel composite membrane includes a porous aluminum oxide membrane having a plurality of macro pores with an average diameter larger than 50 nm and a porous silica aerogel membrane formed on at least one side of the porous aluminum oxide membrane and the macro pores of surface layers of the porous aluminum oxide membrane where the porous silica aerogel membrane has a plurality of meso pores with an average diameter of 250 nm and is derived from methyltrimethoxysilane precursor by a sol-gel synthetic method.

A size-selective hemocompatible porous polymeric adsorbent system is provided, the polymer system comprises at least one crosslinking agent and at least one dispersing agent, and the polymer has a plurality of pores with diameters in the range from about 17 to about 40,000 Angstroms.

Disclosed is a device for scrubbing carbon dioxide-contaminated gas for use in a fuel cell. The device comprises at least one first opening for allowing gas to enter or exit the device, at least one second opening for allowing gas to exit or enter the device, and at least one sorbent that is capable of removing carbon dioxide from the gas and is arranged in a form of layers which the gas contacts when it flows from the first to the second opening. The device may further comprise one or two gas preparation units for removing solid and/or liquid contaminants from the gas and for adjusting the temperature and/or humidity of the gas.