Disclosed herein are methods of improving the life of high selectivity, silver catalysts for making ethylene oxide. Ethylene and oxygen are reacted over the high efficiency catalyst with at least one organic chloride modifier, and during a catalyst aging period of no less than 0.03 kt ethylene oxide/cubic meter catalyst, the overall catalyst chloriding effectiveness never exceeds an efficiency-maximizing optimum overall catalyst chloriding effectiveness value that corresponds to a reference feed gas composition and a set of reference reaction condition values. Reaction temperature and/or feed gas oxygen concentration are adjusted to obtain or maintain a desired value of an ethylene oxide production parameter. Once the reaction temperature and/or oxygen concentration vary by a specified amount from their respective reference values in the set of reference reaction condition values, the overall catalyst chloriding effectiveness is changed to account for a shift in the optimum (efficiency-maximizing) value.

The invention provides a catalyst system comprising: a) one or more catalytic species comprising silver and tungsten therein; and b) one or more catalytic species suitable for hydrogenation; and a process for the preparation of monoethylene glycol from starting material comprising one or more saccharides, by contacting said starting material with hydrogen in a reactor in the presence of a solvent and said catalyst system.

A porous body with enhanced fluid transport properties and crush strength is provided. The porous body includes the porous body includes at least 80 percent alpha alumina and having a pore volume from 0.3 mL/g to 1.2 mL/g, a surface area from 0.3 m.sup.2/g to 3.0 m.sup.2/g, and a pore architecture that provides at least one of a tortuosity of 7 or less, a constriction of 4 or less and a permeability of 30 mdarcys or greater, wherein the porous body is a cylinder comprising at least two spaced apart holes that extend through an entire length of the cylinder. The porous body has a flat plate crush strength improved by more than 10% over a porous body cylinder having a same outer diameter and length, but having only a single hole.

A catalyst support comprising at least 85 wt.-% of alpha-alumina and having a pore volume of at least 0.40 mL/g, as determined by mercury porosimetry, and a BET surface area of 0.5 to 5.0 m.sup.2/g, wherein the catalyst support is a tableted catalyst support comprising, based on the total weight of the catalyst support, less than 500 ppmw of potassium. The invention moreover relates to a process for producing a tableted alpha-alumina catalyst support, which comprises i) forming a free-flowing feed mixture comprising i-a) at least one aluminum compound which is thermally convertible to alpha-alumina, the aluminum compound comprising a transition alumina and/or an alumina hydrate; and i-b) 30 to 120 wt.-%, relative to i-a), of a pore-forming material; ii) tableting the free-flowing feed mixture to obtain a compacted body; and iii) heat treating the compacted body at a temperature of at least 1100? C., to obtain the tableted alpha-alumina catalyst support. The invention further relates to a compacted body obtained by tableting a free-flowing feed mixture which comprises, relative to the total weight of the free-flowing feed mixture, a) at least one aluminum compound which is thermally convertible to alpha-alumina, the aluminum compound comprising a transition alumina and/or an alumina hydrate; and b) 30 to 120 wt.-%, relative to a), of a pore-forming material. The invention moreover relates to a shaped catalyst body for producing ethylene oxide by gas-phase oxidation of ethylene, comprising at least 12 wt.-% of silver, relative to the total weight of the catalyst, deposited on the tableted alpha-alumina catalyst support. The invention also relates to a process for producing ethylene oxide by gas-phase oxidation of ethylene, comprising reacting ethylene and oxygen in the presence of the shaped catalyst body. The invention allows for the use of specific pore-forming materials that are particularly suitable for obtaining an advantageous pore structure while allowing for a catalyst support having high purity.

The present invention is concerned with oxygen storage materials. In particular an oxygen storage material (OSM) is proposed which comprises a certain mixed oxide as the oxygen storage component. The oxygen storage material can be used in conventional manner in three-way catalysts or NOx-storage catalysts for example.

A hierarchical porous material contains primary pore aggregates. The primary pore aggregates combine to form the secondary pore aggregates. The secondary pore aggregates connect to each other formed the hierarchical porous material. There are primary pores on the primary pore aggregates wherein the diameter of primary pore is 5-500 nm. There are secondary pores on the secondary pore aggregates wherein the diameter of secondary pore is 1-5 m. The hierarchical porous material is used as oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts or photocatalysts having a significantly improved catalytic activity.

The present disclosure generally relates to a silver-based epoxidation catalyst. In certain embodiments, a method is provided for modulating the reactivity of the silver-based epoxidation catalyst, comprising the catalyst being post-treated with at least two different salt solutions. In some embodiments, the treatment results in the deposition of one or more metals onto the surface of the catalyst. In further embodiments, method is also provided of using the silver catalyst to generate an epoxide from an olefin.

A silver-based ethylene epoxidation catalyst is provided that exhibits improved performance, i.e., selectivity and activity decline. The catalyst that exhibits the improved performance includes greater than about 20% by weight of silver disposed on an alpha-alumina carrier, and a promoting amount of one or more promoters disposed on the alpha-alumina carrier. The silver is present on the alpha-alumina carrier as silver particles having a diameter of greater than about 150 nm and a distribution density of about 20 particles per 1 square micron or less.

The invention relates to a catalyst that comprises at least the tantalum element, at least an aldolizing element and at least a mesoporous oxide matrix, with the tantalum mass being between 0.1 and 30% of the mesoporous oxide matrix mass, the mass of the at least one aldolizing element being between 0.02 and 4% of the mesoporous oxide matrix mass, and use thereof.

Disclosed is a catalyst system, and its methods of preparation for producing, among others, alkenes and/or saturated or unsaturated oxygenates and, which include at least one of an aldehyde and an acid (such as propyl aldehyde, acrolein, acrylic acid, isobutyl aldehyde, methacrolein, methacrylic acid), comprising subjecting the corresponding C3 to C4 aliphatic alcohols that are derivable from biomass, such as, propanols, propanediols, and isobutanol, to a vapor phase process over the catalytic system described herein in the presence of a gas mixture of oxygen, air or nitrogen and/or other suitable diluting gas. In the case where a C3 aliphatic alcohol is subjected to a vapor phase catalytic process over the said catalytic system in the presence of air or oxygen, and a co-fed gas, such as nitrogen or other diluting gas, the product is at least one of propylene, propyl aldehyde, acrolein and acrylic acid. In the case where isobutanol is subjected to such a process, the product is at least one of isobutylene, isobutyl aldehyde, methacrolein and methacrylic acid. The catalyst system comprises a single catalytic zone or multi-catalytic zones, in each of which the composition of the co-feed and other reaction parameter can be independently controlled.