High-strength high surface area catalyst supports and a method of producing the same

Abstract: A catalyst support having both substantial high strength and high surface area can be produced by heating a shaped mixture of a porous oxide having a surface area of at least 20 m²/g and the precursor of an inorganic binder for the porous oxide and a temporary binder. The precursors of the permanent inorganic binders are precursors of alumina, silica, or titania, and are capable of imparting substantial strength to the support at relatively low firing temperatures.

Description: Background of the Invention This invention relates to ceramic monolithic supports for catalysts and, in particular, to supports containing permanent inorganic binding materials which can be fired at low temperatures, imparting strength to the support while maintaining substantial surface area. The conventional ceramic monolithic catalyst support consists of a ceramic support with a coating of a high surface material upon which the catalyst is actually deposited. In order to obtain substantial density and strength, the ceramic material normally must be fired at a high temperature. Such high-temperature firing, however, necessarily sinters the ceramic material and results in its having a very small surface area. Consequently, the ceramic must be coated with another material having a higher surface area, as well as specific chemical characteristics on which to actually deposit the catalyst. This procedure of depositing a high surface area "washcoat" on the low surface area ceramic wall is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Patents 2,742,437 and 3,824,196. In addition to requiring the second production step of applying the washcoat, catalyst supports of this kind suffer from several disadvantages in use. In service, the supports are exposed to a flow of gases which often contain dusts or particulate matter, which can cause the high surface area coating to flake off the underlying ceramic support. This phenomenom can also occur where the support is exposed to thermal cycling because the wash coat and the underlying ceramic material often have different thermal expansion coefficients. In EP-A 0 037 220 there is described a method of making an olefin hydration catalyst comprising a calcined support consisting of diatomaceous earth, bentonite, silica, cornmeal and cellulose which has been calcined and then impregnated with phosphoric acid. There is also disclosed a method of hydrating olefins using said catalysts. In US-A 4 233 183 there is described a process for producing a plate-shaped denitrating catalyst by the steps of preparing a slurry from hydrated titania and a sol selected from the group consisting of silica sol, alumina sol and titania sol, firing the slurry to obtain a porous material, pulverizing the porous material to a powder, causing a metal net to support the powder thereon with a binder to form a plate-like piece, drying or firing the piece to obtain a porous carrier and depositing a catalytically active component on the carrier. DE-A-2554198 describes a process for preparing a titanium oxide based shaped carrier, for example a honeycomb, which comprises calcining titanium hydroxide and/or a wet cake of titanium oxide and/or a wet cake of titanium oxide, thereafter adding a binder thereto, shaping the mixture and then calcining the shaped material at a temperature not greater than 800°C as a second calcining step. The specification describes various materials for use as the binder, including titania and alumina precursors, and polyvinyl alcohol. DE-C-2658569 describes a process for the production of shaped catalysts or carriers, for example honeycomb, mainly comprising titanium oxide, which comprises calcining a material mainly comprising titanium oxide or a substance convertible into titanium oxide on calcination, in the presence of metatitanic acid sol or gel, the metatitanic acid sol having been prepared by the deflocculation of metatitanic acid obtained by the first part of a conventional sulphonic acid process for the production of titanium oxide. EP-A-0019674 describes a process for the production of a hollow catalyst carrier made of transition alumina. In this process, a rehydratable alumina is prevented from being rehydrated while it is extruded into the desired shape, and thereafter rehydrated and calcined. It is an object of the present invention to provide a monolithic support having a high surface area which is not easily abraded. It is a further object of the invention to provide a monolithic support which develops substantial strength at temperatures below those at which the high surface area of the constituent materials would be adversely affected. Summary of the Invention The present invention provides a method of producing a monolithic catalyst support lacking titania, having substantial strength and high surface area comprising: (a) mixing into a substantially homogeneous body (i) an oxide having a surface area of at least 20 m²/g selected from the group consisting of zeolite, silica, and alumina introduced in the form of a material which, when calcined, provides a transition alumina, and mixtures of these; (ii) a precursor of a permanent binder for the oxide selected from the group consisting of alumina precursors, silica precursors, and mixtures of these, the said precursor having a particle size of the said oxide; and (iii) a temporary binder; (b) extruding the body to form a honeycomb; and (c) heating the honeycomb to a temperature of from 500°C-1000°C to burn out the temporary binder, to generate the permanent binder and to result in substantial strength and substantial retained surface area. The permanent binders of this invention, incorporated into the support'in their precursor-form, enable the support to develop substantial strength at firing temperatures lower than those normally required. The use of a lower firing temperature substantially eliminates the problem of temperature-induced loss of surface area by the porous oxide. The binder materials, in addition to imparting strength to the support, provide surface area of their own. As a result, a high strength support is provided which exhibits high surface area as well. Detailed Description of the Invention According to the present invention, a method is provided to form a catalyst support structure in which a high surface area support phase of an oxide is bound into a strong cohesive mass by permanent binders which are uniformally mixed into the support structure itself. The oxide, precursors for the permanent binders, and a temporary binder are mixed into a substantially homogeneous body, which can be formed into any desired shape, and then heated according to conventional techniques of the ceramic arts. The method of the present invention, however, by virtue of the permanent binders employed, permits the use of lower temperatures, generally below 1000°C, to form the support structure. Strength and density of the support structure, previously attained only at temperatures which led to reduction in surface area, are obtainable through the present method at relatively low temperatures, at which the surface area of the oxide phase is not seriously affected. It has been found, surprisingly, that better strength is gained by the use of the binders in precursor form than if an equal weight of the actual binder material (silica or alumina) had been incorporated into the support directly. The oxides suitable for use as the support phase material herein are those which, after calcining, have a surface area of at least 20 square meters per gram, preferably at least 100 square meters per gram, and most preferably at least 200 square meters per gram. (As used herein "calcining" means heating a material to a temperature sufficiently high to substantially eliminate any volatiles but below that at which the material begins to lose substantial porosity.) The oxide used in the invention is alumina, silica, or a zeolite. Mixtures of the oxides can also be used. The aluminas are used in the form of materials which generate a transition alumina upon calcining, such as alpha-alumina monohydrate, or alumina trihydrate. When alpha-alumina monohydrate or alumina trihydrate is used, the particle size can be from less than 1 micron up to about 100 microns. Suitable commercially available materials of this kind are Kaiser SA substrate alumina, available from the Kaiser Chemical Division of Kaiser Aluminum Corporation, and the Catapal R aluminas available from the chemical division of Conoco Corporation. High surface area silicas that can be used In the practice of the present invention are the amorphous silicas of about 1-10 microns or sub-micron particle size such as Cabosil R EH-5 colloidal silica, available from Cabot Corporation. Colloidal silica derived from gels, such as Grade 952 from the Davison Chemical Division of W.R. Grace & Co. can also be used. High surface area titanias suitable for use in the high surface area support phase are also commercially available, such as P25 TiO₂ available from Degussa Corporation. The use of zeolites to provide high surface area in various catalytic and molecular sieving operations is well known. Readily-available zeolites useful in the present invention include the crystalline aluminosilicate zeolites with the art-recognized designations A, X, and Y, and silicalite which is virtually 100% silica. Zeolites A, X, and Y, and their methods of preparation, are disclosed in U.S. Patents 2,882,243; 2,882,244; and 3,130,007, respectively. The disclosures of these patents are incorporated by reference. Silicalite is described in NATURE (Vol. 271), No. 5645 (1978). Composites of alumina and silica also can form the basis for the high surface area porous oxide phase. Alumina-silica composites are commercially available from Davison Chemical Division of Grace Chemical Company and from the Norton Chemical Company, or can be prepared by the gel processes as described, for example, in U.S. Patents 4,129,522 and 4,039,474. Alternatively, alumina and silica can be mixed directly in the preparation of the catalyst support as described below. When the high surface area porous oxide material is an alumina, or a mixture of alumina and silica, it is preferred to add up to about 20 percent by weight (based on the alumina, spinel, or alumina-silica mixture weight) of a rare earth oxide. The preferred rare earth oxides are those of the cerium sub-group", that is, elements of atomic number 57-62, particularly cerium and lanthanum. Cerium oxide is most preferred. Particularly useful mixtures of alumina and silica are those in which about 5 percent by weight, based on the total alumina and silica dry weight, of cerium oxide is present. The permanent binders integrated into the catalyst support structures of this invention are silica and alumina. These binders are used in the presently described method in the form of "precursors" for the binders, meaning herein materials which, at or below the firing temperature of the green support structure, generate the actual binder component. The precursors are mixed with the high surface area oxide and with a temporary binder, to be described below, to form a plasticized mass which can be molded into the desired shape and then heated (fired). It will be noted that the precursors to be described below are generally in the form of a dispersion, suspension, or solution in a liquid diluent. It is generally preferred that the precursors be in such form before being mixed with the porous oxide powders and temporary binder. However, binder precursors in solid form can be used directly, although they must be well mixed into either the water used in the batch plasticizing step (described below) or a diluent introduced into the batch as the carrier of some other component. In this dispersed, suspended, or dissolved form, the binder precursors are distinguished from the usual ceramic materials by size. When dispersed or suspended, the binder particles are broken down to virtually crystallite size below 200 × 10⁻¹⁰ m (200 angstroms) and preferably below 100 × 10⁻¹⁰ m (100 angstroms). When the binder precursor is dissolved, the crystallites derived from the solute are of the same order of size. In contrast, ordinary ceramic materials are about three orders of magnitude coarser, usually greater than 20 microns in size. The binder particles substantially retain this characteristic of small size in the final monolith support itself. Although some sintering of the binder can take place during the heating or firing of the monolith, it is expected that the crystallite size of the binder in the fired support will be no greater than about 2000 × 10⁻¹⁰ m (2000 angstroms). Crystallite size can be determined by electron microscopy. The oxides are generally of the same crystallite size as the binders, but are normally agglomerated into particles on the order of micron size, which, under ordinary conditions, do not adhere well to each other. The binders act as a "cement" for the agglomerated oxides in the final support structures and thereby provide substantial strength to the structure. The preferred precursors for the permanent alumina binders are the hydrated aluminas, hydrolyzed aluminum isopropoxide, and aluminum chlorohydrate. The hydrated aluminas are most preferably in the form of aqueous suspensions. Aqueous suspensions are commercially available, such as from the Ethyl Corp., but are also easily prepared from commercially available alumina monohydrate and alumina trihydrate powders by dispersing these powders in water in the presence of an organic acid. Aluminum isopropoxide is commercially available as a dispersion in alcohol. For example, a dispersion of aluminum isopropoxide, 30-35 percent by weight in isobutanol, is available from the Alpha Products Division of Morton Thiokol Inc. The aluminum isopropoxide is hydrolyzed by refluxing the alcohol dispersion of the compound with water in the presence of an acid. Aluminum chlorohydrate is available in the form of an aqueous solution (for example, as CHLORHYDROL 50%® or REHABOND CB-65S® from Reheis Chemical Co. of Berkeley Heights, New Jersey) or as an organic derivative (such as REHYDROL II® aluminum chlorohydrex from Reheis Chemical Co.). The latter is soluble in anhydrous alcohols, and is preferably used in this form. Aluminum chlorohydrate is also available in solid particulate form, as CHLORHYDROL® Powder from Reheis Chemical Co., and can be pre-dissolved before mixing with the oxides or can be dissolved in the water used in the batch plasticizing step, to be described hereinafter. Examples of preparations of precursors for alumina binders are as follows: EXAMPLE A - Alumina Monohydrate Suspension Ten parts by weight of alumina monohydrate powder is added to a solution of 89 parts of water and one part concentrated acetic acid. A suspension is obtained with moderate agitation. EXAMPLE B - Hydrolyzed Aluminum Isopropoxide To 516 ml of distilled water, at a temperature of 85-90°C, is added 120 ml of a 30-35 weight percent dispersion of aluminum isopropoxide in isobutanol. This mixture is refluxed for one hour at a maximum temperature of 88°C, resulting in the formation of a thin gel-like slurry. 10 ml of 1.32 molar HCl is slowly added with stirring, and this mixture is refluxed for an additional 24 hours, resulting in a thin milky slurry. Ammonium hydroxide is added dropwise until a pH of 7-7.5 is reached. The result is a thick slurry which does not settle out on standing. The preferred precursors for the permanent silica binders are silicone resins such as those disclosed in U.S. Patent 3,090,681 issued to Weyer. The most preferred silicone resin is a hydroxyl functional silicone resin available from the Dow-Corning Co. as Resin 6-2230. The silicone resins, as the precursor, can be mixed directly with the porous oxide powders, in which case a solvent should be used during the plasticizing step to dissolve the resin. The resin can be predissolved in an appropriate organic solvent. Suitable solvents are alcohols such as methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, or isopropyl alcohol, which is preferred. Whether they are predissolved in a solvent or mixed directly with the porous oxide powders, the silicone resins are preferably milled first to a particle size finer then 20 microns, and more preferably finer than 10 microns. Although any of the permanent binders described herein are generally compatible with any of the porous oxides contemplated for use in this invention, certain combinations are nevertheless preferred. When the porous oxide is an alumina, the preferred binders are suspensions of hydrolyzed aluminum isopropoxide, suspensions of hydrated alumina, and solutions of aluminum chlorohydrate. For silica as the oxide, the preferred binders are a silicone resin, aluminum chlorohydrate solutions, and suspensions of hydrated aluminas. For zeolites, the preferred binders are based on silicone resins, suspensions of hydrated alumina, and aluminum chlorohydrate solutions. In the practice of the present method, the oxide powders are mixed with the precursors for the permanent binder and with a temporary binder; that is, one which is completely or substantially completely burned off at the temperature at which the support structure is fired. The temporary binder has the primary function of forming a plasticized mass with the oxide powders and the permanent binder precursor, and can be any of the well-known materials commonly used in the ceramic art for such purposes. Suitable temporary binding agents are disclosed in: "Ceramics Processing Before Firing," ed. by George Y. Onoda, Jr. & L. L. Hench, John Wiley & Sons, New York "Study of Several Groups of Organic Binders Under Low-Pressure Extrusion," C. C. Treischel & E. W. Emrich, Jour. Am. Cer. Soc. , (29), pp. 129-132, 1946 "Organic (Temporary) Binders for Ceramic Systems," S. Levine, Ceramic Age , (75) No. 1, pp. 39+, January 1960 "Temporary Organic Binders for Ceramic Systems" S. Levine, Ceramic Age , (75) No. 2, pp. 25+, February 1960 The most preferred binder is methyl cellulose, available as Methocel A4M from the Dow Chemical Co. Generally, about 70-97 parts by weight of the porous oxide and 1-20 parts by weight of the temporary binder are mixed with sufficient permanent binder precursor to provide 3-30 parts by weight of the permanent binder material itself. For example, when the permanent binder precursor is a solution of aluminum chlorohydrate, the solution must be added in such amounts as will generate 3-30 parts by weight of alumina itself in the final support structure. This amount of alumina, of course, is independent of any alumina added as the high surface area oxide. Up to about 1 percent by weight, based upon total mixture weight, of a surfactant, such as sodium stearate, can also be used to facilitate mixing and flow for subsequent processing. The mixture is further plasticized by the addition of water and possibly a solvent, such as isopropyl alcohol, as well. When the permanent binder precursor is a silicone resin, it is preferred to use a 50/50 volume mixture of water and isopropyl alcohol to plasticize the batch. The silicone resin can be predissolved in the alcohol. The mixture can also contain up to 20 percent by weight, based upon the total weight of the porous oxide powder and the permanent binder itself, of a clay such as kaolin. The clay provides additional binding action and imparts additional hardness and strength to the final support structure. The presence of clay is most useful in supports in which the oxide is alumina. A preferred kaolin clay is available from the Georgia-Kaolin Co. as HYDRITE MP kaolin. The high surface area oxide powders can be substituted with substantial amounts of a compatible low surface area oxide powder to facilitate formation and drying so long as the average overall surface area of the oxide powders does not fall below 20 square meters per gram weight of oxide powder. Generally about 20 percent by weight of the oxide can be replaced by the low surface area powder, but in the particular case of silica, up to 80 percent of the high surface area silica can be replaced by low surface area silica. For example, 20 parts by weight of high surface area silica such as CABOSIL® EH-5 silica (Cabot Corp.) can be combined with 80 parts by weight of low surface area silicas such as SUPERSIL® silica (Pennsylvania Glass Sands Co.) in the preparation of catalyst supports according to the present invention. The total surface area per gram weight of the silicas is still in excess of 20 m²/g because of the high surface area of the CABOSIL® silica (400 m²/g). The components are combined to form a homogeneous or substantially homogeneous mixture. Normally, the dry ingredients are first premixed, preferably in an intensive mixer, and then combined with the wet ingredients (i.e., binder precursors in suspensions or solutions, water, alcohols). It is critical that the high surface area oxide powder be well mixed into a plasticized mass with the permanent binder precursor. Conventional mixing equipment can be used, but the use of a mix muller is preferred. To effect further mixing, the batch can subsequently be extruded through a "noodling" die one or more times. Ultimately, the batch is formed into the desired support shape, preferably by extrusion through a die. The method of this invention is particularly well suited to the preparation of catalyst support structures in the shape of a honeycomb. The "green" catalyst support shapes are heated (fired) at a temperature of about 500-1000°C for a period of about 4-6 hours. It is preferred to employ the lower temperatures within this range when the perous oxide is a zeolite. Optionally, the firing step can be preceeded by drying the support shapes at about 100-120°C, preferably by steam heat. However, when a silicone resin is used as the precursor for the permanent binder, a drying temperature of 50°C may be used initially to drive off solvent such as alcohol. This can be followed by steam-heat drying. The resulting monolithic support of this invention is comprised of 70-97 parts by weight of the porous oxide and 3-30 parts by weight of a permanent binder for the oxide dispersed throughout. An advantage of the catalyst support structures of the present invention is the substantial strength obtained at relatively low (ring temperatures; that is, temperatures of about 1000°C or below. At these lower firing temperatures, sintering does not occur to an extent which adversely affects the surface area of the porous oxide phase of the support, or which causes excessive firing shrinkage. Substantial overall surface area of at least 20 m²/g, preferably greater than 100 m²/g, and most preferably greater than 150-200 m²/g is normally retained, and firing shrinkage is normally held to less than 5 percent, preferably less than 6 percent. Nevertheless, the use of the binder precursors of the invention contributes to the development of substantial strength in the support structure. The material preferably should obtain a flexural strength, measured as the modulus of rupture, of greater than 3,447 kPa (500 pounds per square inch (psi)), more preferably greater than 6,995 kPa (1000 psi), and most preferably greater than 10,342 kPa (1500 psi). Accordingly, the support structures of the invention attain the combination of needed strength arid high surface area without high temperature firing and the disadvantages that generally attend such procedures. To determine the modulus of rupture, an extruded, fired rod of the material is supported at two points along its length and a load applied to the rod midway between the two supports. The load is gradually increased until the rod breaks. The modulus of rupture is calculated as where "M" is modulus of rupture; "L" is the load applied when the rod breaks (pounds); "a" is one-half the distance between the two supports (inches), and "d" is the rod diameter (inches). The support structures of this invention may have some catalytic activity of their own by virtue of the chemistry and structure provided by the high surface area porous oxide and the permanent binder components. The support may further carry additional catalytically active ingredients dispersed throughout. These additional ingredients can be incorporated into the structure by methods well known in the art. The support structures of this invention, particularly those in the shape of honeycombs, are useful in most applications in which it is necessary to catalytically convert undesirable components in a gas stream prior to the stream's further processing or exhaustion to the atmosphere. Examples of such use are the catalytic converter in automotive exhaust systems and the conversion of fluids in the chemical or petroleum industries. The following examples illustrate various embodiments of the invention. The examples are intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the invention. EXAMPLES 1-4 In Examples 1-4, the ingredients listed in corresponding Tables 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A, were combined according to their indicated weight parts, as follows. The dry ingredients were first intensively mixed to substantial homogeneity in a Littleford blender. The dry mixture was transferred to a mix muller into which were further added the "wet" components (the slurries of permanent binder precursors, water, alcohol). The resultant batch was mixed in the muller until a well-plasticized batch was attained. Each batch composition was extruded through a die to form rods having a diameter of 0.793 cm (5/16-inch). The rods were heated at various temperatures between 500°C. and 1000°C. for a period of six hours. Measurements of overall surface area, firing shrinkage (linear), and modulus of rupture (according to the procedure described earlier herein) were taken. The results were recorded, for each example, in the corresponding "B" Table. Examples 1-3 contain a control example (indicated) in which the catalyst support shape is comprised entirely of the high surface area alumina, no permanent binder precursor having been incorporated in precursor form into the green batch. These examples are presented for purposes of comparison. Among the examples, particularly preferred embodiments relating to alumina and silica, (as the high surface area oxides) are shown in Examples 1G and 4C, respectively. Ex. No. Firing Temperature (°C) Modules of Rupture (psi) kPa BET Surface Area (m²/g) Linear Shrinkage (%) 1A 500 1740 11997 219 1.45 750 2200 15290 147 2.1 1000 2000 13790 82 5.1 1B 500 2030 13996 235 1.47 750 1950 13445 186 2.04 1000 2020 13927 92 4.8 1C 500 1230 13928 268 2.2 750 2900 19995 179 2.4 1000 2230 15375 77 6.0 1D 500 490 3378 279 2.2 750 550 3447 198 2.5 1000 600 4137 87 5.6 1E 500 2260 15583 227 1.9 750 1900 13100 166 2.3 1000 3020 20822 84 5.3 1F 500 2500 17237 200 - 750 2600 17927 140 - 1000 2800 19306 70 - 1G 500 2630 18133 256 1.9 750 2140 14755 168 2.4 1000 2410 16616 91 4.8 1H 500 - 220 1.7 750 - 157 2.4 1000 - 92 - 1I 500 1530 10549 250 - Ex. No. Boehmite Alpha-Alumina Monohydrate Aluminum Chlorohydrate Solution Alumina-Monohydrate Slurry Methyl Cellulose Clay Water 2A (Control) 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.0 0.0 41.0 2B 76 9.5 13.1 0.0 6.0 0.0 34.1 2C 90 0.0 0.0 44.5 6.0 0.0 0.0 2D 66 10.0 14.0 0.0 6.0 10.0 28.8 Ex. No. Firing Temperature (°C) Modules of Rupture (psi) kPa BET Surface Area (m²/g) Linear Shrinkage (%) 2A 500 370 2551 201 0.29 750 280 1930 147 0.5 1000 140 965 42 1.2 2B 500 650 4481 215 0.69 750 600 4137 130 0.86 1000 400 2758 48 1.80 2C 500 1230 8480 203 0.39 750 1720 11859 137 0.49 1000 1090 7515 40 1.11 2D 500 530 3654 165 0.48 750 680 4688 130 0.89 1000 570 3930 52 1.60 Ex. No. Alumina Trihydrate Alumina Mono-Trihydrate Slurry Aluminum Chlorohydrate Solution Alpha-Alumina Monohydrate Methyl Cellulose Water 3A (Control) 100 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.0 55.4 3B 90 64.4 0.0 0.0 6.0 0.0 3C 76 0.0 9.7 9.5 6.0 32.4 3D 76 0.0 14.5 9.5 6.0 55.0 3E 50 0.0 14.5 34.5 6.0 35.0 Ex. No. Firing Temperature (°C) Modules of Rupture (psi) kPa BET Surface Area (m²/g) Linear Shrinkage (%) 3A (Control) 500 1540 10616 204 1.2 750 1500 10342 124 1.4 1000 1250 8618 45 3.3 3B 500 2080 14341 275 0.98 750 1810 12479 167 1.25 1000 1740 11997 50 2.44 3C 500 1130 7791 189 0.82 750 1050 7239 149 1.30 1000 800 5516 49 2.50 3D 500 1580 10894 146 1.1 750 1670 11514 148 1.5 1000 850 5860 59 2.4 3E 500 1260 8687 246 1.3 750 1190 8205 154 1.8 1000 1470 10135 70 3.4 Ex. No. High Surface Silica Low Surface Silica Silicone Resin Methyl Cellulose Isopropyl Alcohol (cc) Water 4A 83 0 17 6 97.0 97.0 4B 50 50 20 6 52.5 52.5 4C 30 70 20 6 36.5 36.5 4D 20 80 20 6 24.0 24.0 Ex. No. Firing Temperature (°C) Modules of Rupture (psi) kPa BET Surface Area (m²/g) 4A 500 330 2275 272 600 - 253 700 - 202 1000 - 45 4B 500 -( ) 163 600 - 141 700 - 129 1000 - 44 4C 500 750 4826 155 600 575 3964 121 700 510 3516 119 4D 500 860 5929 131 600 620 4274 121 700 790 5447 98 1000 660 4550 12 EXAMPLE 5 A preferred zeolite-based catalyst support was prepared from the following batch, figures indicating weight parts: Methyl Cellulose 5 Sodium Stearate 0.5 Silicone Resin (Dow Corning Q6-2230) 22 Zeolite (Union Carbide Corp.- 13X) 78 Distilled Water 12.4 Isopropyl Alcohol 12.4 The materials were first dry mixed and then plasticized with the water and alcohol. The batch was extruded as a honeycomb and as rods for measurement of flexural strength. After heating at 500°C. for six hours, the material had a flexural strength, measured as the modulus of rupture, of 5171 kPa (750 psi). X-ray diffraction analysis shows the same zeolite structure in the fired structure as in the raw batch. EXAMPLE 6 A preferred zeolite-based catalyst support was prepared from the following batch, figures indicating weight parts: Methyl Cellulose 6 Silicone Resin (Dow Corning Q6-2230) 17 Silicalite (Union Carbide Corp. S-115 Silicalite zeolite) 83 Distilled Water 11.3 Isopropyl Alcohol 33.9 The materials were first dry mixed and then plasticized with the water and alcohol. The batch was extruded as a honeycomb and as rods for the measurement of flexural strength. After heating at 500°C. for six hours, the material had a flexural strength, measured as the modulus of rupture, of 7032 kPa (1020 psi). X-ray diffraction analysis shows the same crystalline silicalite structure as in the S-115 raw material. EXAMPLE 7 A preferred zeolite-based catalyst support was prepared from the following batch, figures indicating weight parts: Methyl Cellulose 5 Silicone Resin (Dow Corning Q6-2230) 17 Linde LZY-62 Y-Zeolite (Union Carbide Corp.) 83 Distilled Water 21 Isopropyl Alcohol 21 The materials were first dry mixed and then plasticized with the water and alcohol. The batch was extruded as a honeycomb and as rods for the measurement of flexural strength. After heating at 500°C. for six hours, the material had a flexural strength, measured as the modulus of rupture, of 8480 kPa (1230 psi). X-ray diffraction showed the same Y-zeolite structure as in the raw materials.

Claims: A method of producing a monolithic catalyst support lacking titania and having substantial strength and high surface area comprising: (a) mixing into a substantially homogeneous body (i) an oxide having a surface area of at least 20 m²/g selected from the group consisting of zeolite, silica, and alumina introduced in the form of a material which, when calcined, provides a transition alumina, and mixtures of these; (ii) a precursor of a permanent binder for the oxide selected from the group consisting of alumina precursors, silica precursors, and mixtures of these, the said precursor having a particle size substantially less than the particle size of the said oxide; and (iii) a temporary binder; (b) extruding the body to form a honeycomb; and (c) heating the honeycomb to a temperature of from 500°C-1000°C to burn out the temporary binder, to generate the permanent binder and to result in substantial strength and substantial retained surface area. A method as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the mixing step is performed using 70-97 parts by weight of the oxide, 3-30 parts by weight of the permanent binder precursor, and 1-20 parts by weight of a temporary binder. A method as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that the oxide has a surface area of at least 100 m²/g. A method as claimed in claim 3, characterised in that the permanent binder precursor is a suspension of hydrated alumina, aluminum chlorohydrate, or a suspension of hydrolyzed aluminum isopropoxide. A method as claimed in claim 4, characterised in that the oxide is alumina, introduced in the form of a material which, when calcined, provides a transition alumina, and the temporary binder is methyl cellulose. The method as claimed in claim 3, characterised in that the oxide is silica; the permanent binder precursor is a silicone resin, a suspension of a hydrated alumina, a suspension of hydrolyzed aluminum isopropoxide, or aluminum chlorohydrate; and the temporary binder is methyl cellulose. A method as claimed in claim 3, characterised in that the oxide is a zeolite; the permanent binder precursor is a silicone resin, a suspension of a hydrated alumina, aluminium chlorohydrate, or a suspension of hydrolyzed aluminum isopropoxide; and the temporary binder is methyl cellulose. A method as claimed in claims 1 or 2, characterised in that the oxide is alumina, or a mixture of alumina and silica, and rare earth oxide in an amount up to 20 weight percent of the porous oxide is additionally mixed with the other materials in step (a).

Inventors: LACHMAN IRWIN MORRIS, NORDLIE LAWRENCE ANDREW, LACHMAN, IRWIN MORRIS, NORDLIE, LAWRENCE ANDREW
Applicants: CORNING GLASS WORKS
Application year: 1986
Main classification: B01J37
IPC codes: B01J21, B01J32, B01J20, B01J29, B01J37, B01J35