Patent ID: 7648941

Claim:
A bulk catalyst comprising nickel tungsten metal oxidic particles, wherein the bulk catalyst has been prepared by a process comprising (i) forming a slurry of a first solid metal compound comprising Group VIII metal nickel and a second solid metal compound comprising Group VIB metal tungsten in a protic liquid, the slurry further comprising less than about 10 mole % of a second Group VIE metal (relative to the total amount of Group VIB metals) and less than about 10 mole % of a Group V metal (relative to the total of the Group VIB metals), (ii) reacting the first and second solid metal compounds at elevated temperature and under conditions sufficient to form the nickel tungsten metal oxidic particles, whereby the first and second solid metal compounds remain at least partly in the solid state during the entire reaction, wherein the bulk catalyst has a metastable hexagonal structure having an X-ray diffraction pattern with a single reflection between 58 and 65° (diffraction angle 20) and main reflections between 32 and 36° and between 50 and 55°, and wherein the main reflections have a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of less than about 2.5°.