Patent ID: 8518850

Claim:
A process for the production of porous moldings from metal oxides, comprising: a) finely dispersing in water particles of at least one pyrogenic metal oxide selected from the group consisting of silicon dioxide, aluminum oxide, titanium dioxide, and zirconium dioxide to form an aqueous dispersion containing at least 5 weight percent of metal oxide based on the weight of the aqueous dispersion; b) increasing the pH of the aqueous dispersion to form a viscoelastic solid; c) shaping the viscoelastic solid to a green body molding; d) drying the green body molding at a temperature less than a calcination temperature; and e) optionally calcining the green body molding at a calcination temperature of at least 500° C. to form a calcined molding, wherein the aqueous dispersion is free of organic solvents and also free of organic and inorganic binders, the green body molding is dimensionally stable with a strength greater than 2 N/mm 2 , and the green body molding contains less than 50 ppm by weight of carbon.