Imperial Chemical Industries Limited

Glyn D Short

Thomas V Whittam

Michael S Spencer

James R Jennings

Godfrey C Chinchen

Timothy Douglas Andrews

Jan Willem Van Ingen

James G Williamson

Methanol synthesis over a catalyst derived from an alloy of copper and/or a platinum group metal and a highly oxidizable metal such as a rare earth metal can be carried out at unusually low temperatures such as 70.degree. C. and using synthesis gas deficient in hydrogen. The process life of the catalyst is no longer if the starting alloy contains a further metal such as aluminum or manganese. The synthesis gas should preferably be very pure and substantially free of carbon dioxide and water vapor. The process can be advantageously carried out using the catalyst suspended in an inert liquid.

Catalytic process

A catalyst suitable for use in catalytic shift, or methanol synthesis, comprises copper, zinc oxide, magnesia, and at least one trivalent metal oxide, e.g. alumina. The amount of magnesia is such that the magnesium atoms constitute 0.2 to 7% of the total number of copper, zinc, and magnesium atoms.

Catalyst

A new zeolite material designated Nu-3 having a molar composition expressed by the formula:

Zeolite Nu-3

A feedstock comprising a hydrocarbon containing 2 or more carbon atoms in the molecule and/or a hydrocarbon derivative containing hydrogen-carbon links is converted to olefins over the zeolite NU-3. When in particular the feedstock is methanol or dimethyl ether olefins are formed with high selectivity against formation of aromatics.

Olefins

A catalyst for hydrocarbon conversion contains a silica-containing material having a plate or sheet morphology, for example 'FU-1' and a material having catalytic activity for hydrocarbon conversion, for example rare-earth exchanged zeolite Y. The catalyst is especially suitable for cracking heavy fractions to naphtha-type products, apparently because the plate or sheet material provides channels by which large molecules can gain access to active centers in the catalyst.

Hydrocarbon conversion

In an image recording process, a radiation sensitive film comprising a photo-reducible compound is exposed to radiation and subsequently is contacted with a fixing agent capable of being reduced by the reduction product of the photo-reducible compound, with the production of an insoluble coloured material.

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Glyn D Short