British Gas Plc

Stephen David Jones

Timothy Neil Pritchard

Alan Williams

Reginald G Banks

Costa Komodromos

James A Oliver

John D Wilson

David R Bates

Roger D Wragg

Timothy J Reynolds

A process for preparing a porous amorphous silica-alumina refractory oxide is described in which a source of silica, such as tetra ethyl ortho silicate, in a non-aqueous solvent, such as an alcohol, is hydrolysed by adding an aqueous solution containing aluminum ions, in particular a solution of aluminum nitrate, thereby to form a sol and calcining the sol at, for example, 200.degree. C. to 600.degree. C. The product, which may have a microporous or mesoporous structure, is useful in the separation of fluids, especially the separation of carbon dioxide from natural gas.

Porous amorphous silica-alumina refractory oxides, their preparation and

A catalyst precursor is prepared by intimately mixing a nickel-aluminium Feitknecht compound with a non-calcined aluminosilicate clay mineral and at the same time and/or subsequently with at least one additive comprising an alkaline earth and/or rare earth metal compound. The resulting mixture is then calcined to produce the catalyst precursor which can be reduced to the catalyst form. The catalyst may be used, for example, in the methanation of gases and the presence of the additive reduces silicon species loss from the catalyst during use.

Method of preparing a catalyst precursor comprised of calcined

Silicon containing methanation catalysts e.g. those prepared by coprecipitation techniques, may be stabilized to prevent leaching of silicon species by a hydrothermal treatment comprising heating the reduced catalyst in a steam reducing gas atmosphere, lowering the temperature until liquid water species condense out, reheating to evaporate the condensed water and passivation in a mildly oxidizing atmosphere.

Methanation catalysts

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Ashby-De-Zouch, United Kingdom

Stephen David Jones