| abstract |
A spray dried particulate catalyst comprising a catalytically active component, a carrier and optionally a catalyst promoter, is described. The catalyst has a decrease in average particle diameter following the Shear Test as described herein of 25% or less. The fraction of catalyst particles being less than 10 [mu]m in size, can also be less than 20%. The present invention also provides a method of manufacturing a particulate catalyst material comprising preparing an aqueous slurry, spray drying the aqueous slurry using a spray drier with an inlet temperature of less than 300 DEG C, and calcining the particulate obtained. The invention has found that catalyst strength may be improved by careful manipulation of the spray drying conditions. In particular, it has been found that a catalyst that is spray dried at a relatively low gas inlet temperature, preferably in the range of 200 DEG C to 250 DEG C, shows advantageous attrition characteristics (in terms of attrition resistance) compared to catalysts prepared by spray drying at higher temperatures. |