BACKGROUND OF INVENTION Mixed M2+ (M3+) 0 materials may be obtained by calcination of a hydrotalcite-like material aIT) of general formula: M2+aM3+b (0H) c (An~) d*xH20 wherein is at least one divalent metal; M3+ is at least one trivalent metal ; A is an n-valent anion, n is 1 or 2 and a and b are positive numbers, a > b.

Several methods for the preparation of hydrotalcites are known from the literature: The most common method consists in mixing a solution containing the metal salts with a basic solution, resulting in rapid precipitation of the hydrotalcite. The two aqueous solutions may either be added slowly into a third vessel where the precipitate solution holds a constant pH, or the metal salt solution may be added into the basic solution at varying pH. In the latter case, the precipitate is left to crystallize in the liquid after the mixing step has been completed.

In a second method, pseudo-boehmite is slurried in water, followed by addition of an organic acid such as acetic acid. Magnesium oxide is then added, and the slurry allowed to react for some hours, thus yielding a product with hydrotalcite structure.

This method is described in 3.

In a third method, aluminium metal and magnesium metal are reacted in 1-hexanol, and then hydrolysed by a neutral or basic, aqueous solution, resulting in a gel-like product with a hydrotalcite structure. This method is described in 4.

Mixed oxides derived from hydrotalcites have found wide applications, e. g. as catalysts or catalyst carrier materials, adsorbents, ion exchange materials, etc.

The mechanical strength of such materials has been the focus of several studies.

In 6, a material is produced by dry mixing hydrotalcite (20-80%) with activated alumina (80-20%), then optionally rehydrating the mixture and finally activating it at 5-600°C. An alternative approach consists in activating the hydrotalcite at 5-600°C prior to mixing with alumina. The crush strength of the mixed material is significantly higher than for activated hydrotalcite alone. The claims cover any adsorbent or substrate with the said composition and activation treatment.

In 7, a hydraulic cement, containing Ca, Al and Mg or Si, is mixed with aluminium powder and a CO oxidation catalyst under dry or aqueous conditions, followed by hardening at 30-100°C. Hydrotalcite is mentioned as a possible catalyst support material under the invention, but no such examples are included.

In s, a spray dried hydrotalcite, prepared from Al0 (OH), MgO and an organic acid, is mixed with an inorganic material (such as TiO2, ZnO, CuCrOx, zeolite or celite) and water, then shaped and dried, and optionally calcined at 400-800°C. The resulting materials have a high crush strength compared to the inorganic materials alone. In one example, the influence of the calcination temperature is investigated, and indicates a decrease in the crush strength with an increasing calcination temperature, compared to the uncalcined material.

In 9, a binder, consisting of an Si-Al-0 (kaolin or bentonite) material, is added either before or after the precipitation of a Ni-Al- (Cr) hydrotalcite. According to the patent, both methods give materials with (quote):".... (c) excellent strength and retention of this strength in operation; (d) no loss of strength or activity or leaching in steam environments, e. g. silica or potassium leaching."No comparison is made between the two binder addition methods, nor with a material without binder.

In the present work, it has surprisingly been found that the preparation of a hydrotalcite by coprecipitation in a suspension of alumina, A1203, or an alumina precursor, such as pseudo-boehmite, AIO (OH), leads to a material which has significantly higher mechanical strength than a material where alumina is added after

coprecipitation and drying of the hydrotalcite, and also compared to a material obtained by addition of an Si-Al-0 binder.

A procedure similar to the one used here has previously been described for a Ni-Al hydrotalcite-based materiall°. However, the purpose of that study was to decrease the Ni content of the final material, and no reference is made to the mechanical strength of the catalyst.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a hydrotalcite-based material having an improved mechanical strength, said hydrotalcite having the following general formula: M2+aM3+bWH) c (An) d*XH20 wherein M2+ is at least one divalent metal; M3+ is at least one trivalent metal; A is an n-valent anion, n is 1 or 2 and a and b are positive numbers, a > b, which hydrotalcite is deposited on alumina or an alumina precursor.

Particularly the hydrotalcite-based material having an improved mechanical strength, said hydrotalcite having the following general formula: M2+aM3+b (0H) c (Ån-) d*XH20 wherein M2+ is at least one divalent metal; M3+ is at least one trivalent metal; A is an n-valent anion, n is 1 or 2 and a and b are positive numbers, a > b, said hydrotalcite-based material being prepared by bringing the hydrotalcite in an intimate contact with alumina or an alumina precursor in a liquid suspension.

In the above mentioned material M2+ is preferably Mg and M3+ is Al.

According to a preferred embodiment thereof the alumina or alumina precursor is added as a liquid suspension.

Further said hydrotalcite is preferably prepared in a liquid suspension of alumina or an alumina precursor.

Particularly the hydrotalcite preparation takes place during simultaneous addition of a suspension of alumina or an alumina precursor.

Preferably the above mentioned liquid is water.

It is further preferred that the hydrotalcite is prepared by a coprecipitation method.

Particularly said hydrotalcite is subsequently dried and calcined at a temperature in the range 400-1300°C, preferably at 500-1000°C.

Still more preferred the calcination preferably takes place at a temperature in the range 600-900°C.

Further the present invention relates to a process for the preparation of a hydrotalcite having an improved mechanical strength, said hydrotalcite having the following general formula: M2+aM3+b(OH)c(An-)d*xH2O wherein Ma+ is at least one divalent metal ; M3+ is at least one trivalent metal; A is an n-valent anion, n is 1 or 2 and a and b are positive numbers, a > b, said hydrotalcite-based material being prepared by bringing the hydrotalcite in an intimate contact with alumina or an alumina precursor in a liquid suspension.

In this process, particularly M2+ is Mg and M3+ is Al.

In said process the alumina or alumina precursor is preferably added as a liquid suspension.

In said process said hydrotalcite is particularly prepared in a liquid suspension of alumina or an alumina precursor.

Preferably the hydrotalcite preparation takes place during simultaneous addition of a suspension of alumina or an alumina precursor.

Particularly the above mentioned liquid is water.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention said hydrotalcite is prepared by a coprecipitation method.

According to a preferred embodiment of this process said hydrotalcite is subsequently dried and calcined at a temperature in the range 400-1300°C, preferably at 500- 1000°C.

Further according to a preferred embodiment of this process, the calcination takes place at a temperature in the range 600-900°C.

Still another aspect of the present invention involves the use of the hydrotalcite-based material defined and prepared above as a catalyst support material.

Yet a further aspect of this invention comprises a catalyst for use in the dehydrogenation of alkanes, said catalyst comprising a catalytic active metal being impregnated on the hydrotalcite-based material defined and prepared as stated above.

In this catalyst the catalytic active metal is particularly Pt.

Particularly the catalytic active metal Pt is coimpregnated with Sn.

Further the present invention also relates to a process for the catalytic dehydrogenation of propane, wherein propane is contacted with the catalyst defined above at the standard pressure, temperature and space velocity conditions of such dehydrogenation reactions.

At last the present invention relates to the use of the catalyst defined above in the dehydrogenation of propane.

EXAMPLES The invention is illustrated through the following examples, which must not be construed as limitations to the invention.

General Characterisation X-Ray powder diffraction was performed using Cu Ka, radiation with a Siemens D5000 2-theta diffractometer. The BET surface area was measured using a

Quantachrome monosorb apparatus. Side crushing strength measurements (SCS) were performed on a Schenck Krebel RM100 universal material test apparatus.

Pelleting procedure The powder (ca. 1 g) was pressed in an IR tablet press with diameter 13 mm, using a pressure of 120 kg/cm2, yielding a pellet height of 5 mm Example 1. Preparation of hydrotalcite on suspended pseudo-boehmite, and a catalyst supported thereon.

ACAT-1439. Pseudo-boehmite (Al0 (OH), Vista B, 22.98 g, 0.38 mol) was suspended in distilled water (200 ml) and heated to 60°C. Two solutions were prepared; one with Mg (N03) 2. 6H20 (233 g, 0.91 mol) and A1 (NO3) 3. 9H20 (34.0 g, 0.09 mol) in distilled water (900 ml), and another with Na2C03 (4.8 g, 0.045 mol) and NaOH (45.2 g, 1.1 mol) in distilled water (900 ml). The two solutions were dripped into the aqueous suspension of pseudo-boehmite (duration 45 min). The pH in the precipitate solution was 9.5-10. The precipitate was filtered, then washed to neutrality and left overnight.

SnCk 2H2O (0.4804 g, 2.13 mmol) was dissolved in conc. HC1 (10 ml). H2PtC16 6H2O (0. 157 g, 0. 38 mmol) was dissolved in distilled water (50 ml), and the tin chloride solution added. The resulting solution had a red colour.

The Mg-Al precipitate was suspended in distilled water (400 ml) and the Pt-Sn solution dripped into the suspension, which had a neutral pH value. The suspension was stirred for 45 min. , then filtered and washed twice with distilled water. The product was then dried at 100°C/16 h and subjected to XRD measurements. The XRD pattern clearly showed the presence of both hydrotalcite and pseudo-boehmite (Figure 1). Calcination of the product was performed at 800°C/15 hours, yielding a BET area of 118 m2/g. After pelletisation, the BET area dropped to 103 m2/g.

Example 2. Preparation of hydrotalcite on suspended theta-alumina, and a catalyst supported thereon.

ACAT-1440. Theta-alumina (Puralox Nwa-85,23. 0 g, 0.23 mol) was suspended in distilled water (200 ml) and heated to 60°C. Two solutions were prepared ; one with Mg (N03) 2.6H20 (233 g, 0.91 mol) and Al (N03) 3. 9H20 (34.0 g, 0.09 mol) in distilled water (900 ml), and another with Na2C03 (4.8 g, 0.045 mol) and NaOH (45.2 g, 1.1 mol) in distilled water (900 ml). The two solutions were dripped into the aqueous suspension of theta-alumina (duration 45 min). The pH in the precipitate solution was 9.5-10. The precipitate was filtered, then washed to neutrality and left overnight.

Snack. 2H20 (0.4804 g, 2.13 mmol) was dissolved in conc. HCl (10 ml).

H2PtCl6. 6H20 (0.158 g, 0.38 mmol) was dissolved in distilled water (50 ml), and the tin chloride solution added. The resulting solution had a red colour.

The precipitate was suspended in distilled water (400 ml) and the Pt-Sn solution dripped into the suspension, which had a neutral pH value. The suspension was stirred for 45 min., then filtered and washed twice with distilled water. The product was then dried at 100°C/16 h. Calcination of the product was performed at 800°C/15 hours, yielding a BET area of 91 m2/g. After pelletisation, the BET area dropped to 77 m/g.

The X-Ray diffraction pattern of the final material indicated a strong interaction between the suspended alumina and the solution: When the alumina particles were crushed and sieved to a particle size < 90 micron prior to suspension, then only the hydrotalcite phase (and no alumina phase) was visible by XRD in the final catalyst.

With larger or mixed particle sizes, both the hydrotalcite and alumina phases were visible by XRD after the precipitation step. The catalyst used in the further study (Example 5 below) is the one with small alumina particles (<90 micron).

Example 3. Comparative Example A.

C440-104. An Mg-Al hydrotalcite was prepared according to Example 1, but without a suspended binder material. After precipitation, the material was impregnated with Pt

and Sn, then dried and calcined at 800°C/15 hours. The BET area of the calcined product was 145 m2/g.

Example 4. Comparative Example B.

ACAT-1443. A material was prepared according to a procedure described in GB 2 311 790 (to British Gas), but with some modifications in the precipitate composition (e. g.

Mg was used as a cation instead of Ni).

Three aqueous mixtures were prepared: Solution A: Mg (N03) 2. 6H20 (116.5 g, 0.45 mol) and Al (N03) 3.9H20 (17.0 g, 0.045 mol) in distilled water (500 ml).

Solution B: Na2C03 (78.4 g, 0.74 mol) in distilled water (500 ml).

Suspension C: Kaolin (2.62 g) and MgO (1.24 g, 0.03 mol) in distilled water (30 ml).

Solutions A and B were heated to 75°C. Solution B was dripped into solution A under stirring (duration: 30 min). The pH in the precipitate solution was 10. Suspension C was added and the final mixture stirred for some minutes. The product was filtered and then washed several times with distilled water.

SnCl2. 2H20 (0.240 g, 1.06 mmol) was dissolved in conc. HCl (10 ml). H2PtC16. 6H20 (0.078 g, 0.19 mmol) was dissolved in distilled water (50 ml), and the tin chloride solution added. The resulting solution had a red colour.

The precipitate was suspended in distilled water (200 ml) and the Pt-Sn solution dripped into the suspension, which had a neutral pH value. The suspension was stirred for 45 min. , then filtered and washed twice with distilled water. The product was then dried at 100°C/16 h and calcined at 450°C/5 hours. The product was then crushed and dry mixed with Secar 71 (Lafarge, 7.2 g) (a mixture of CaO and Alumina) and 2wt% graphite, and then stirred for 1 h. The product was pelleted, steamed at 240°C/16h and soaked in distilled water (16 h). The soaking procedure led to pellet cracking.

Subsequently, the pellets were dipped in a 2% KOH aqueous solution. The pellets were crushed and the material pelleted once more. XRD of the product showed the presence of a crystalline hydrotalcite phase, as well as MgO and Secar-71

(Ca3Allo018). The BET area of the product was 30 m/g, which is within the expected range for uncalcined hydrotalcites. XRD of the same product after use as a PDH catalyst (Example 5) indicated that the hydrotalcite phase is converted to Mg (Al) O during use as a PDH catalyst.

Example 5. Propane dehydrogenation (PDH) tests The materials prepared according to Examples 1-4 were subjected to testing under PDH conditions at 600°C in a quartz reactor with i. d. 23 mm. The reactor was heated to 600°C in a N2 flow, then subjected to reduction, PDH and regeneration test cycles according to Table 1. The GHSV was 1000 h-1 based on propane. The test was stopped after 6 test cycles with regeneration, and the catalyst cooled to room temperature in a N2 flow. GC analysis of the reactor effluent showed the presence of both propane and propene from all catalysts.

Table 1. PDH test conditions. Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6 Reduction PDH 1% 02 5% O2 10% Oa 20% OZ N2 (ml/min) 241 277 218 146 Air (ml/min) 14. 3 73 146 291 Propane (ml/min) 92.9 H20 (g/h) 8. 3 H2 (ml/min) 50 13. 1 Duration (min) 30 1200 60 60 60 60 Visual inspection of the tested pellets showed no sign of damage for the samples prepared according to Examples 1,2 and 4. However, some fine powder had been formed from the sample prepared without binder (Example 3) during testing. Judging from the remaining pellets, this powder originated from the edges of each pellet. None of the pellets were cracked.

Example 6. Mechanical strength of pellets The materials which had been prepared according to Examples 1-4, and tested according to Example 5, were subjected to mechanical strength measurements by using a Side Crushing Strength procedure (SCS). The SCS raw data for each material are shown in Figure 2. As can be seen, the mechanical strength measured for different pellets of one catalyst varies significantly. However, when calculating the average SCS value for each catalyst, as shown in Table 2, some trends are observed: 'The catalysts that are precipitated on suspended pseudo-boehmite and theta- alumina (Examples 1 and 2) have significantly higher SCS values than the sample prepared without binder (Example 3).

Alumina and pseudo-boehmite give materials with similar mechanical strength before and after testing.

'The catalyst prepared using the modified BG recepy (Example 4) has a similar mechanical strength to the sample prepared without binder (Example 3).

The mechanical strength decreases during PDH testing for all samples, especially for the samples with the highest initial SCS value. However, even after 1 week of testing, the SCS value of the strongest sample (Example 1) is 74% higher than for the sample prepared without binder (Example 3).

The mechanical strength of the final material seems to be uninfluenced by whether or not the crystallinity of the alumina (precursor) is maintained throughout the precipitation and metal deposition steps.

Table 2. Average SCS values for the materials in Examples 1-4 before and after testing as PDH catalysts for 1 week. Catalyst SCS before testing SCS after PDH testing (N) (N) 1 (ACAT-1439) 436 238 2 (ACAT-1440) 441 224 3 (C440-104) 174 137 4 (ACAT-1443) 196 100

Example 7. Addition of alumina after precipitation and calcination of the hydrotalcite.

A Mg-Al catalyst was prepared according to Example 1, but without a suspended material in the precipitation vessel. After completing the precipitation and metal addition steps, the hydrotalcite material was dried at 100°C/16 hours, and then dry mixed with pseudo-boehmite (Al0 (OH), Vista B, 22.98 g, 0.38 mol). The mixture was then calcined at 800°C/15 hours, and subsequently pelleted and subjected to SCS measurements.

The average SCS value of the calcined material was----N. This result shows that dry mixing the calcined hydrotalcite with alumina significantly enhances the mechanical strength of the final material compared to calcined hydrotalcite alone. However, the mechanical strength of this material is clearly inferior to the mechanical strength obtained by preparing the hydrotalcite in a suspension of hydrotalcite (Example 1).

Example 8. Alumina addition after precipitation of the hydrotalcite A catalyst was prepared according to Example 1, but without a suspended material in the precipitation vessel. After the precipitation and metal deposition steps, but before drying, pseudo-boehmite (Al0 (OH), Vista B, 22.98 g, 0.38 mol) was added to the precipitate. The final material was subjected to drying (100°C/16 hours), calcination (800°C/15 hours), pelletisation and SCS measurements. The average SCS value of the pellets was---N.

This result shows that adding the alumina precursor after precipitation of the hydrotalcite, but before drying, leads to a material with a similar mechanical strength to the material where the alumina precursor is added before precipitation. A comparison between Example 7 and Example 8 indicates that it is advantageous to add the alumina (precursor) before drying the hydrotalcite.

Example 9. Preparation of hydrotalcite in a lower quantity of suspended pseudo- boehmite A material was prepared according to Example 1, with the only exception that a lower amount of pseudo-boehmite (AIO (OH), Vista B, 4.60 g, 0. 076 mol) was used. The average SCS value of the final material was---N. This result shows that a material with a high mechanical strength may be obtained by the suspension-precipitation method, even when the amount of alumina in the final material is quite low.

Conclusion The Examples above clearly illustrate that the presence of an alumina or alumina precursor support in a hydrotalcite-based oxide material, i. e. the hydrotalcite-based oxide material is deposited on said alumina or alumina precursor support, uexpectedly leads to an enhanced mechanical strength both initially and after PDH testing. The use of alumina itself, or of a hydrated form of alumina, give similar results. The PDH tests should be considered as a tool to illustrate that the materials can withstand quite severe conditions, i. e. cycling between coking, steam-rich conditions and oxidizing conditions, all at ca. 600°C.

Further, the Examples illustrate that the addition of the alumina (precursor) as a liquid suspension before precipitation of the hydrotalcite, or directly after the precipitation step, is particularly advantageous.

Finally, the Examples illustrate that a silica-based binder described in the literatureS gives only a slight improvement of the mechanical strength of the materials used here, compared to a similar material with no binder.

In conclusion, the Examples illustrate that the binder composition, as well as the method of binder addition, are both of major importance for the mechanical strength of hydrotalcite-based materials.

It is to be expected that this result is not restricted to the hydrotalcite preparation method used in the Examples, but is also achievable for other hydrotalcite preparation methods. It is further expected that the results are valid also for an uncalcined hydrotalcite-like material.

These results were not to be expected in view of the prior art known to the applicant on the filing date of the instant application.

The examples presented above must in now way be construed as a limitation of the present invention, but merely as illustrations thereof, the scope of the invention being fully defined in the appending claims.

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