Catalyst for the synthesis of alkyl mercaptan and process for the production thereof

1. A process for the production of a catalyst composition comprising a catalytically active oxidic composition of cesium and tungsten having a molar ratio of cesium to tungsten of less than or equal to 1.6:1 wherein said catalytically active oxidic composition is supported by an oxidic inorganic support body comprising the steps of:

a) impregnating a support body or a support material with an aqueous solution of soluble cesium and tungsten at a molar ratio of cesium to tungsten of less than or equal to 1.6:1, to form an impregnated support,

b) pre-drying the impregnated support at room temperature,

c) optionally further drying the pre-dried impregnated support at 100 to 200° C. to remove any residual moisture, and

d) calcining the pre-dried or dried impregnated support for a period of 2 to 10 hours at a temperature ranging from 300 to 600° C.

2. The process according to claim 1 , further comprising the step of recovering the catalyst composition.

3. The process according to claim 2 , wherein the recovered catalyst composition contains the support material impregnated with the catalyst composition.

4. The process according to claim 1 , further comprising the step of suspending the impregnated support through the addition of one or more auxiliary substances.

5. The process according to claim 4 , further comprising the step of applying the suspended impregnated support onto an inert support core.

6. The process according to claim 4 , further comprising the step of extruding and compressing the suspended impregnated support.

7. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the steps (a) to (c) and optionally step (d) are repeated at least once.

8. The process according to claim 7 , wherein, when said process is carried out more than once, the impregnating solution used in the first set of steps contains about one-third to about two-thirds of the total amount of cesium and tungsten.

9. The process according to claim 7 , further comprising, after the impregnation step, the step of spraying the support bodies or support material at least once with the aqueous solution.

10. The process according to claim 9 , further comprising, after the spraying step, the step of removing at least part of the residual moisture on the support bodies or support material by heating the support bodies or support material at a temperature of up to 120° C.

11. The process according to claim 5 , further comprising the step of tempering the catalyst composition.

12. A process for the production of alkyl mercaptans, comprising the step of reacting one or more alkanols with hydrogen sulfide in the presence of the catalyst composition produced by the process of claim 1 .

13. The process according to claim 12 , wherein the alkyl mercaptans are methyl mercaptans produced by the reaction of methyl alcohol and hydrogen sulfide.