Abstract: A process for the preparation of a lubricating base oil including contacting a hydrocarbon feed with a catalyst in the presence of hydrogen, which catalyst includes a hydrogenation component supported on an amorphous silica-alumina carrier having a macroporosity in the range of from 5% vol to 50% vol. The hydrocarbon feed is most preferably a slack wax or a synthetic wax. The preferred catalyst for use in the process includes a combination of one or more of the metals cobalt, iron, and nickel, and one or more of the metals chromium, molybdenum, and tungsten on an amorphous silica-alumina carrier having a macroporosity in the range of from 5% vol to 50% vol.

Abstract: This invention relates to a method of conducting a chemical reaction in the presence of a heterogeneous catalyst, in which a feedstock is passed through a catalytic reactor, said reactor comprising a solid reactor bed with a catalytically active material present thereon, and at least one heat supplying and/or discharging reactor wall, and in which the catalyst bed consists of elementary particles of material sintered together and to one side of the wall, there being no sintered material present on the other side of the reactor wall, and in which the maximum distance in meters (x.sub.