Catalyst manufacturing method

A method for producing a catalyst or catalyst precursor comprising:

• (i) combining particles of a support material with a binder to form a particulate preform mixture, wherein (a) the binder is a particulate binder material in which case the particulate preform mixture comprises a blended particulate mixture of the support material particles and the particulate binder material or (b) the binder is applied as a coating to the surface of the particles of the support material, in which case the particulate preform mixture comprises the support material particles coated with the binder coating;
• (ii) forming a layer of the particulate preform mixture;
• (iii) applying a binding solvent from a print-head to the layer of particulate preform mixture according to a predetermined pattern, wherein the binding solvent dissolves the binder contacted by the binder solvent, thereby causing the binder contacted by the binding solvent to dissolve and then bind the particulate support material together according to the pre-determined pattern, and leaving the particles of the support material and binder not contacted by the binding solvent as unbound particulate material;
• (iv) repeating (ii) and (iii) layer upon layer;
• (v) removing the unbound particulate material;
• (vi) drying and optionally calcining to form a support structure;
• (vii) applying a slurry of a particulate catalyst compound in a carrier fluid to the support structure to form a slurry-impregnated support;
• and
• (viii) drying and optionally calcining the slurry-impregnated support to form a catalyst or catalyst precursor, wherein the mean particle size (D50) of the particulate catalyst compound in the slurry is in the range of from 1 to 50 μm and the support structure has a porosity of 0.02 ml/g or greater.