Shaped catalyst body with improved properties, its preparation and use

A shaped catalyst body for heterogeneously catalyzed reactions of organic compounds in the gas-phase in fixed-bed reactors, wherein the shaped catalyst body is characterized by

• (a) containing at least one element from group 3 to 12 of the Periodic Table of the Elements, whereby the total amount of the elements from group 3 to 12 of the Periodic Table of the Elements is 0.01 to 85 wt. %;
• (b) a cylindrical structure with a top cover, a bottom cover and a lateral surface with three notches running in the cylinder periphery along the cylinder height forming a three-lobed structure;
• (c) three continuous essentially circular holes as void spaces with a diameter d1 and a tolerance of d1 for each hole of 15% based on the shortest diameter of the respective hole, running from one cover side to the other cover side, wherein each hole is assigned to one lobe and wherein the midpoints of the three holes are arranged essentially equidistantly over the horizontal cross section of the cylindrical structure with a tolerance of 15% based on the shortest distance between two midpoints of two holes;
• wherein
• (d) the wall thickness d2 between two continuous holes over the horizontal cross section of the cylindrical structure at the imaginary connection line between the midpoints of the two continuous holes is essentially the same for all three walls between two continuous holes with a tolerance of d2 of 15% based on the shortest wall thickness;
• (e) for each of the three lobes, the wall thickness d3 between a continuous hole and the lateral surface is, within a 180° segment, which is defined as the segment over a horizontal cross section of the cylindrical structure, whose chord is parallel to the imaginary connection line between the two midpoints of the adjacent two continuous holes, essentially constant within the respective segment and essentially the same for all three segments of the three lobes with a tolerance of d3 of 15% based on the shortest wall thickness;
• (f) the ratio of each of the three wall thicknesses d2 to each of the three wall thicknesses d3x, whereby d3x are the wall thicknesses located over a horizontal cross section of the cylindrical structure at the extension of the imaginary connection lines between the central midpoint of the cylinder and the midpoint of the continuous hole of the respective lobe, is 0.9 to 1.1;
• (g) the top cover and the bottom cover have outwardly curved arches with the highest height h2 for the top cover and the highest height h3 for the bottom cover, wherein h2 is the distance between
• the imaginary plane top cover area of an imaginary circular cylinder comprising a circular lateral surface which just encircles the three lobes of the shaped catalyst body, whereby the imaginary plane top cover area contacts the circular lateral surface at a right angle at the highest horizontal level at which the circular lateral surface of the imaginary circular cylinder just contacts at least one lobe;
• and
• the highest height of the top cover above the imaginary plane top cover area, measured perpendicular to the imaginary plane top cover area;
• h3 is the distance between
• the imaginary plane bottom cover area of the imaginary circular cylinder comprising a circular lateral surface which just encircles the three lobes of the shaped catalyst body, whereby the imaginary plane bottom cover area contacts the circular lateral surface at a right angle at the lowest horizontal level at which the circular lateral surface of the imaginary circular cylinder just contacts at least one lobe;
• and
• the highest height of the bottom cover above the imaginary plane bottom cover area, measured perpendicular to the imaginary plane bottom cover area;
• and
• the imaginary circular cylinder has the height h1 measured as the distance between the imaginary plane top cover area and the imaginary plane bottom cover area;
• and
• (h) the diameters d1 are independently of one another from 1 to 5 mm, the wall thicknesses d2 and d3 are independently of one another 0.5 to 3 mm, the heights h2 and h3 are independently of one another 0.2 to 3 mm, and the height h1 is 2 to 10 mm.