The chemical and mineralogical compositions, the pore-diameter distribution, and the X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and infrared spectroscopy of kaolin from Suzhou, China, and the physicochemical and catalytic properties of a catalyst prepared from that kaolin, are presented in this paper. Crystallized microspheres (CMR) containing ~30% NaY zeolite can be prepared from the Suzhou kaolin. The catalyst produced performs better than a standard commercial catalyst in terms of activity, attrition resistance, resistance to passivation by Ni and V and better gasoline and coke selectivity.

Scholars have long assumed that the opening of Shanghai as a treaty port in 1843, followed by the disruption caused by the Taiping Rebellion, led to an abrupt restructuring of China's internal organization and a fundamental change in its relation to the outside world. Looking at developments at Suzhou and Shanghai over the long nineteenth century in parallel, this study argues that this was in fact a far later and much more gradual process than we have heretofore appreciated, the decisive breaks occurring at least a half-century later than usually assumed.