TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Process: The hydrocarbon conversion is carried out by hydrogenation, dehydrogenation or oxidation. The hydrogenation is carried out at 30 - 280 degreesC, a pressure of 0 - 13789 kPag and a liquid hourly space velocity of 0.1 - 20 per hour. The dehydrogenation is carried at 400 - 900 degreesC, a pressure of about 1 - 1013 lPa and a liquid hourly space velocity of 0.1 - 100 per hour. The oxidation is carried out at 350 - 800 degreesC, pressure of about 40 - 2030 kPa and a liquid hourly space velocity of about 0.5 - 50 per hour.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Core: The inner core is alpha alumina, metals, beta alumina, silicon carbide, cordierita, zirconia and titania.Preferred Outer layer: The outer layer has a thickness of about to 40 - 400 micron. The outer refractory inorganic oxide is gamma alumina, delta alumina, theta alumina, silica / alumina, zeolite, nonzeolite molecular sieve, titania and zirconia. The platinum group metal is platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium, and osmium (preferably platinum). The promoter metal is tin, germanium, rhenium, gallium, bismuth, lead, indium, cerium and zinc. The modifier metal is alkali metal and alkaline earth metal (preferably potassium, sodium, lithium cesium and magnesium). EXAMPLE - Alumina spheres (600 ml) were prepared as in US2620314 and impregnated with an aqueous solution prepared by diluting 50% tin chloride solution (9.55 g) and 61% nitric acid solution (49.6%) with deionized water to volume of 420 ml. The impregnated alumina spheres were dried and calcined at 540 degreesC for 2.5 hours. The resulting tin-containing catalyst was impregnated with and aqueous solution containing platinum and lithium prepared by diluting a chloroplatinic acid solution a lithium nitrate solution and 61% nitric acid solution (6.61 g) with deionized water to volume of 420 ml. The obtained spherical catalyst was dried at 540 degreesC for 2.5 hours. A slurry was prepared by mixing the spherical catalyst (600 ml) with dinitrodiammineplatinum in nitric acid (P-salt) (4 g), meta stannic acid (0.64l g) and alumina sol (202 g) with deionized water (1204 g) and milled for 4 hours. The slurry was spread onto alpha alumina core (1 kg) to give a layered catalyst having layer of 50 microns. The layered catalyst composition was dried at 150 degreesC for 2 hours and calcined at 615 degreesC for 4 hours to convert the pseudoboehmite in the outer layer to gamma alumina. Finally the catalyst composition was reduced in hydrogen at 500 degreesC for 2 hours. The obtained catalyst was tested for dehydrogenation activity. In a reactor, the catalyst (10 cc) was placed and a hydrocarbon feed composed (wt.%) of n-10C (8.8), n-11C (40), n-12C (38.6), n-13C (10.8), n-14C (0.8) and non-normals (1 vol.%) was flowed over the catalyst under a pressure of 138 kPa, a H2: hydrogen molar ratio of 6:1 and a liquid hourly space velocity of 20 per hour. Water at a concentration of 2000 ppm based on hydrocarbon weight was injected. A comparative catalyst was prepared as in example II of US4786625 except that the solution was spread on the support. The comparative catalyst was also tested for dehydrogenation activity. The results showed deactivation rate (degreesF per hour) of 0.033/0.067; total normal olefin concentration (TNO) selectivity (wt.%) of 94/93.5, and non-TNO selectivity (wt.%) of 6/6.5.