MgO dispersed on activated carbon as water tolerant catalyst for the conversion of ethanol into butanol

MgO supported on activated carbon (AC) with load ranging from 10 to 30% has been 9 investigated as catalyst for conversion of ethanol to butanol at 400°C in a fixed bed reactor at 10 different GHSV. Catalysts were characterized by XRD, SEM/EDX and N2 physisorption at 77K. The 11 high dispersion of MgO into the pores of the support is associated to the strongly enhanced 12 performance with respect to bulk MgO. The MgO/AC has been also tested under wet condition and 13 its performance compared with that of an alumina supported Ru/MgO catalyst. The AC supported 14 catalysts shows stable good catalytic performance also in the presence of water in the feed. After 15 wet operation the increased surface area of the catalyst leads to better performance once restored 16 dry condition.