MgO Dispersed on Activated Carbon as Water Tolerant Catalyst for the Conversion of Ethanol into Butanol

MgO supported on activated carbon (AC) with a load ranging from 10% to 30% has been investigated as catalyst for the conversion of ethanol into butanol at 400 degrees C in a fixed bed reactor at different GHSV. Catalysts have been characterized by XRD, SEM/EDX, and N-2 physisorption at 77 K. The high dispersion of MgO into the pores of the support provides strongly enhanced performance with respect to bulk MgO. MgO/AC catalysts have been also tested under wet feed conditions showing high water tolerance and significantly larger butanol yield with respect to an alumina supported Ru/MgO catalyst. After wet operation, the increased surface area of the catalyst leads to better performance once dry feed conditions are restored.