Study of Ethanol/Acetaldehyde to 1,3-Butadiene Over MgO–SiO2 Catalyst: Comparative Investigation of Deactivation Behaviour Due to Carbon Deposition

Abstract In this paper, the MgO–SiO 2 catalyst was prepared with the deposition–precipitation method, which was used to catalyse the conversion of ethanol to 1,3-butadiene through a two-step process. The carbon deposition deactivation of the catalyst was mainly caused by that the carbon species occupied the acid-basic active sites on the catalyst surface. The carbon deposition mainly includes chain alkanes and aromatic compounds from outer to inner layers, and its site was mainly MgSiO 3 , followed by MgO, while SiO 2 showed weak carbon deposition ability. Graphic Abstract