The performance of fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalysts for processing heavy feedstocks is often determined by the tolerance of the catalyst to metal contaminants. Different approaches are used to manage contaminant metals. In this paper, the mesoporous sol-gel derived alumina properties are studied with respect to its behavior in the presence of nickel, after different thermal and steaming treatments. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, BET surface area measurements, NH3-TPD, TPR, FTIR and tested in the 2-propanol dehydration reaction. The results obtained show that sol-gel derived gamma- and eta-aluminas of well defined mesoporous structure can be an alternative of FCC catalysts with improved efficiency and selectivity for processing heavy feedstocks with high nickel concentration. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All fights reserved.