In the hydrodesulfuration (HDS) of dibenzothiophene (DOT) performed on catalysts derived from SBA-15-supported ruthenium sulfide systems, the roles of the support and the sulfiding temperature were studied In this sense, three ruthenium sulfided catalysts supported on SBA-15 type materials have been prepared The three employed supports were, a pure mesoporous silica SBA-15 (Si-SBA). that doped with zirconium (Zr-SBA) and that doped with aluminium (Al-SBA) The supports, precursor, sulfided and spent catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). N-2 adsorption-desorption isotherms at -196 degrees C, NH3-TPD, XIS analysis and H-2-TPRS The catalytic properties of these materials in the hydrodesulfulization (HDS) of dibenzotiophene (DOT) were tested between 260 and 360 degrees C under a hydrogen pressure of 3 0 MPa. The catalytic activity increased when catalysts were sulfided at 500 degrees C because of the formation of a greater amount of RuS2 having pyrite structure Moreover, catalysts supported on Si-SBA and Zr-SBA turned out to be more active than that supported on AI-SBA due to a higher dispersion of the active phase, with conversions close to 100% at a reaction temperature of 360 degrees C (C) 2010 Elsevier DV All rights reserved