The effect of passivation and presulfidation after carbiding of activated carbon-supported Fe-Mo, Co-Mo and Ni-Mo catalysts on their thiophene HDS activity was evaluated. Catalytic precursors were prepared by co-impregnation of the support with solutions of ammonium heptamolybdate and the promotor nitrates or sulfates. Carbiding was achieved by means of the carbothermal method, employing pure H(2) as reductant and the support as the carbon source. Carbided samples were submitted to one out of three types of procedures before HDS tests: (a) passivation at room temperature followed by presulfiding; (b) presulfiding(no passivation): and (c) neither passivation nor sulfiding before HDS. Samples of passivated catalysts prepared from the sulfates of Fe, Co or Ni contained variable amounts of sulfur, as shown by XPS and elemental analysis, while XRD showed only metals and mixed Fe(3)Mo(3)C or eta-M(6)Mo(6)C(2) (M=CO, or Ni) phases. The nitrate-derived catalysts only presented beta-Mo(2)C and metals (XRD). Sulfur containing catalysts showed high initial activities although deactivate strongly during the first 40 min on the reaction stream, while the unsulfided nitrate-derived samples showed a more stable behavior and lower activities during the 2-3 h of testing. in general, samples submitted to passivation followed by presulfiding showed the higher steady state activities and those neither passivated nor sulfided were the less active. The results show the benefits of a passivating treatment on these carbon-supported catalysts, and point Out to the importance of sulfided surface phases in HDS on carbides of transition metal catalysts. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.