Table 2. Causes of Catalyst Deactivation.

Mechanism	Type	Result
Poisoning	Chemical	Loss of active sites
Fouling/coking	Mechanical/chemical	Loss of surface, plugging
Sintering	Thermal	Loss of surface
Component volatilization	Thermal/chemical	Loss of catalytic phases
Inactive compound formation	Thermal/chemical	Loss of catalytic phases and surface
Phase change	Thermal	Loss of surface
Particle failure	Mechanical	Bed channeling, plugging