Catalytic conversion of ethanol and hydrogen to a 1-butanol-containing reaction product using a thermally decomposed hydrotalcite containing the anion of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid

1. A process for making a 1-butanol-containing reaction product, comprising:

contacting a reactant comprising ethanol and hydrogen with a catalyst at a reaction temperature and pressure sufficient to produce said 1-butanol-containing reaction product, wherein said catalyst is derived from a hydrotalcite of the formula:

[M 2+ 1−x M 3+ x (OH) 2 ][{(M′A′) n′− } a A n- (1−a)(n′/n) ] x/n′ .y H 2 O

wherein

M 2+ is divalent Mg, or a combination of divalent Mg and at least one divalent member selected from the group consisting of Zn, Ni, Pd, Pt, Co, Fe, and Cu;

M 3+ is trivalent Al, or a combination of trivalent Al and at least one trivalent member selected from the group consisting of Fe and Cr;

x is 0.66 to 1;

M′ is (i) one or more divalent members selected from the group consisting of Pd, Pt, Rh, Co, and Cu; or (ii) one or more trivalent members selected from the group consisting of Fe, Cr, Au, Ir, and Ru; or (iii) a mixture of one or more of said divalent members with one or more of said trivalent members;

A′ is the anion of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid;

n′ is the absolute value of the sum of the oxidation state of M′ and (−4); provided that if M′ is said mixture, then n′ is calculated according to the following equation:

n ′=the absolute value of [ X D (2)+ X D (−4)+ X T (3)+ X T (−4)], wherein

X D =the sum of the number of moles of all divalent members divided by (the sum of the number of moles of all divalent members+the sum of the number of moles of all trivalent members), and

X T =the sum of the number of moles of all trivalent members divided by (the sum of the number of moles of all divalent members+the sum of the number of moles of all trivalent members);

A n- is CO 3 2− with n=2 or OH − with n=1;

a is 0.001 to 1; and

y is 0 to 4;

by a process comprising heating the hydrotalcite for a time and at a temperature sufficient to cause a diminution in the hydrotalcite powder X-ray diffraction pattern peak intensities between 2θ angles of 10 degrees and 70 degrees using CuKα radiation.

2. The process of claim 1 , wherein M 2+ is divalent Mg; M 3+ is trivalent Al; M′ is Co or Cu; a is 0.01 to 0.44; and A n- is CO 3 2− or OH − .

3. The process of claim 1 , wherein said reaction temperature is from about 200° C. to about 500° C., and said pressure is from about 0.1 MPa to about 20.7 MPa.