The invention relates to a process for the preparation of metal carbides and of silicon carbide having a high specific surface, intended especially for the manufacture of catalysts and of catalyst supports for the chemical and petrochemical industries. The process consists in reacting a volatile compound of the metal or of silicon with carbon having a high specific surface at a temperature of 900 to 1400 DEG C under a purge of an inert gas. Preferably, the process is carried out continuously, for example in a rotating oven. The carbides obtained are characterised by a residual carbon content of 0 to 30 %, a residual metal content of less than 1 %, by a BET surface betweeen 10 and 200 m2/g and a crystallite size between 50 and 400 angströms.
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