C4 and C5 cuts from FCC units can be useful in the preparation of oxygenates such as MTBE,
ETBE, and TAME. Removal of the nitriles and diolefins present in these feedstocks is required
to avoid poisoning of the etherification catalyst. Technological options include water washing
and adsorption for nitriles and selective hydrogenation for the diolefins. PDVSA Intevep has
developed several methods to address this problem. One includes nitrile removal by adsorption
(part 1 of this work, Ramírez-Corredores, M. M.; Hernández, Z.; Guerra, J.; Medina, J.; Alvarez,
R. Adsorption, manuscript submitted), and two others are based on catalytic conversion. In this
paper, we discuss the critical features of a catalytic system for the simultaneous hydrogenation
of nitriles and diolefins. A very high selectivity so as to inhibit saturation of the mono-olefins is
also desired in such catalyst. Different metal phases and support materials were evaluated and
characterized. Both model and real feedstocks were considered for evaluation at the bench and
pilot-plant scales. Characterization methods used include chemical composition analysis,
temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). A
particular oxidation state of the metal phase and the nitrile adsorption capability of the support
material were found to be the key properties of the developed catalytic system.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.