Industrial Research World

Introduction Hydrogenation catalysts are used in industries that use a main metal along with a promoter and/or inhibitor. Promoters are additives that enhance the activity, stability and processability of the metallic hydrogenation catalyst. Inhibitors or poisons are added to reduce or control the catalytic activity of the hydrogenation catalyst. Hydrogenation catalysts are prominently used in the oil & gas industry for hydroprocessing (hydrotreating and hydrocracking processes) and are prominently metal – based catalysts. Based on form, homogeneous hydrogenation catalysts offer several advantages over their heterogeneous counterparts. Their higher solubility leads to the use of each molecule for the hydrogenation reaction and hence, these catalysts utilize low volumes. In case of heterogeneous hydrogenation catalysts, only the surface is available for the reaction, which limits its selectivity. The choice of the base metal in a hydrogenation catalyst is als