Zinc Inclusion to Heterogeneous Nickel Catalysts Reduces Oligomerization during the Semi-Hydrogenation of Acetylene

The catalytic semi-hydrogenation of acetylene to produce ethylene is a common method for the removal of trace acetylene in ethylene streams.  Ni-Zn catalysts which serve as potential replacements of Pd-Ag suffer from increased oligomerization compared to Pd-Ag under comparable conditions, although the addition of Zn to Ni reduces oligomerization selectivity.