Activation of Pd-Ag Catalyst for Selective Hydrogenation of Acetylene via Nitrous Oxide Addition

Hydrogenation of acetylene in the presence of a large excess of ethylene has been investigated on the Pd-Ag catalyst under 60°C and a space velocity of 2,000 h^–1. It was found that an enhancement in the performance of Pd-Ag catalyst can be obtained by pretreatment with N₂O. It is suggested that added N₂O on the catalyst before use not only augments the sites associated with ethylene production from acetylene but also depletes the sites responsible for direct ethane formation.