Catalysts have been discovered that are useful in hydrogenation reactions,
and particularly for the selective hydrogenation of acetylene and/or
methyl acetylene (MA) and/or propadiene (PD) in light olefin-rich
feedstreams. These catalysts can selectively hydrogenate acetylene with
less selectivity to making oligomers (green oil) as compared with
existing commercial catalysts, particularly palladium catalysts. These
catalysts are non-palladium catalysts, and have three different
constituents that are metal or metal-based components. The metal of the
first constituent may be nickel or platinum, the metal of the second
constituent may be from Groups 1 10, and the metal of the third
constituent may be from Groups 11 12, where the Groups are of the
Periodic Table of Elements (new IUPAC notation).