Patent ID: 7025872

Claim:
A process for obtaining a hydrocarbon fraction that can be used as a feedstock of an etherification unit and that contains a small amount of diene compounds, nitrogen-containing compounds and sulfur-containing compounds, starting from an initial hydrocarbon feedstock that comprises a mixture of olefins, dienes, and nitriles as well as sulfur-containing compounds, whereby said process comprises at least the following successive stages: a) a selective hydrogenation of said initial hydrocarbon feedstock in the presence of a catalyst that comprises at least one metal of group VIII and another metal of group VIB of the periodic table, under conditions sufficient to convert dienes to olefins and to convert nitrogen-containing compounds to nitrogen-containing compounds having a boiling point higher than 55° C., while not significantly hydrogenating said olefins, b) a fractionation by distillation of the effluents that are obtained from stage a) under conditions that make it possible to obtain at least two fractions including a light hydrocarbon fraction comprising olefins and a small amount of diene compounds, nitrogen-containing compounds and sulfur-containing compounds, and a heavy fraction that contains heavy hydrocarbons and the majority of the nitrogen-containing and sulfur-containing compounds obtained from the hydrogenation of stage a).