Abstract: The invention pertains to a catalyst at least comprising a hydrogenation metal component and a swelling synthetic clay consisting of elemental clay platelets, with the average diameter of the clay platelets not exceeding 1 micron and the average degree of stacking of the clay platelets not exceeding 20 platelets per stack. The catalyst is especially suitable for the hydroprocessing of hydrocarbon feeds, the term “hydroprocessing” encompassing all processes in which a hydrocarbon feed is treated with hydrogen. The clays which are suitable for use in the catalyst according to the invention may be prepared as described in Netherlands patent application No. 9401433.

Abstract: Synthetic clay minerals are made up of elementary three-layer platelets consisting of a central layer of octahedrally oxygen-surrounded metal ions (octahedron layer), which layer is surrounded by two tetrahedrally surrounded, silicon atom-containing layers (tetrahedron layers), a number of such elementary platelets being optionally stacked. The dimensions of the clay platelets vary from 0.01 &mgr;m to 1 &mgr;m, the number of the stacked elementary three-layer platelets varies from on average one platelet to twenty platelets, while in the octahedron layer at most 30 at. % of the metal ions has been replaced by ions of a lower valency and in the tetrahedron layers at most 15 at. % of the silicon ions has been replaced by ions of a lower valency, such a replacement having taken place in at least one of these layers and these layers having a deficiency of positive charge because of the replacement.