Process for making nitriles

A process for hydrocyanating 3-pentenenitrile in a reaction zone in the presence of a catalyst complex comprising a phosphorus-containing ligand and nickel metal, said process comprising:

• a. charging the catalyst complex, 3-pentenenitrile, a Lewis acid and HCN to the reaction zone;
• b. withdrawing reactor effluent comprising hydrocyanation product and catalyst complex from the reaction zone;
• c. contacting the reactor effluent with an extraction solvent to recover catalyst complex and remove impurities from the catalyst complex;
• and
• d. recharging at least a portion of the recovered catalyst complex to the reaction zone,
• e. establishing disproportionation and hydrolysis deactivation percentages of the catalyst complex for the particular process, and
• f. controlling the amount of water in the catalyst complex recharged to the reaction zone in step d. to decrease the total percentage deactivation percentages established in step e.