Nickel adsorbent for sulfur removal from hydrocarbon feeds

In a process which includes in combination a hydrofiner, sulfur trap, and reforming unit,

• said hydrofiner located upstream of the reforming unit, for hydrofining a sulfur-containing naphtha to remove a major portion of the sulfur,
• said sulfur trap located downstream of said hydrofiner which contains a nickel catalyst constituted of from about 10 weight percent to about 70 weight percent nickel dispersed on a support, the low-sulfur naphtha from the hydrofiner being passed therethrough and contacted with the nickel catalyst to remove sulfur from the naphtha,
• said reforming unit for reforming, with hydrogen, the low-sulfur naphtha from the hydrofiner and nickel-containing sulfur trap, the reforming unit containing a plurality of catalyst-containing on-stream reactors connected in series, the hydrogen and low-sulfur naphtha feed flowing from one reactor of the series to another to contact the catalyst contained therein at reforming conditions,
• the improvement wherein the nickel catalyst contained in said sulfur trap is one wherein the average crystallite size of the nickel is greater than 92 .ANG. and nickel surface area ranges between about 31 m.sup.2 /g and about 52 m.sup.2 /g, and at least 50 percent of the nickel is in reduced state, based on the total weight of the supported component.