Treatment of distillate petroleum

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR THE TREATMENT OF DISTILLATE PETROLEUM FRACTIONS BOILING WITHIN THE RANGE 150-450*C. TO LOWER THE POUR POINT AT LEAST 10*F. WITHOUT MATERIAL REDUCTION IN THE SPECIFIC GRAVITY AND DIESEL INDIX OF SAID DISTILLATE FRACTIONS, COMPRISING CONTACTING THE DISTILLATE FRACTION AS FEEDSTOCK IN A TREATING ZONE AND IN THE PRESENCE OF HYDROGEN WITH A CATALYST CONTAINING A GROUP VIA METAL ON A SILICA-FREE, REFRACTORY OXIDE SUPPORT, THE HYDROGEN TO HYDROCARBON MOLE RATIO BEING FROM 5 TO 1 TO 20 TO 1; MAINTAINING A SELECTED TEMPERATURE AND A SELECTED SPACE VELOCITY IN SAID ZONE, SAID SELECTED TEMPERATURE IN SAID ZONE BEING MAINTAINED ABOVE 800*F. BUT NOT HIGHER THAN ABOUT 900*F. AND BEING A TEMPERATURE AT WHICH, AT SAID SELECTED SPACE VELOCITY, NOT MORE THAN 20% WT. OF THE FEEDSTOCK IS CONVERTED TO MATERIAL BOILING BELOW 150*C. AND SAID SELECTED SPACE VELOCITY BEING AT LEAST EQUAL TO THE SPACE VELOCITY AT WHICH AT SAID SELECTED TEMPERATURE NOT MORE THAN 20% WT. OF THE FEEDSTOCK IS CONVERTED TO MATERIAL BOILING BELOW 150*C. BUT NOT EXCEEDING 3.0 V./V./HR.; MAINTAINING A SELECTED PRESSURE IN SAID ZONE WHICH IS GREATER THAN THE EQUILIBRIUM PRESSURE OF THE FEEDSTOCK AT SAID SELECTED CONTACTING TEMPERATURE AND SAID SELECTED SPACE VELOCITY BUT NOT GREATR THAN ABOUT 1500 P.S.I. GA., SAID SELECTED TEMPERATURE AND SAID SELECTED SPACE VELOCITY BEING CORRELATED TO REDUCE THE POUR POINT OF THE FEEDSTOCK SUCH THAT THE POUR POINT OF THE MATERIAL OF THE TREATED DISTILLATE FRACTION BOILING ABOVE 150*C. IS AT LEAST 10*F. LOWER THAN THE POUR POINT OF THE FEEDSTOCK, AND RECOVERING THE TREATED DISTILLATE FRACTION.