Catalytic hydrocracking process employing water as a promoter

Claim 1

IN A HYDROCRACKING PROCESS WHEREIN A FEEDSTOCK BOILING ABOVE THE GASOLINE RANGE AND ORIGINALLY CONTAINING ORGANIC NITROGEN COMPOUNDS, IS FIRST TREATED FOR THE REMOVAL OF SAID NITROGEN COMPOUNDS, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES SUBJECTING SAID TREATED FEEDSTOCK TO CATALYTIC HYDROCRACKING AT A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN ABOUT 500* AND 850*F. AND A PRESSURE BETWEEN ABOUT 500 AND 3,000 P.S.I.G., WHILE INTRODUCING INTO THE HYDROCRACKING ZONE A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT, BETWEEN ABOUT 0.0075% AND 1.5% BASED ON FEED, OF AN ACTIVITY PROMOTING AGENT CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF WATER VAPOR, AND IN THE PRESENCE OF A HYDROCRACKING CATALYST COMPRISING A SOLID REFRACTORY CRACKING BASE UPON WHICH IS DEPOSITED A HYDROGENATING COMPONENT SELECTED FROM THE CLASS CONSISTING OF THE GROUP VIB AND GROUP VIII METALS AND THEIR OXIDES AND SULFIDES, AND RECOVERING GASOLINE BOILING RAINGE HYDROCARBONS FROM SAID HYDROCRACKING.