Catalytic pour point reduction of petroleum hydrocarbon stocks

Claim 1

A pour point reduction process which comprises contacting a petroleum hydrocarbon containing greater than 30 ppm nitrogen and greater than 50 percent by volume of material boiling above 450° F. with a denitrogenation catalyst under denitrogenation conditions, said denitrogenation catalyst comprising at least one hydrogenation component selected from Group VI-B and Group VIII metals on a refractory oxide carrier, recovering a product hydrocarbon from the denitrogenation zone containing less than 30 ppm nitrogen, contacting said product hydrocarbon with a pour point reduction catalyst under pour point reduction conditions, said pour point reduction catalyst comprising a Group IV-B metal, a Group VIII noble metal, and a decationized mordenite support, said pour point reduction conditions comprising a temperature in the range of 450° to 800° F., a liquid hourly space velocity in the range of 0.2 to 10.0, a hydrogen partial pressure in the range of 500 to 5,000 psig, and a hydrogen circulation rate in the range of 500 to 10,000 standard cubic feet per barrel of feed, and recovering therefrom a petroleum hydrocarbon product of reduced pour point.