Hydrocracking in the presence of water and a low hydrogen partial pressure

Claim 1

A process for hydrocracking high-boiling hydrocarbons boiling in the range from 400° to 1000° F to form lower-boiling hydrocarbons boiling in the range from 80° to 700° F, which comprises contacting said high-boiling hydrocarbons, in a reaction zone, in a feedstock containing from 4 to 15 weight percent water and containing straight-chain olefins and oxygen-containing water precursors including CO and CO 2 and from about 1 to 20 weight percent of oxygen-containing organic compounds, based on said feedstock, said feedstock containing less than 5 ppm sulfur, by weight, and greater than 55 weight percent of water and oxygen-containing water precursors, with a hydrocracking catalyst including a Group VIB or Group VIII metal supported on a refractory cracking base at hydrocracking conditions including a partial pressure of hydrogen of from 50 to 450 psi and a temperature of from 450° to 750° F, to convert 75 to 99 percent of said oxygen-containing organic compounds to hydrocarbons, to convert said high-boiling hydrocarbons to said lower-boiling hydrocarbons, and to convert a substantial portion of said straight-chain olefins to isoparaffins and paraffins.