Process for upgrading arsenic-containing oils

Claim 1

In a process for substantially removing arsenic and nitrogen contaminants from a feedstock of hydrocarbon oil containing said contaminants to prevent arsenic contaminant fouling of feed-transfer lines carrying said hyrocarbon oil mixed with hydrogen, the improvement which comprises: contacting under arsenic-removing conditions, including a temperature in the range of from about 200° C. to 500° C., a mixture of said hydrocarbon oil and hydrogen with a porous contact material comprising at least one solid refractory oxide selected from the group consisting of the oxides of the elements of Groups II, III, and IV of the Periodic Table, said mixture being formed in situ in the presence of said contact material, whereby the resulting oil contains substantially less arsenic than said feedstock; hydrodenitrifying said resulting oil under hydrodenitrifying conditions using a silica-alumina composite hydrocarbon hydrodenitrifying catalyst containing titania, nickel and tungsten, to provide a partially denitrified oil having a bound nitrogen content, calculated as nitrogen, in the range from about 30 to 700 parts per million parts by weight of said resulting oil; separating said partially denitrified oil into a fraction boiling above about 329° C. and a fraction boiling below about 329° C.; and hydrodenitrifying at least a portion of said fraction boiling above about 329° C. under hydrocarbon denitrifying conditions.