Patent ID: 8137536

Claim:
A method of producing a crude product, comprising: contacting a crude feed with a first catalyst and subsequently with a second catalyst to produce a total product that includes the crude product, wherein the crude product is a liquid mixture at 25° C. and 0.101 MPa, the crude feed having a total acid number (TAN) of at least 0.3, wherein the first catalyst has, per gram of first catalyst, about 0.0001 grams to about 0.06 grams of one or more metals from Column 6 of the Periodic Table, one or more compounds thereof, calculated as weight of metal, or mixtures thereof; and the second catalyst has, per gram of second catalyst, at least 0.02 grams of one or more metals from Column 6 of the Periodic Table, one or more compounds thereof, calculated as weight of metal, or mixtures thereof, where the second catalyst contains more Column 6 metal, by weight, than the first catalyst; and controlling contacting conditions such that the crude product has a TAN of at most 90% of the TAN of the crude feed, wherein TAN is as determined by ASTM Method D664.