Patent ID: 8298404

Claim:
A reaction method for reducing the heteroatom content, reducing total acid number, and increasing API gravity of oxidized-heteroatom-containing hydrocarbon feed streams comprising: providing oxidized-heteroatom-containing hydrocarbon feed streams through a feed inlet region; providing a contact region, the contact region having at least one caustic and a selectivity promoter operatively positioned therein; contacting the oxidized-heteroatom-containing hydrocarbon feed streams in the contact region thereby producing substantially non-ionic hydrocarbon products having a heteroatom content less than the oxidized-heteroatom-containing hydrocarbon feed streams that entered through the inlet region; and removing the substantially non-ionic hydrocarbon products having a heteroatom content less than the oxidized-heteroatom-containing hydrocarbon feed streams that entered through the inlet region from the contact region to an outlet region; wherein the caustic component of the contact region comprises: inorganic compounds that exhibit basic properties; inorganic oxides from group IA and IIA elements; and mixtures of oxides and hydroxides of group IA and IIA elements; wherein the selectivity promoter comprises: an organic alcohol, ROH, wherein R is a C 1 -C 18 alkyl-, aryl-, or alkenyl-group, that produces a substantially non-ionized hydrocarbon product.