Patent ID: 7628908

Claim:
A method of producing a crude product, comprising: providing at least one catalyst comprising vanadium, one or more compounds of vanadium, or mixtures thereof; and providing an additional catalyst, wherein the additional catalyst comprises one or more Column 6 metals, one or more compounds of one or more Column 6 metals, or mixtures thereof; and contacting a crude feed with the catalyst comprising vanadium, one or more compounds of vanadium, or mixtures thereof, and the additional 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 0.1, 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.