Patent ID: 8318006

Claim:
A once-through continuous process for hydrocracking a hydrocarbon-containing feed having a high organic nitrogen content for the production of middle distillates, comprising: reacting the hydrocarbon-containing feed having a high organic nitrogen content in a first catalytic hydrorefining reaction with a hydrorefining catalyst, such that at least a portion of the organic nitrogen content is transformed to ammonia, subjecting the effluent from the first hydrorefining reaction to a hot flash resulting in incomplete separation of ammonia therein, downstream from the hot flash, reacting the resulting hot flashed hydrocarbon-containing feed in a second catalytic hydrorefining reaction with a hydrorefining catalyst, such that the combination of the hot flash and the second catalytic hydrorefining reaction results in reducing the ammonia content to provide and maintain a quantity of ammonia, in terms of nitrogen by weight, of more than 400 ppm and less than 1200 ppm in the second catalytic hydrorefining reaction effluent, which nitrogen content is obtained solely from the second catalytic hydrorefining reaction effluent, and further such that the amount of organic nitrogen in the second catalytic hydrorefining reaction effluent is less than 20 ppm by weight, hydrocracking at least a portion of the effluent from the second catalytic hydrorefining reaction in a catalytic hydrocracking zone with a hydrocracking catalyst comprising either a zeolitic catalyst or a non-zeolitic catalyst.