Patent ID: 8329029

Claim:
A method for selectively hydrotreating a naphtha boiling range feed, comprising: introducing a naphtha boiling range feed into a reactor in the presence of a hydrodesulfurization catalyst and an effective amount of inhibiting agent under effective selective hydrodesulfurization conditions, the selective hydrodesulfurization conditions including a weighted average bed temperature for the catalyst, to produce a hydrodesulfurized feed having a product sulfur content; and reducing the amount of inhibiting agent and increasing the weighted average bed temperature, while continuing to introduce the naphtha boiling feed into the reactor under selective hydrodesulfurization conditions effective to maintain said product sulfur content in the hydrodesulfurized feed, until the inhibiting agent is at least substantially removed from the reactor, the inhibiting agent being substantially removed from the reactor prior to the weighted average bed temperature being increased by about 8° F. (4° C.) relative to the weighted average bed temperature at the start of the reaction, wherein said product sulfur content is maintained at a substantially constant amount of sulfur from about 5 ppm by weight to about 150 ppm by weight.