Denitrogenation of syncrude

A method for reducing the nitrogen content of a syncrude feed obtained from at least one of oil shale, tar sands, and coal, comprising mixing at least one acid selected from the group consisting of sulfuric, phosphoric, and hydrochloric with said feed, settling said mixture to form a first phase composed of a syncrude low in nitrogen and a second phase composed of acid and a syncrude high in nitrogen, separating said first and second phases from each other, neutralizing said second phase with a base to form a salt with the acid in said second phase, settling said neutralized second phase to form a high nitrogen syncrude phase and a salt solution, separating said salt solution from said high nitrogen syncrude phase, and catalytically hydrotreating said high nitrogen syncrude phase to remove nitrogen and produce a product composed of syncrude low in nitrogen, said first phase and said product containing at least 20 percent by weight lower nitrogen concentration than said high nitrogen syncrude phase.