Process for demetallation and desulfurization of heavy hydrocarbons

A process for the hydrodemetallation and hydrodesulfurization of a hydrocarbon feedstock containing asphaltenes and a substantial amount of metals, said feedstock comprising at least one member selected from the group consisting of crude oil, topped crude oil, petroleum hydrocarbon residua, oils obtained from tar sands, residua derived from tar sands oil, and hydrocarbon streams derived from coal, which process comprises:

• (a) contacting said feedstock in a first reaction zone with hydrogen and a first-stage catalyst comprising hydrogenation metal component selected from the group consisting of a Group VIB metal, a Group VIII metal, and a mixture of said Group VIB and Group VIII metals, and a porous inorganic oxide support, said hydrogenation metal being in at least one form selected from the group consisting of the elemental form, the oxide, and the sulfide, and said catalyst having a surface area of about 120 m.sup.2 /gm to about 400 m.sup.2 /gm, a pore volume of about 0.7 cc/gm to about 1.5 cc/gm, and an average pore diameter of about 125 A to about 350 A;
• and
• (b) contacting the effluent from said first reaction zone in a second reaction zone with a second-stage catalyst consisting essentially of at least one active original hydrogenation metal selected from Group VIB deposed on a catalytically active support comprising alumina, said Group VIB metal being in at least one form selected from the group consisting of the elemental form, the oxide, and the sulfide, said catalyst having a surface area within the range of about 150 m.sup.2 /gm to about 300 m.sup.2 /gm, having a majority of its pore volume in pore diameters within the range of about 80 A to about 130 A, and a pore volume within the range of about 0.4 cc/gm to about 0.9 cc/gm.